Oscar Head-Scratchers: 7 Things That Had Us Asking, 'What the...?'

by Suzy Byrne

There were plenty of viral moments at the Academy Awards — including Ellen DeGeneres's Twitter-breaking selfie! — as well as many LOLs and even some tears. But more than a few times, we were also left asking: What the...?

Here are the 7 things that had us scratching our heads during the 2014 Oscars:

1. Why Didn't Sean Penn Walk the Red Carpet With Charlize Theron?
It was expected that the two-time Oscar winner would attend the show, especially considering his new ladylove and fellow Oscar winner, Charlize Theron, was a presenter. Come red carpet time? Charlize turned heads, but there was no Penn. However, while he stayed away from the main event, he was by the South African beauty's side at the Fame and Philanthropy Post-Oscar Party, which was a benefit for her charity, the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP). She made an outfit change, into a black pantsuit, and they held hands on the red carpet and posed with their arms around one another. They later popped by a bash held by Penn's ex, Madonna.

2. What the heck is an EGOT?
Robert Lopez, along with his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, won Best Original Song for "Frozen" ballad "Let It Go," making him the 12th — and youngest — person to ever win an EGOT. A what? An EGOT is when someone wins an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. His previous awards were for Best Music Direction and Composition, "The Wonder Pets" (Daytime Emmy); Best Musical Theater Album – "The Book of Mormon" (Grammy); and Best Original Score – "Avenue Q" (Tony). Others who have accomplished that include Richard Rodgers, Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Marvin Hamlisch, Jonathan Tunick, Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols, Whoopi Goldberg, and Scott Rudin.

And those very, very close to EGOT status, but not officially part of the esteemed group, are James Earl Jones, Liza Minnelli, and Barbra Streisand. They all technically have an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, but, in those instances, at least one of their awards was an honorary achievement. They didn't technically win it, so — sorry! — it doesn't officially count.

3. What was that heroes theme all about?
There were several tributes to heroes throughout the three-and-a-half-hour show, but they seemed a little like random montages. Apparently, the whole point behind them was to inspire the audience, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron told Hollywood Reporter. "We wanted to unify the show with an entertaining and emotional theme," they said. "People around the world go to the movies to be inspired by the characters they see on the screen. By celebrating the gamut of heroes who have enriched our moviegoing experience, we hope to create an evening of fun and joy. And that includes the filmmakers and actors who take risks and stimulate us with provocative subjects and daring characters. They are all heroes in the cinematic landscape." Um — OK. We guess that explains it. Right?

4. Who's the Susan Lucci of the Oscars?
While we felt bad watching Leonardo DiCaprio and Amy Adams go home empty-handed again (he's been nominated four times to her five), they aren't actually the biggest losers in the history of the show. In the acting categories, Peter O'Toole had eight noms and no wins, a fact mentioned in his obituary last year. In 2003, the Academy gave him an honorary award and in his acceptance speech he quipped, "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride my foot! I have my very own Oscar now to be with me 'til death do us part." Richard Burton, another movie superstar, was close behind O'Toole with seven nominations and no wins. Neither of these men come close to La Lucci. The "All My Children" star was nominated 19 times before winning her first Daytime Emmy in 1999.

5. Why was Jamie Foxx's daughter on the stage when Pharrell performed?
Pharrell made the audience "Happy" with his performance — as Meryl Streep and Lupita Nyong'o can attest. But when the hat-loving crooner was on stage singing the "Despicable Me 2" song, he was flanked dancers of all ages, including… Jamie Foxx's daughter, Corinne. It looked odd to see her bopping around in the background in her pretty white dress, but it made (a little) more sense when we saw a larger shot of the performance and Jamie was there, too. The father/daughter duo has often made the scene together during awards season, but this is the first time we saw them bust-a-move on the Oscar stage. Why they were there at all? Yeah, we're still not sure. It didn't exactly look like they knew the choreography.

6. Where was Ben Affleck?
Ben Affleck's flick "Argo" won Best Picture at the 2013 Oscars, but he was a no-show at Sunday's ceremony. His wife, Jennifer Garner, represented for the pair — and supported her "Dallas Buyers Club" co-stars Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey. But when it came around to party time, Ben joined Jen for a night on the town. They arrived hand-in-hand at the Vanity Fair bash, where they posed for photos with Glenn Close. Inside, he shared a group hug with the Hemsworth brothers — Chris and Liam — to the envy of many.

7. And how about George Clooney?
A rep for the actor tells us "he was not in L.A.," so he didn't attend the big show to root on his "Gravity" co-star Sandra Bullock. The actor, who has been working on the film "Tomorrowland," was in Tinseltown just a few days before, being spotted out to dinner with a large group in Studio City on Feb. 27. Earlier in the month, Clooney reportedly brought British lawyer Amal Alamuddin as his special guest to a screening of "Monuments Men" at the White House. The "Tomorrowland" actor has been linked to Alamuddin, who represents WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, since October. So, for whatever reason (business or pleasure), he was otherwise engaged on Oscar night.