- "Live with Kelly and Mark" host the 'After the Oscars' show from the stage at the Dolby Theater
- Thousands of viewers travel from all over the nation to be in the audience
- The hosts chat with the crowd during commercial breaks, giving them insight into the behind-the-scenes happenings on their show
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The 97th Academy Awards ceremony doesn't really end when the final Oscar is handed out. It extends until the morning after, when 'Live with Kelly and Mark' officially shuts down the after-party.
I got the chance to join in the fun with people from all over the country, who wanted to feel a little bit of that Hollywood star power.
*Cue the crowd cheering*
It's the final curtain for the Academy Awards when Kelly and Mark host the After the Oscars party on the same stage where the statues were handed out the night before.
Several thousand people made the journey to be in the Dolby Theater to be in the room when it happens.
"Kelly Ripa," said Jenny Wong who was born in Bakersfield and made the trip to Hollywood, "(Mark) is cute too, but we love Kelly, she rocks!"
It's a journey that Jana Irving and Tina Hamel have been making for the last few years, except for one.
"Last year, my boyfriend came, but he's not coming no more," said Jana, "was there an incident? No, he just said it was a long day and he was over it."
But the chance to be part of this special event draws people from all over the country, like Herbert Elijah Goodwin Jr., the Pharaoh.
"To come out here and be in the same room that everyone has been in, you know," said Goodwin, "well, you look fantastic, you should've been here last night... Yeah one day, one day."
And while they don't pass out Oscars in the morning, some people bring their own.
"We had to get fashionable, and then came over to see Mark and Kelly and all these Co-Hosts," said Orlando Jacobs as he pulled a small Oscar statue out of his jacket pocket.
"And the winner of the Manifestation Oscar, the winner is Orlando Jacobs," said Mike as the crowd smiled and clapped.
Kelly has been on this stage for more than a decade, just the 2nd time with husband and Co-Host Mark Consuelos.
The first time I came to cover this event, Kelly was hosting Neil Patrick Harris, and they were lowered to the stage from the rafters while Mark 'crashed' on a couch in the green room.
"We were sitting up there, wondering if it was going to hold us," said Kelly Ripa, "you don't know if it's going to work until it happens."
"I used to come straight from the parties, and there was a late one," said Consuelos, "and I'd time it just right so I'd get here right when the show was starting."
That's a wrap from the 97th Academy Awards or more to the point, on this occasion, from the Live with Kelly and Mark show in Hollywood.
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