A California couple who became part of Jimmy Kimmel's gag involving passerbys a chance to meet celebrities during the Academy Awards say they thought they were being pranked.
Patrick and Yulree Tio got a chance to take a selfie with Ryan Gosling, hug Nicole Kidman and meet Dev Patel as they were introduced to Hollywood A-listers on Sunday.
"It was amazing, it was unbelievable. I was shocked…it was as fun as it looked," Yulree told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel.
The couple had been hoping to have a relaxing staycation in Los Angeles after their destination wedding in the Philippines three weeks earlier.
The Tios say they were walking around the Hollywood area in Los Angeles on Sunday, when they passed by Starline Tours' office. Two actors, posing as tour staff, told them they were offering a new tour that had a new Oscars exhibit.
"We were free and wanted to be spontaneous so we were like 'Alright,'" said Yulree.
The pair says the tour bus made three stops as it passed through West Hollywood and Beverly Hills before stopping outside the Dolby Theater.
The couple says at no point before walking in did they know what would happen. The doors they walked through at the theatre even had signs saying there was an Oscars exhibit within.
"They were playing it off like this was something very exclusive that only Academy members get to see," said Patrick.
After they walked through the doors, the couple says it dawned on them that their tour had taken a very different turn.
"We had no idea what was going on," said Yulree, adding that the group thought they had walked through the wrong door.
The couple called the opportunity to meet the stars a "once in a lifetime" experience.
They both missed the historic mishap at the end of the ceremony, which saw "La La Land" mistakenly announced as the best picture winner before it was revealed "Moonlight" had actually won, due to interviews.
But the couple was able to find one last moment of humour in the shocking finale.
"I've been joking with all my accounting friends that they (Academy Awards) should have went with KPMG," said Patrick.
