GROUNDBREAKING CINEMA

Oscars Afterparties Rocked by Hollywood Earthquake

One award ceremony attendee said she saw high-rises “moving around like jelly” amid the latest quake to hit California this month.

It wasn’t only the complimentary champagne that saw Hollywood’s preeminent stars feel the ground give a little beneath their feet after the Oscars on Sunday night. As celebrities gathered at Vanity Fair’s coveted post-ceremony bash, a minor earthquake struck Los Angeles just moments before the afterparty was due to kick off. There haven’t been any reports of injuries or property damage, but attendees claim to have seen shockwaves shaking the high-rises in North Hollywood. “Feeling a building of [this] size move around like jelly is quite an experience,” as the BBC’s Emma Vardy reported from the 15th floor of the broadcaster’s centre in Los Angeles. One person expressed surprise at the quake only having come in at magnitude 3.9, with some saying it sounded although a bomb had gone off in the city. According to recent data from the U.S. Geological Survey, it’s also only the latest of around 40 tremors to have struck Southern California in just the past three days, albeit the first since the start of the month to have registered high enough on the Richter scale to actually be felt by residents.