Has anyone had a better year than Elton John?
He and Bernie Taupin won Best Song last night for “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” from their biopic, “Rocketman.”
When I found Sir Elton at his EJAF after party in the humongous tent set up across from the Pacific Design Center, he was just about to go on stage and perform again with his guest star, Sam Fender. He told the red piano he used on the Dolby Theater stage for the Oscars was actually his– he had it flown in.
But how did he feel winning his first Oscar in 25 years? “I just felt relieved,” he said. “It couldn’t have been better.”
Bernie Taupin told me he had no idea what he said during his acceptance speech.
The main thing, though was that Elton and David Furnish raised $6.4 million for their AIDS Foundation. It’s quite a stunning accomplishment in a year that also saw Elton’s autobiography, “Me, become a bestseller,and is worldwide farewell tour sell out. Wow!
Heidi Klum, Diane Lane, Eric McCormack and Billy Porter filled in for Elton while he was at the Oscars show. So did the cast of “Queer Eye.” Other guests included Smokey Robinson, Sharon Stone, Jane Seymour, Mary Wilson, Sharon Osbourne, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Christina Hendricks, and Anne Heche (who came with newish boyfriend Thomas Jane).
