Forget the awards. When it comes to the Golden Globes, most of the famous faces really came for the parties.
And there were plenty of them – hallways and function rooms of the Beverly Hilton Hotel were practically lined with rolled-out red carpets. Not only was the wine and champagne flowing freely at the ceremony itself, the stars had plenty of options when it came to the after hours revelry after they finished their desserts (a chocolate half-globe, natch, filled with vanilla ice cream) with the InStyle/Warner Brothers party in the Oasis Room, the HBO bash downstairs at the Aqua Star Pool, the rooftop NBC/Universal/Focus Features fete atop the parking garage, the Fox gathering in the Stardust Lounge and The Weinstein Company’s soiree in the venerable chi-chi tiki bar Trader Vic’s. And Hollywood.com broke our own back hopping through the night to give you a VIP pass behind the velvet rope.
Smoke ‘Em if You Got ‘Em
Before hitting the party scene I was nearly bowled over by the towering swoop of blue couture and piled-high hair that was The West Wing’s Allison Janney, as she stepped out onto the Hilton’s patio for a post-show breather. She had just missed Johnny Depp, who frequently popped out to roll his own cigarettes for himself and his companion Vanessa Paradis.
I got a chanced to congratulate Globe winner Philip Seymour Hoffman who also caught a smoke after running the pressroom gauntlet. Philip chatted on his cell phone with a pal, whom he invited to join him for a late-night celebration at the Chateau Marmont. Navigating the already-packed hallway, I played linebacker to pave the way for my truly smokin’ pal, Nip/Tuck’s Kelly Carlson, who rewarded me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. The night’s off to a fine start.
Stylin’ at In Style/Warner Bros:
“I’m going in right now to get some booze!” George Clooney told me on his way inside the InStyle party, which from the start was the hottest ticket of the night. When a red carpet reporter asked George what was going on with him and Teri Hatcher, he responded with a grin: “Why don’t you ask me stories about Brad and Angelina instead? You see some story in a magazine and suddenly I’m busted.”
I asked George if he was wearing the same tuxedo he wore to the last five Golden Globes and still managed to nab some best-dressed honors (a tidbit he told me this earlier in the week at the Critic’s Choice Awards). The Globe winner–who had paused at length outside to let fans snap photos and even handle his Best Supporting Actor trophy–laughed, grabbed my shoulder and slightly slapped my cheek: “Yeah! I don’t f**k around!” (Giorgio Armani suggested otherwise, having loaned him his Armani two-button tuxedo with satin lapels and a white spread collar evening shirt). Inside, Clooney was constantly surrounded by women asking for his autograph.
It was fun to see George, a one-time Batman, standing alongside the future Superman Brandon Routh, who–and you’re going to hear this a LOT for the next several months, folks–looks and sounds eerily like Christopher Reeve. Brandon, who appeared on stage at the ceremony with former Lois Lane Teri Hatcher, really brightened when I told him that Dean Cain, who played the Man of Steel opposite her, was also at the Globes. “I’ll be looking out for him and we can complete the duo!” said Brandon. Meanwhile, his on-screen arch-nemesis Lex Luthor–in the form of Kevin Spacey–was at large inside the party as well, laughing nefariously with a posse of tuxedoed henchmen.
Teri Hatcher herself showed and people in the crowd around her kept stepping on her Versace gown’s mermaid train. She would take two steps and YANK! Stopped dead in her tracks. Two steps, YANK! Stop. She eventually paused and chatted for a long time with Sin City director Robert Rodriguez (in black tux and matching velveteen cowboy hat) until the crowd cleared around her. Angie Harmon had her own wardrobe malfunction: someone had stamped on the train of her Christian LaCroix gown and ripped it to shreds. Angie told me she knew the train would be trouble but “I didn’t think it’d be ripped in half. I thought maybe a little bit of ‘Argh!’ but I didn’t think full-blown shredded. I might’ve left some back at the party.”
Nicolette Sheridan came in with her old/new beau Michael Bolton, and just before they went into the party she started to straighten his tie. She then decided to just yank it off altogether. She undid several buttons on his shirt, arranged the open collar–and his chest hair–just so, swiveling her hips to the music, and then wrapped the black tie around herself as they entered together.
The Desperate Housewives just kept rolling in: Marcia Cross did a quick drive-by, popping in and out within minutes while dragging her fiancé behind her by the hand, but eventually made her way back in. Eva Longoria searched ‘desperately’ through the party for about a half an hour trying to find Teri before the Wisteria Lane neighbors finally reconnected, dancing and drinking with the hard-party husbands from the show under elaborate blown-glass red chandeliers shaped like flowers. Globe winner Felicity Huffman kicked off her shoes–literally–and kicked her heels on the dance floor with her own hubby William H. Macy to the Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar.” Felicity was willing to give up the shoes but she wouldn’t part with the trophy, dancing to Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” later while hoisting her Globe in her left hand
Teri got neighborly with Bree’s deceased groom Mark Moses, as the twosome got funky on the dance floor. By then Eva Longoria was ready to check another ‘hood, leaving the party for CAA’s agency party off-site at the restaurant Chaya.
Red carpet veteran Maria Menounos of Access Hollywood and the Today Show told me that even she sometimes gets dazzled by celeb wattage at an event like the Globes: “I got star struck when I saw Hilary Swank a little bit, because I’m a huge, huge fan of hers. I told her, ‘I said that I needed to interview you no matter what.’ I said, ‘I love you. I love every movie you’ve done and I love that you eat at fast food stores like me. And I know you’re a nice normal girl.’ She said, ‘Thank you. Can we hang out?’ I was like, ‘Yeah!’”
While Zach Braff’s date Mandy Moore was more than happy to perp-walk the press line, Zach dashed past the microphones and tape recorders. “I love you all, but I didn’t win and I’m a loser,” he explained. At least he had a sense of humor about it…I think.
“My sister is seven and a half months pregnant and I have to feed her every two and a half hours,” said Globe winner Sandra Oh, whose “date” joined the other guests noshing on coconut shrimp, shrimp cocktail, sushi rolls before sampling the Godiva chocolate lounge and museum, chocolate martini bar and truffle sculptures. “I don’t know why but today I was nervous. I’m usually really good with these things. I woke up early and made my sister breakfast and we started getting ready early. I’m always late, and I made a goal to get to the show on time, and I made it!”
As Shirley MacLaine complimented Candice Bergen on her couture at the sushi bar, Katherine Heigl approached Charlize Theron, praising her powerful performances “I’m such a big fan,” gushed Katherine, prompting Charlize to respond, “You made my night.” The Amazonian Oscar winner then settled into a banquet to canoodle with her man, Stuart Townsend. Emmy Rossum provided another “famous fan” moment, approaching Reese Witherspoon to congratulate her and shake her hand, while Reese’s husband Ryan Phillippe leaned over their banquet to talk to David Spade, Chris Rock, Rock’s wife Malaak and Jenny McCarthy.
Solo-flying Mary-Kate Olsen quietly slipped onto the patio to smoke alongside Melanie Griffith and daughter Dakota Johnson, who served as this year’s Miss Golden Globes trophy girl. Melanie and Dakota arrived with her dad, Melanie’s friendly ex Don Johnson. Did Don give his little girl any fatherly advice? “Breathe. I’m more nervous for her than she is. I’ll be the loud father.” Melanie had fewer maternal butterflies. “Once I saw her walk on the stage the first time I knew that she was holding her own. She was great.”
Lost’s Yunjin Kim was especially excited to be reunited with a former co-star. “Her name is Maggie Grace and she’s a 20-year-old who’s the most graceful woman that I’ve ever met in my life, especially for a 20-year-old. She’s going to have a fantastic career as an actress. She’s going to grow and get so big that she’ll ignore me.”
Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker wasn’t kidding: “I was really blown away or I would’ve had a speech, obviously,” the New Yorker laughed, enjoying the opportunity to catch up with her L.A.-based friends. “I was actually happy that my friend Laura Linney was here and I actually got to say hi to her. It’s nice to people see that you know, like Tim Robbins, who’s a really good friend of mine and he was there backstage right after I won.” I had to ask: now that she’d won, was she going to stay out later than she might have otherwise? “I probably am, yeah.”
[PAGEBREAK]Lobby Break
Dashing across the lobby to the next stop, I came upon Keira Knightley, posing for photos with a gang of guys who had also snapped themselves with her Pirates of the Caribbean 2 co-star Johnny Depp before he dashed out of the hotel, skipping all the parties. Keira’s dramatic white Valentino gown was made all the more dramatic by her golden glow, having just gotten in from filming in the Bahamas. “We were filming on a tropical island,” she said. “It was beautiful, but I am so glad I am back in the civilized world.”
Two other island escapees made an early break for it. Dominic Monaghan casually sauntered outside onto the patio and lingered a bit until Evangeline Lily appeared, and the two took off for the limo pickup area together at 10:45 p.m.
But the parties were far from over. In fact, they were officially in full swing. needed no more evidence other than the fact that Paris Hilton had arrived, talking non-stop on her cell phone as she walked through the hotel, and serving as her own doorman by removing any velvet ropes that blocked her path on her own. Paris and I descended to my next destination.
It’s Not a Party. It’s an HBO Party
I dropped down to the hotel pool, where the stars of several HBO series congregated at the pay cable network’s soiree. At first I thought I might have had the party locales wrong: with the flaming circle set at center of the pool, I thought the literal “ring of fire” might have been a nod to Fox’s Johnny Cash biopic.
But no–looking around, the party was mostly populated by members of the Entourage cast, with Jeremy Piven, who secured an extra Golden Globes gift bag for his mom, front and center. Kevin Dillon, who playfully threatened to toss the Hollywood.com video crew into the pool, was pleased he and his brother Matt could bond over the fact that neither of them won anything. The very, very pregnant Debi Mazar’s belly kept bumping into everyone within reach.
Paris had joined her mom and dad Kathy and Rick poolside, where they sat with Paris’ sis Nicky and her beau, Entourage’s Kevin Connolly. Nicky quickly dragged Kevin away from his Entourage buddy Adrian Grenier so they could hit the more high-octane circuit. “I love him,” said Kathy of her daughter’s boyfriend. “We just had a wonderful Christmas together and New Year’s Eve and he is just the nicest, warmest guy. My boys love him. He plays football and goes in the water with them on the slide. We’ve had a really fun time with him.” Did she hope he’s the guy who can go the distance with her little girl? “You know what? If they’re happy, I’m happy. I always say to the girls, ‘Dad and I got married very young.’ I was 19 and Rick was 25, but I say, ‘That doesn’t happen for everyone, so don’t feel that you’ve got to do that.’”
When she wasn’t on her cell phone, Paris reveled in her status as pop cultural icon by serving as sort of a human version of those life-sized cardboard celebrity cutouts at the Santa Monica Pier, happily posing for photos with a constant stream of people who came up to her. She then suddenly ran into her ex-fiancé Paris Latsis, and we all waited breathlessly for some kind of ugly scene, but things didn’t seem awkward at all as they chatted cordially for quite a while. She even gave him a little kiss on the forehead as she left the party.
Crash star Terrence Howard made a literal crash, accidentally knocking over a drink from the balcony above the party–it shattered to smithereens, just missing the red carpet photographers. Terrence was genuinely embarrassed, but he got nothing but laughs from pal Jesse L. Martin. Jesse escorted his Law & Order co-star Epatha Merkerson, a Globe winner for HBO’s Lackawana Blues.
Also inside the party was Joan Rivers, fresh from her TV Guide Channel coverage, who chatted up fellow comic Bill Maher as I caught up with my fellow red carpeteer Melissa. The party was packed but decidedly laid-back, and seemed on the verge of dying down until an unexpected arrival: porn star Jenna Jameson, who commanded everyone’s attention in her tiny, barely hanging-on dress and actually surpassed Paris as everyone’s top request for a cell phone snapshot.
Lobby Break
Another sprint through the lobby, where Pierce Brosnan wasn’t in pain after losing out in his category, but his wife Keely was–somehow a needle had worked its way into her sandal and poked her tootsies. This looks like a job for 007. Meanwhile, Heidi Klum had her spouse Seal on her arm, and unabashedly offered the best reason for choosing a dress I’d heard all day: “I wanted to have a different kind of cleavage than normal.”
I stopped for a quick Hollywood kiss-kiss from my friend, actress Rachel Boston, who introduced me to her new guy, Walk the Line’s Tyler Hilton. Tyler and I play this same game we always play where we try to figure where we met–and we just know we did–prior to our red carpet encounters. Rachel was looking for a hot place to party, while poor Tyler was the designated driver, having to hit the studio bright and early the next day.
An Office Party with NBC/Universal
Partygoers braved a wait for the elevators to the parking garage rooftop that varied from ten minutes to a half-hour as they sought access to the Universal/Focus Features/NBC after-party, where paper lanterns in clear boxed illuminated a star-studded array of A-list attendees, including many who’d migrated over from InStyle. Natalie Portman and Mary-Kate Olsen made the rounds, while Reese Witherspoon held court at a front table with her hubby at her arm, constantly accepting congratulations from a near endless array of Hollywood hot shots.
Reese was aglow, and only she could outshine the eight Golden Globes collected by Focus’ Brokeback Mountain. Anne Hathaway couldn’t stop heaping praise on her director Ang Lee, while Heath Ledger cuddled discreetly with Michelle Williams, carefully managing not to crush the purple poufs of her Givenchy gown. Meanwhile, over in the NBC corner, the clearly tight-knit gang from The Office gathered around their TV boss Steve Carell, who clearly doesn’t have the same effect on them as his character.
It was getting late and we had other places to be, but first a quick head count: Eric Bana, Luke Wilson, Peter Jackson, Debra Messing and more came and went, and so did Hollywood.com.
Whirling at the Weinsteins’
After another dash through the lobby, and another quick encounter with exhausted mother-daughter team of Joan and Melissa, I found out what was up at the Weinstein Co.’s bash at Trader Vic’s, where the last leg of celebrity revelers appeared to be making their final stop, right around midnight.
Paris had reconnected with Nicky and Kevin and they made their fashionably late entrance, just during–or perhaps prompting–Zach Braff and Mandy Moore’s sprint for the exit. Kevin Spacey was there, so was luscious lady in red Scarlett Johansson, and though Mariah Carey may have still been on East Coast time she enjoyed Golden Globes night to the fullest. Meanwhile, Sandra Oh took a page out of Felicity Huffman’s book, dancing barefoot (as Felicity looked on approvingly) with two key differences: Sandra’s spasmodic gyrations were definitely more punk than Felicity’s moves, and her trophy sat safely off the dance floor and out of harm’s way.
Lobby Last Call
As most of the celebs had cleared out of the Hilton, it seemed fruitless to find the Fox party (I had no invite but heard it was a cakewalk to crash), and–after a wildly misbegotten, champagne-fueled conversation with party columnist Lara Morgenson and her E! posse about hitting the road to the hot spot Teddy’s at the Hollywood Roosevelt until sanity ultimately prevailed–I grabbed one (okay, two) more flute-fulls of bubbly at the Hilton’s lobby bar after meeting my InStyle editor pal.
Suddenly, three security guards lunged at a drunken tuxedoed man causing trouble off to the side of the bar, tackling him as he tried vainly to stagger-sprint away and wrestling him into submission. As I make my exit I see that after a brief struggle he wisely submitted to the handcuffs and was led away before things got brutal. After all, who wants to come to the Golden Globes and go home with a Black Eye?
Additional reporting by Kimberly Lansing, Margi Blash, Lindzi Scharf and Shira Lazar.
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