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At glitzy Oscar parties: Casey Affleck’s about to start filming in Boston; Kraft still hoping Brady will retire a Patriot

Casey Affleck attends the Vanity Fair 95th Oscars Party at the The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif. on March 12, 2023.MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

Massachusetts was not only well represented at the 95th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, but at the viewing parties and glitzy after-parties, too.

As many predicted, frontrunner “Everything Everywhere All at Once” had a huge night. Nominated for 11 awards, it won seven — including for best picture, best actress, best supporting actress, best supporting actor, and best director, an honor that was shared by Emerson College graduates Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan.

The Daniels, the nickname by which they’re often referred, posed for pictures with the movie’s cast and creative team on the carpet at the Vanity Fair after-party, where they hoisted their golden statuettes in the air and cheered.

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The cast and crew of "Everything Everywhere All At Once" attend the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 12, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California.Amy Sussman/Getty

The merriment was carried inside the Vanity Fair party, held in a custom-designed space adjacent to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, where Kwan (who is from Westborough), Scheinert, and others from “Everything Everywhere All at Once” spent time together, piling into tiny photo booths for pictures with their trophies, and mingling with other guests.

Partygoers dined on pizza and In-N-Out burgers while a DJ kept guests moving on the dance floor. Also spotted on the Vanity Fair carpet: Cambridge native Mindy Kaling, Newton’s B.J. Novak, Pittsfield’s Elizabeth Banks, and Larry David, who has a home on Martha’s Vineyard.

B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling attend the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar party at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 12, 2023 in Beverly Hills, Calif.Amy Sussman/Getty

Casey Affleck, who famously grew up with brother Ben in Cambridge, said he’s “really excited” to begin filming his new movie, “The Instigators,” in Boston this week.

“I haven’t shot there in some years, so I can’t wait to get back,” said Affleck, 47, who is starring in the film with Cambridge buddy Matt Damon.

Also at the Vanity Fair bash was New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his wife of nearly five months, opthalmologist Dana Blumberg.

Kraft’s better half wore a beige, form-fitting Naeem Khan gown, while the Patriots’ owner wore a dark suit and tie, and his signature sneakers. A hot pink handkerchief peeked out of his jacket pocket.

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Dana Blumberg and Robert Kraft attend the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 12, 2023 in Beverly Hills, Calif.Amy Sussman/Getty

As they waited to make their way onto the carpet before photographers, Kraft and Blumberg were deep in conversation with actress and former model Brooke Shields.

Earlier in the evening, the couple — he’s 81, she’s 48 — attended the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party in West Hollywood. The 31st annual event, of which Kraft is a sponsor, raised more than $9 million to help end AIDS.

Asked what he thought about the rumor that retired QB Tom Brady might return to formally retire as a Patriot, Kraft said, “We’re going to let him make that decision.“

He added: “But, I’d love it — and I know all of our fans would, too. I hope that will happen.”


Juliet Pennington can be reached at writeonjuliet@comcast.net.