party reports

‘Vanity Fair’ Party Rises From The Dead, Looking Thinner

3:45AM Seth | Hollywood may never fully recover from the WGA-strike-plagued awards season of 2008, marred by trophy presentations on Veoh, a potluck Governor’s Ball, and—most shocking of all—the complete cancellation of the Vanity Fair party.

Overheard At The Governor’s Ball: Jelly Bean Clooney Licks His Wounds

8:06AM Seth | With fidgety stars corralled into the Kodak Theater for nearly four hours of Church of Hollywood sermonizing, it’s no wonder that the Governor’s Ball, the first and most stately of all the post-Oscars soirées, is invariably a successful event. It allows winners, also-rans, and Oscar-shaped agents alike to mingle in a fantasy-like setting, occasionally snapping retractable tongues far enough to catch a cherry-flavored bubble floating their way. (We’re not even joking–watch that Making Of the Governor’s Ball Desserts featurette, sure to be one of the highlights of the 2008 Oscars DVD extras.) The LAT was lucky enough to be seated at the Michael Clayton table, where Jelly Bean Clooney (not the swing-era jazz titan, but The Last Movie Star) was realistic about his poor showing: More »

7:14AM Seth | With the party circuit looking more anemic than ever, leave it to the least likely culprits — Hepatitis-scare victims Madonna and Demi Moore — to throw a last-minute bash for the rudderless A-list masses looking for an Oscars night soirée. To be held at “a home in the Westside hills,” the party will start Sunday around 9 p.m., featuring a guest list with “everybody on it. It gives the A-list Vanity Fair crowd someplace to go to. It will probably be pared down to where it’s 85% talent, not a lot of suits.” Security, of course, will be ultra-tight, with guests forced to undergo not only friskings and metal detectors, but also having their blood drawn and read by high-speed diagnostic computers. Anyone with so much as a slightly elevated LDL cholesterol level will be turned away at the doors. [Variety] More »