The Oscars

Lake Havasu is relishing in the free press from Sunday night's Oscars telecast, not only because it put the town on the map, but because the plug will save the city tons of cash on advertising in the future.

A rep from the Lake Havasu Visitor Center tells us they didn't take host Jimmy Kimmel's shout as a diss. Some thought Kimmel was poking fun at the Arizona Spring Break-friendly community by offering a free trip and a stay at the local Days Inn to whoever kept their Oscars speech the shortest.

But the LHVC says they have a sense of humor and see the silver lining since it was some free prime time advertising. The city even extended an all-expenses paid trip to the shortest speech winner, Mark Bridges, who won for Best Costume Design and got to go home with a jet ski.

The man who stole Frances McDormand's Oscar shot a video of himself with the award just minutes before his arrest.

We've obtained video of Terry Bryant holding McDormand's award for Best Actress, telling everyone who'd listen that the award was his. Bryant even asked other attendees if they wanted a photo with Oscar.

Bryant was arrested for felony grand theft Sunday night after grabbing McDormand's Best Actress award right off her table at The Governor's Ball. We're told McDormand alerted security at the event when she noticed her Oscar was missing, who then tracked Bryant down and contacted the police.

11:42 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell us the thief was apprehended by cops just before he got on an escalator to leave the event.

The guy who stole Frances McDormand's Oscar has been arrested ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the man who swiped the Best Actress statue from Frances' table at The Governor's Ball Sunday night has been booked on felony grand theft.

The thief was photographed with the stolen hardware just before he was nabbed. Frances noticed her Oscar was MIA from the table and notified security at The Governor's Ball at the Hollywood & Highland Center. Security found the guy with Oscar in hand and turned him over to cops when they arrived.

Frances took home the award for Best Actress for her role in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri."

Kobe Bryant celebrated an amazing victory Sunday night ... winning an Oscar and, incredibly, the celebrities in the audience had a case of selective amnesia.

Kobe took home the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for "Dear Basketball." The audience cheered Kobe ... some even rose to their feet for a standing O.

Interesting ... considering the majority of the audience were wearing Time's Up pins. You may recall -- although a lot of the people who came out after the ceremony didn't -- Kobe was arrested in 2003, charged and brought to trial for rape. The case fell apart when the alleged victim stopped cooperating with prosecutors. Kobe subsequently settled for a reported $5 million, though he denies paying her a cent.

Kobe was Teflon at the awards ceremony. Not so for Ryan Seacrest, who was shunned by some celebs even though he hasn't been sued, arrested, charged -- and was cleared by an E! investigation.

And James Franco was essentially exiled from the Oscars -- again not arrested, charged, nothing.

So, why did Kobe get a pass? We spoke with a bunch of stars including Shawn Mendes, Bebe Rexha, Colin Hanks and others who claimed they had no knowledge of his past. Some just made jokes.

Allison Janney and Kobe Bryant celebrated their Oscar win like true Americans ... with booze and burgers!!!

Allison and the Black Mamba remembered to fuel up while hitting the Oscar after-party scene hard ... with Oscar in hand, of course. They were at the Vanity Fair bash in Bev Hills and were joined by a slew of celebs.

The "Key & Peele" duo was there ... as was Oscar winner Frances McDormand, Drake, Halle Berry, Emily Ratajkowski and many more.

The famed Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip was also celeb central. Mary J. Blige, Salma Hayek, Tiffany Haddish, Amber Heard, Elon Musk and Anthony Anderson were all there. Cool of Nick Jonas to make his way over to the fans. Not cool of our camera guy to ask Stevie Wonder if he watched the Oscars. Habits, ya know.

If Best Dancer was an award given out at the Oscar after-parties, Jamie Foxx would've won it Sunday night with his moves at the Byron Allen's Oscar Gala, although he had some fierce competition.

Foxx took over the stage at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Both he and Katy Perry were performers, but Foxx took things to another level with the help of another guest.

Keegan-Michael Key believes Jordan Peele's Oscar victory will spawn more filmmakers of color that inevitably will lead to better movies.

We got Keegan leaving Spago in Bev Hills Sunday night and wanted to get his take on his buddy, Jordan, bringing home the Best Original Screenplay statue for "Get Out." For the uninitiated ... Jordan's the first African-American to bring home the award in that category in the 90-year history of the Academy Awards.

Guillermo del Toro didn't let his wins for Best Picture and Best Director at Sunday's Oscars go to his head as he hit the after-party circuit in Hollywood.

We got the 'Shape of Water' director heading into the 20th Century Fox & Fox Searchlight Party at TAO with his statues in tow. On his way out, the director wandered across the street to take pictures with fans, many of who were Latinos.

7:51 PM PT -- Taraji told People that her comment to Ryan was "misconstrued" and that she was only trying to "keep his chin up" in light of an awkward situation, despite him being cleared by E!'s investigation. She also says she "absolutely" supports Seacrest.

Ryan Seacrest's Oscars red carpet show was business as usual except for the appearance of Taraji P. Henson.

Henson talked to Seacrest about the usual stuff, but at the end said the Universe has a way of taking care of good people ... and then she caressed his chin. So ... was this a show of support or shade? Watch and you decide.

Seacrest has been scrutinized after a woman who worked as his stylist at E! accused him of sexual misconduct between 2007 and 2010.

As TMZ reported, the woman did not file a police report or lawsuit -- presumably because the statute of limitations has run out -- but before she went to the media her lawyer contacted Seacrest and his lawyer, read them a press release with her allegations and demanded $15 million in return for tearing up the release. They told the lawyer to take a hike and he reduced the demand to 7 figures, but they sent him packing.

The woman's lawyer acknowledged to TMZ there was indeed a draft of a press release but says the demand was not $15 million.

Jennifer Lawrence might not have been up for an Oscar this year, but that didn't stop her from crackin' open the vino and pouring herself a glass ... or two, or more perhaps.

J Law was on the move Sunday at the 90th Academy Awards -- climbing over chairs, fixing the strap on her dress and, most notably, hugging just about everyone down in the seats ... all while holding a clutch glass of white wine that looked a bit more than half full.

Truth be told, we don't know how many she had -- but it certainly seems like Lawrence was enjoying herself at the show. And on the heels of a less than stellar box office opening for her new flick "Red Sparrow" ... why not go for the booze, right?

There's other famous folks up in here, too -- Meryl Streep, Armie Hammer, Frances McDormand, the fish monster from "The Shape of Water," and on and on.

Jimmy Kimmel came out with his gloves on to open the 90th Academy Awards ... beating on Harvey Weinstein and Vice President Mike Pence.

Kimmel -- who's hosting the Oscars again this year -- dove straight into the #TimesUp and #MeToo controversies to kick of the award show Sunday, taking aim at Weinstein and the VP in a blistering monologue.

He compared HW's expulsion from the Academy to another that was much less scandalous ... Carmine Caridi, who got kicked out for sharing screeners. He also joked that the cleanup in Hollywood now only left women vulnerable to harassment literally everywhere else.

The comedian also went in on Pence -- joking that Timothee Chalamet's nominated film "Call Me By Your Name" didn't get made for money, but rather "to upset Mike Pence." The film's about a summer fling between a male teen and young man in Italy.

The Oscars are in full swing, but the award show isn't just bringing out gold statues and celebs in Hollywood ... herpes are also running amok.

According to a rep from HerpAlert -- an online diagnosis and treatment website for the STD -- there's been a spike in folks looking to get treated for herpes this weekend ... which just so happens to fall in line with the 90th annual Academy Awards.

HerpAlert's been in business since last summer, with doctors issuing prescriptions to pharmacies after people submit photos of their herpes and they're reviewed. The turnaround time is about 2 hours.

We're told that that the site has seen a huge surge in folks seeking prescriptions for herpes over the past 72 hours ... a whopping 60 cases a day since Friday in the Hollywood and Bev Hills neighborhoods compared to their usual 10-case a day load.

Sources say the the submissions so far have been 80 percent genital herpes. The last spike HerpAlert saw was during NBA All-Star weekend last month, when they got about 30 cases a day from people requesting prescriptions in the L.A. area.

3:42 PM PT -- Looks like the Trump/Stormy Oscars gag is a go ... sources close to Stormy tell us she's approved of the award show using the old photo of her and Trump.

And this year's Oscar for Best Performance by a Future President and a Porn Star, allegedly, goes to ...

We doubt that's how it will come up, but TMZ has learned Oscars producers want to make Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels' alleged affair part of Sunday night's ceremony.

Sources connected to Stormy tell us someone from the Academy of Motion Pictures production team reached out to her late last week. We're told the person wanted permission to use the now infamous 2006 pic of Trump and Stormy partying in a golf clubhouse.

It's unclear if the image would be part of Jimmy Kimmel's monologue, or part of a Trump attack later in the show. Remember, the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements will get a moment to shine during the ceremony ... so, there's a good chance the Prez could be mentioned then, too.

We're told Stormy's camp had questions about how the photo would be used -- like whether it would be a direct shot at her -- but up until Sunday morning, the Academy had not responded.

A slew of celebs descended on Madeo restaurant in Beverly Hills Saturday night for a pre-Oscar party.

Among the celebs attending ... Margot Robbie, Leslie Mann, Kristen Stewart, Jamie Dornan, Matthew Modine, Daniel Kaluuya, Edgar Ramirez, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Adrien Brody.

The dinner party was thrown by author Charles Finch ... he writes lots of mystery novels. It was also hosted by Chanel.

Margot has a serious chance to win Best Actress tonight for "I, Tonya."

The faces of the #NeverAgain movement won't appear at the Oscars Sunday, a decision that will surely keep their strong, pure message far far away from "Hollywood."

Oscar production sources tell us familiar faces like Emma Gonzalez, Jaclyn Corin, Alex Wing, Cameron Kasky and David & Lauren Hogg didn't get an invite to Sunday's big event ... for good reason.

People organizing the student marches tell us the kids would likely have turned down invitations to the Academy Awards ... it's just not the time or place given the importance of the movement.

TMZ broke the story ... George Clooney and Scooter Braun have been working behind the scenes organizing the March For Our Lives later this month in D.C. Our sources say the two Hollywood heavyweights have chosen to remain in the shadows to keep the focus on the kids.

From jam-packed celeb selfies and emotional speeches, to Best Picture announcement screw-ups -- Oscar's had some entertaining moments ... especially when they're not scripted.

We've gathered the Academy's most talked about moments over the past 90 years -- like that time Marlon Brando refused his Oscar, and when Jennifer Lawrence fell walking up the stairs to accept hers.

And, of course, we couldn't leave out Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway's infamous flub -- 'cause ya gotta relive that one before Sunday night. Did you hear they're getting a second chance to nail it?