The red carpet has been rolled out across Los Angeles in advance of the 94th annual Academy Awards, bringing with it dozens of celebrations across the city to toast the year’s biggest achievements in film. Heading into March, there was more than a fair amount of apprehension and anxiety from event producers and party planners about how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic would impact celebrations this year, amped up by a new variant and following last year’s muted social calendar. But, major party players like Vanity Fair, Elton John, MPTF, Chanel and even Oscar nominee Beyoncé and Jay-Z are back (via extra layers of precautions like PCR tests, vaccine checks and masks) with can’t-miss bashes this year in the days leading up to Sunday’s telecast. Below are some insider highlights from 2022 soirees, with new events added every day through Monday.

 

Oscar weekend got dosed with an extra layer of chic thanks to the luxury fashion house which posted up at a private residence in Los Feliz with a stunning view to match the occasion. An invite-only dinner celebrating awards season’s stellar directors preceded a late evening bash that featured a performance by rising rockers Wet Leg. Denis Villeneuve, Pedro Almodóvar, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Joachim Trier, Zendaya, Zoë Kravitz, Hailey Bieber, Al Pacino, Dominic Fike, Maude Apatow, Jessie Buckley, Justice Smith, Bill Murray, Troye Sivan, Dave Franco, King Princess, G-Eazy, Iann Dior, Lil Huddy, Travis Bennett, Kid Laroi, Fin Argus, Lykke Li, Adwoa Aboah, Sam Evans, Christian Coppola, Earl Cave and Devon Ross made the rounds, among others.

 

 

Women in Film Oscar party

H.E.R. and producer Cathy Shulman, both Oscar winners in their own right, hosted Women in Film’s 15th annual Oscar party on Friday at Thompson Hollywood’s Bar Lis, where the organization honored this year’s 60 female Academy Award nominees. Nominated attendees included Jane Campion, accompanied by her Power of the Dog producers and cinematographer Ari Wegner; CODA writer-director Siân Heder, Diane Warren and producers Kristie Macosko Krieger (West Side Story), Sara Murphy ( Licorice Pizza) and Tamar Thomas (Belfast).

After guests mingled on the Hollywood rooftop, they were called to gather around the party stage where each nominee was brought up and spoke briefly about their project and recognition, before taking a “class photo” of all the female nominees. Warren, a 13-time nominee, joked “I feel like I’ve been here before” as Rita Moreno joined nominated West Side Story set decorator Rena DeAngelo for a speech that brought down the house, while she was admittedly a half-glass of wine deep.

Wearing a pin that said “bans off our bodies,” Moreno referenced her character in the film, saying, “This is the kind of Valentina you have in this movie.” She then shifted to a more serious tone, shouting out her fellow Latinas and saying “We have a big fight coming, we really do. We are dead seriously represented and as long as I’m around I’m gonna fuck ’em,” as the crowd brought into cheers of “Rita! Rita!” “I am so angry, you never think that someone who is this old and has got one foot in the grave probably — I am so angry, we really have to get together and we better organize, we have got to make this happen before I go, goddammit!”

CODA‘s Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durrant and Amy Forsyth also made appearances, along with Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Lashana Lynch, Lake Bell and Saniyya Sidney. The party was sponsored by Max Mara, Charlotte Tilbury Beauty and Heineken with additional support from IMDbPro and Tequila Don Julio.

CAA party

The agency hosted a private star-studded bash on Friday night at the San Vicente Bungalows, toasting its nominated clients and welcoming VIPs including Garfield, Ariana DeBose, Viola Davis, J.J. Abrams, Ron Howard, Ava DuVernay, Sacha Baron Cohen, Donald Glover, Zoë Kravitz, Chris Pine, Billy Porter, Tiffany Haddish, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sterling K. Brown, Simu Liu, Kate Hudson, Miles Teller, Regé-Jean Page, Henry Golding, Jeymes Samuel, Damson Idris, David Oyelowo, Danny DeVito and Elon Musk.

W’s Best Performances Party

W Magazine used to take over the penthouse at West Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont every year for a pre-Golden Globes soiree that hosted stars of its glossy “Best Performances” spread along with talent, auteurs and industry insiders. But the COVID-19 pandemic and a Chateau boycott led party planners to mix up the format by moving festivities to Gigi’s in Hollywood on the Thursday before the Academy Awards.

Even still, some things stayed the same as the vibe remained ultra-exclusive with throngs of people trying to get in while revelers who did make the cut were greeted at the end of a long, disco-themed corridor by hosts Nicolas Ghesquiere of Louis Vuitton and Sara Moonves and Lynn Hirschberg of W. The “Best Performances” themed issue shined a spotlight on 35 actors for head-turning showings and some of those featured turned up to make the rounds, including Alana Haim, Emilia Jones, Saniyaa Sidney, Renate Reinsve, Andrew Garfield, Dakota Johnson, Dornan, Jonah Hill, Simon Rex and Suzanna Son.

Also there (decked out in Louis Vuitton) were Ava DuVernay, Chloe Cherry, Chloe Grace Moretz, Cody Fern, Danielle Haim, Doona Bae, Emma Chamberlain, Kate Hudson, Laura Love, Lous and The Yakouza, Maria Bakalova, Marlee Matlin, Samara Weaving, Thuso Mbedu and Troye Sivan. New couple Austin Butler and Kaia Gerber turned heads as did Paul Thomas Anderson and Maya Rudolph, Tiffany Haddish, Chris Pine, a chain-smoking Cole Sprouse, Colman Domingo and Zoe Kravitz, among others.

But there was one guest who was a magnet all night, drawing attention from all corners, granting selfie requests, shaking hands and even bobbing his head on the dance floor — Quentin Tarantino. The popular auteur told THR that he just flew in from Israel to be here on Oscar week in order to attend the Governors Awards to support longtime friend and Honorary Oscar winner Samuel L. Jackson. But party insiders found a way to support Tarantino who turns 59 on Sunday — they surprised him with a giant birthday cake and serenade before he made his exit out the front door where hounds of autograph seekers were waiting.

MACRO Pre-Oscar Party

MACRO mounted its 4th annual pre-awards fete at the exact spot where Super Bowl LVI was played a little more than a month ago. And like the home team Los Angeles Rams, Charles and Stacey Walker King’s bash was a real winner, drawing hordes of industry insiders to party inside Inglewood’s new(ish) $5 billion crown jewel. They brought superstar DJ D-Nice along to orchestrate the vibes and he spun for such guests as Ava DuVernay, Lena Waithe, Chloe Bailey, King Richard stars Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, Kelly Rowland, Kendrick Sampson, Matthew Cherry, Pose star Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Abbott Elementary breakout Quinta Brunson, TriStar chief Nicole Brown, Keith Powers and others. “Tonight was such an amazing night that exceeded my wildest dreams,” chief brand officer Walker King said of their event, which featured presenting sponsor Chase Sapphire and partners Sirius XM, Deleon and Nestle. “I looked around and all I saw was love, community and everyone celebrating each other. It felt like a MACRO family reunion! This was for and about our beautiful community.”

 

Oscar Wilde Awards

After his turn in Belfast, Jamie Dornan said he finally thought himself deserving of an Oscar Wilde Award. When he attended the event in 2008 for the first time, “I saw some unbelievably worthy work when they used to show a [highlight] reel, and I thought, ‘One day.’” The honoree feigned disappointment Thursday because “they didn’t do a fucking reel,” which meant the Fifty Shades of Grey star would have to act out his entire career for the audience. “I’ll start with something you’re familiar with,” he said, and pulled out a set of shiny silver handcuffs.

Belfast writer, director and producer Kenneth Branagh, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, accepted his award in a prerecorded speech, while his wife, Lindsay Brunnock, and other family members did attend.

Mary Steenburgen, who said “What the fucking fuck!” at Adam McKay’s request in the 2008 comedy Step Brothers — she said three or four times a week she gets that line repeated back to her and “wouldn’t have it any other way” — presented the filmmaker with his trophy. McKay said he has a home outside Dublin and will be head back there next month to write his next script.

Others in attendance included J.J. Abrams, who hosted; director Richard Curtis, who introduced Dornan; King Richard helmer Reinaldo Marcus Green, who introduced the “Wilde Card” honoree, actor Dónall Ó Héalai; directors Terry George and Rick Famuyiwa; actors Elisabeth Shue and Sarah Bolger; Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy; TCM host Ben Mankiewicz; Michael Burns of Lionsgate; Richard Lovett of CAA; Brett Paul of Warner Bros. Television; and Daria Cercek and Mike Ireland of Paramount. — Mike Barnes

Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards 

Essence‘s event, held Thursday at the Beverly Wilshire, honored Aunjanue Ellis, Quinta Brunson, Chanté Adams, and Nia Long in front of a star-studded crowd that included Will Smith, Serena Williams, Lena Waithe, MJ Rodriguez, Robin Thede, Donald Glover and past honoree Lashanna Lynch.

“So much about darkness is derided: it’s horrific, we’re trained to fear it, we’re trained to think that it’s ugly, it’s used as the basis for colorism, for racism,” Ellis said during her semon-like speech. “But there is this thing that’s called ‘dark matter’ and it makes up 80 percent of the entire universe. It’s called dark matter because people can’t see it but they know that it exists because, without it, the behavior of the stars, the planets, and the galaxies would make no sense.”

The metaphors continued as Ellis described her career, saying: “Much of my 27-year professional life has been in the dark…this moment of shine, of luminosity, is going to pass…but I will continue to work in the dark anyway,” as she received a standing ovation from guests like included additional guests Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Niecy Nash, Natasha Rothwell, stylist Law Roach, Tank, Tristan Wilds, costume designer Ruth E. Carter, Warner Bros. TV Group chairman Channing Dungey, Universal Studio Group chairman Pearlena Igbokwe, lawyer Nina Shaw and director Gina Prince-Bythewood. — Evan Nicole Brown

Vanity Fair-Lancôme’s The Future Of Hollywood Party

In anticipation of the notable VF post-Oscars afterparty to come, Vanity Fair and Lancôme teamed up to celebrate the future of Hollywood at celebrity hotspot Mother Wolf on Thursday evening. Co-hosted by Seyfried and VF editor-in-chief Radhika Jones, the event played host to a starry lineup of guests including Kate Beckinsale, Jenna Dewan, Law Roach, Angelica Ross, Quinta Brunson, Amy Forsyth, Kathryn Newton, Nat Wolff, Quincy Isaiah, Jack Quaid, Kaitlyn Dever, Dylan O’Brien, Mayim Bialik, Chris Sullivan, Alanna Ubach, Chloe Fineman, Ashley Benson, Nathalie Emmanuel, Rudy Pankow, Caleb McLaughlin, Rumer Willis, Winne Harlow and Taylor Hill. — Sydney Odman

Net-A-Porter and LaQuan Smith dinner

The fashion designer teamed up with Net-A-Porter for a Thursday night dinner at Olivetta to celebrate his spring/summer ’22 collection. Guests included Tiffany Haddish, Ava DuVernay, January Jones, Julia Fox, Winnie Harlow, Olivia Culpo and stylist Law Roach.

 

Latinx House Pre-Oscars Celebration 

On Thursday, The Latinx House hosted its debut pre-Oscars celebration at West Hollywood’s Issima, in honor of this year’s Latinx nominees with the theme of power, culture and truth. Attendees included Wilmer Valderrama, Constance Marie, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Mishel Prada, the cast and crew members of Bestia, Encanto, Please Hold and West Side Story. 

Taste the Future event

Liam Payne, Paul Wesley, Algee Smith and Evan Ross were among those who took part in Thursday’s Taste the Future event at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, with a luncheon featuring innovative, animal-free foods.

Pre-Oscars South Asian Excellence Event 

On Wednesday, hosts Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Mindy Kaling, Kumail Nanjiani, Anjula Acharia, Bela Bajaria, Maneesh K. Goyal, and Shruti Ganguly feted this year’s South Asian Oscar nominees with a celebration at UTA, raising a glass to Riz Ahmed (Flee, The Long Goodbye), Joseph Patel (Summer of Soul), Suroosh Alvi (Flee) Pawo Choyning Dorji (Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom), Aneil Karia (The Long Goodbye), Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei (Three Songs for Benazir), Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh and Anurima Bhargava (Writing with Fire). Attendees also included Aziz Ansari, Lily Singh and Kal Penn, with sponsors UTA, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Johnnie Walker, The South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund of The India Center and The Juggernaut.

Vanities Party: A Night for Young Hollywood

Co-hosted by Alana Haim, Giveon and Ariana DeBose on Tuesday night (though the Oscar-nominated West Side Story star did not make an appearance as she was busy filming Kraven in London), Vanity Fair and Bacardi Rum celebrated young Hollywood at old Hollywood’s iconic hotspot Musso & Frank. As Haim partied alongside her sister and bandmate Danielle Haim, fellow guests included Hunter Schaffer, Kaitlyn Dever, Joey King, Chloe Fineman, Diplo, Gavin Leatherwood, Charlie Puth, Chase Stokes and Insecure‘s Kendrick Sampson and Sarunas J. Jackson. 

 

 

EMILY’s List’s The Collective Power of Women 

The organization, a national resource for women in politics, returned to the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills for its 5th annual pre-awards breakfast. The program delivered an inspired morning thanks to two conversations that went down at center stage, both focused on successes achieved when women in politics and entertainment work together and lift each other up to create a better environment for all women. The first featured EMILY’s List Creative Council member Amber Tamblyn chatting up WNBA star, ESPN host and activist Chiney Ogwumike.

Laphonza Butler, EMILY’s List first Black president, welcomed board of directors member Yvette Nicole Brown to the stage to serve as moderator for a panel discussion that featured showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett, Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, newly-named Hall of Fame marketing executive Bozoma Saint John, multi-hyphenate Robin Thede, and Congresswoman and L.A. mayoral candidate Karen Bass. “Women have fought for me, so who would I be to not fight for them?” asked A Black Lady Sketch Show creator Thede (whose mother is a member of Iowa’s House of Representatives). “My life is full of women who support everything I do…we have to be willing to accept it as much as we give it.”

It’s needed now more than ever, suggested Bass. “The reality is that we went through those horrible four years with that crazy man Donald Trump, and one lesson that we should learn from that, is even though we’ve won certain battles, you can never assume that just because you won the right to vote, that you’re always going to have the right to vote,” she explained. “We can’t make the assumption that [because] we won the right to choose how to guide our own bodies, that right is always going to be there, which is why we’re in the fight for our lives over the right to control our bodies right now.”