BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The Golden Globes are a social affair with occasional breaks for awards. It’s a game of seconds inside the packed ballroom as A-listers attempt to get in as many hugs and hellos as possible before the cameras start broadcasting to the world again.

It’s a tricky room to navigate, packed to the brim with banquet tables. Some choose to stay put, like Steve Martin, a fortress in a well-guarded, hard to get to seat against a wall. Others, like Andrew Scott and “Challengers” filmmaker Luca Guadagnino couldn’t seem stay in their seats — there’s just too many fun people to chat with.

Nerves before the show

As the first major awards show of the year, a wide-open field of contenders, and a fairly new group of voters, there was a bit of nervous anticipation in the air as everyone wondered how the night would play out.

Former Spider-Man Andrew Garfield got caught in a logjam of celebrities blocking the stairs to the main floor. He made a “get going” gesture to Zendaya, whose new ring on her left hand had onlookers buzzing. But the train of her burnt orange Louis Vuitton ballgown was proving to be its own blockade. Garfield ran to the rescue, after giving Colman Domingo a quick kiss on the cheek and grabbed the back of the train to help Zendaya navigate the stairs, and Daniel Craig and Kate Winslet exchanged hellos.

Somehow Angelina Jolie and daughter Zahara made their way through the flurry, mostly unbothered. Elsewhere, Miley Cyrus sidled up to the “Baby Reindeer” people, before finding her proper seat near Pamela Anderson and Gia Coppola.

The party in the other room

Just off to the side of the ballroom, in a separate room away from the sight of the broadcast cameras, attendees could gather for extra Nobu bites, cocktails and deserts. Keith Urban was enjoying the food at the sushi bar, sampling Nobu’s yellowtail and jalapeño bites and going back for seconds. He was soon joined by Ewan McGregor and his wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Nearby Kirsten Dunst and husband Jesse Plemons beelined to Ayo Edebiri where Dunst gushed about Edebiri’s grey Loewe suit. She made her way to the long bar line telling Plemons to stay put with Edebiri.

With no television screens broadcasting the live show it was easy to miss cues about commercials and categories. That’s how Margaret Qualley accidentally missed the moment of her co-star Demi Moore’s win, and moving speech.

The joy of the commercial break

For viewers at home commercial breaks can take an eternity, but in the room there’s never enough time — to make it to the bathroom, to get a drink from the bar (the tables had only champagne, wine and water), or to chat. But efforts are made to work the room, and race back to where you need to be before the countdown clock hits zero.

After his sushi snack, Urban found his way back to Nicole Kidman and the “Wicked” group, spending quite a bit of time talking animatedly to Ariana Grande. They were interrupted to pose for a photo but soon picked up where they left off. Nearby, Cara Delevingne made her way to say hello to Cynthia Erivo, while Kidman was greeted by Naomi Watts.

On a different level, Daniel Craig stopped to congratulate “Baby Reindeer” winner Jessica Gunning. “That was amazing,” Craig said. Gunning could barely pause to process the moment with the former James Bond before someone else was asking for a selfie.

Zoe Saldaña and Ali Wong also exchanged congratulations to one another, before Saldaña spotted Netflix power publicist Lisa Tabak, letting out a yelp and running to hug her.

Emma Stone sneaks by

Should one not make it back to one’s seat on the main floor before the commercial break ends, pleasant security guards put up a rope and hold guests back — no matter how famous. At any given moment during the show, you could find quite a few famous faces waiting to get back to their seats. But Emma Stone, in her pixie haircut, managed to sneak by, gracefully bolting to her table as the best animated film nominees were read.

Guadagnino was not so lucky and spent the next few categories in the holding pen, letting out an excited sound when “Flow” won. During the next category, best director, he clapped enthusiastically when Payal Kapadia’s name was read. The “All We Imagine As Light” director did not win the award — Brady Corbet did for “The Brutalist.”

After the show

Kate Winslet ditched her sky-high black heels as she exited the ballroom, holding them casually in her hand and walking bare footed on the carpet to the lobby. Many celebrities quickly made their way out of the room, some heading to after parties in the hotel, others home. Keira Knightley and her husband James Righton lingered long after in the lobby catching up with “The Brutalist” star Felicity Jones, while Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco fielded autograph requests from fans.

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For more coverage of the 2025 Golden Globe Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards