It doesn’t matter if you left the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards with a winged trophy in hand or not. After two hours on the sweltering red carpet and three hours of sitting through the ceremony, everything has the same thing on their mind: it’s high time to hit the afterparties. Hollywood.com’s party patrol was on the prowl at five of the hottest Emmy night hotspots in town, and we heard a familiar refrain at each on—someone get these stars a plate of food and cocktail, and make it fast!
Heigl’s Highjacked at The Governors Ball
It’s the official bash of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the official first post-Emmys stop—especially for those starving starlets who’ve not only sat through the ceremony without a bite but also skipping meals for who knows who many weeks to squeeze into their skintight gowns. Just ask Kathy Griffin.
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“About an hour into the show we were hungry so we left, went to the Standard, got cheeseburgers and came back for the end of the show,” said the redheaded self-proclaimed D-Lister. “I feel like you can’t really eat at these events because you’re trying to meet people and talk. I thought, ‘If we don’t get a cheeseburger now, we’ll never eat.’”
The room was decorated with a garden-like theme, with towering shade trees throughout and huge topiaries of roses atop the tables—it was almost a picnic-y feel for the tuxedo set, with extra amenities like a live big band, a bar carved out of ice, and party favors including Dove chocolates in an Emmy adorned box.
“I met Hugh Laurie, and Debra Messing which was really exciting—I’m a big fan of hers,” gushed Katherine Heigl, still basking in the glow of being hailed the Emmys most fashionable celeb attendee. We chattered her up as she waited to meet up with her fiancé Josh Kelly, who got into LA after a gig too late to attend the gala with her. “I’m having fun, but I’m a little distracted because my purse just got stolen.” Wha-hunh? “Yeah. It has my credit card, my phone…I’ve got to go deal with the purse thing.”
When we complemented Heigl’s co-star Kate Walsh on her shimmery ensem, she laughed it off: “I pulled it all together with puppeteers, stage grips, technicians.” Kate, whose date was her co-star Justin Chambers’ twin brother Jason, said her highlight of the evening was “getting into the Emmy Awards even though I left all my tickets at home. Everything went seamlessly and then I realized when we were about to pull up and the driver says, ‘Do you have my parking pass?’ No. I have a really devious publicist who said, ‘That’s okay, we’ll get you through security.’”
Even though they didn’t win, there were clearly no hard feelings from the Grey’s Anatomy gang as we strolled through the soiree, spotting Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh and Ellen Pompeo, posing for photos with Jaclyn Smith’s daughter as the angelic mom snapped away. Meanwhile, Donald Sutherland proudly showed pals the gilded card that proclaimed his son Kiefer this year’s best dramatic actor.
Also spotted milling at the bash were triumphant host Conan O’Brien, Tyra Banks, Barry Manilow, Alfre Woodard, Geena Davis, Christopher Meloni and dozens more—even Bob Newhart had enough air left to stick around and enjoy dinner. All the star wattage was overwhelming, even for their fellow, more newly minted celebs.
“I sat next to Harrison Ford and behind Martin Sheen,” said Prison Break’s Wentworth Miller. “I met Seal and Heidi Klum. I still feel like a tourist. It’s very strange.”
We caught Jon Stewart making an early exit, his Emmy still in tow, and we wondered if he was starting his own trophy wall at home. “I’m building a barricade, because these are very dangerous,” he said of the trophy’s sharp wings. And could he carry it home to New York on the plane? Jon thought no one would notice if “I travel with all liquids—a beer helmet and my pants full of gel.”
Power to the Purple at the ET/People Party
Anyone who thought they’d make a fashionably late entrance at the Entertainment Tonight/People magazine bash at the Mondrian Hotel found themselves waiting in the long limo line on Sunset Boulevard, only to be turned away after the ever-vigilant L.A. fire marshal shut down entry to the party.
Photos from the 10th Annual Entertainment Tonight Emmy Party
Strolling throughout the hotel’s hotspot Skybar, the lucky guests who did make it in under the wire—including Brooke Burke and David Charvet, Constance Marie, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Michael Vartan, Tyra Banks, Leah Remini and ET’s Mary Hart and Vanessa Minnillo—nibbled on mini Kobe burgers, mini-Haagen-Dazs cinnamon chocolate ice cream cones, and ice cream shakes in baby shot glasses. Nearby, the Maybelline Beauty Bar provided guests with a variety of new makeup products—from lip gloss to mascara to bronzer—for the ladies who needed a touch-up after a round of air-kissing.
It was appropriate the venue was Skybar, because 24 executive producer Brian Grazer was walking on cloud nine with his show’s big Emmy wins. “It started so slowly—the first year it was on the ropes in terms if it would get renewed,” said the spiky-haired exec. “A lot of it was the format. It was a different kind of format for people to experience that it took a while for the audience to get engaged.” Now they’re hooked. “People out there don’t care about any of the movies I’ve done—they just ask me about 24!”
Eva Longoria arrived with towering Tony Parker in tow, and even though she’d passed on the purple trend the dominated the red carpet, she was definitely in a the mood for “Purple Rain,” “Prince is performing!” exclaimed Eva. “We like Prince!” Indeed his Purpleness took the stage for a private concert, rocking poolside partiers like Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin for over two hours.
Before we moved on to the next bash, we took a sec to compliment Felicity Huffman on her horse-choking amount of bling. “It’s Martin Katz—Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” said Felicity. “You could buy a small island with this!”[PAGEBREAK]In the Pink at the TV Guide Party
Why did comedian Adam Carolla chose to hit the TV Guide party at Social Hollywood on the Sunset Strip out of all the other Emmy night options? “Because it was the only one I got invited to,” said the funnyman.
Video from the ‘TV Guide’ Emmy After-Party
Well, Adam’s in radio these days, so maybe he didn’t get to RSVP to any other TV-minded gatherings, but long-limbed Stacy Keibler offered a more convincing argument. “I heard this was a great party last year and I missed it, so I wanted to make sure to attend this year,” said Stacy.
And it was indeed quite the gathering, if a little short on Emmy winners—though trophy-toting Mariska Hargitay was in the house. Her favorite moment of the day came from her two-month-old son August before she left the house. “[He] gave me a little eye before I left, like he knew something.”
As Ryan Seacrest flirted with female fans nearby, we also caught Debra Messing chatting up Leah Remini at a VIP table, and talk about having no hard feelings about leaving the Emmys empty-handed. “I was not a loser tonight!” said Debra. “I had the honor of being Joan and Melissa Rivers’ 1000th interview and I was given an award and a sash. It will go on my mantle with all my other things.”
Joan and Melissa made the scene as well, and as hosts for the TV Guide Channel they were the belles of the ball, which also hosted Allison Janney, Jaime Pressly, Elizabeth Perkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jenna Elfman, Grey’s hunks Isaiah Washington and T.R. Knight, Scrubs amigos Zach Braff and John C. McGinley and the centers of Idol-otry Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.
And taking a break from the evening’s purple theme, TV Guide decided to think Pink—the pop star, not the color, who had stars like Sophia Bush rocking out in an upper balcony. After Pink’s set new sweethearts Donald Faison and Casee Cobb (Ethel to Jessica Simpson’s Lucy) watched the brand new combo Band TV perform. Comprised of tube stars James Denton, Greg Grunberg, Bob Guiny, Bonnie Somerville and lead singer Hugh Laurie, they had the celeb guests dancing but definitely shouldn’t quit their day jobs.
Two and a Half Men, a Woman and an Emmy at the Warner Bros Party
“We’re so hungry I can understand why the Donner family ate each other,” said Arrested Devlopment’s Jeffrey Tambor as he arrived at the downtown restaurant Cicada for Warner Brother’s post-Emmy gathering. “I think they need to start serving TV trays during the show. Next year if I ‘m invited I’m going to bring a salad bar in a pocket.”
Unlike Jeffrey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus arrived totally satisfied, any hunger eclipsed by the shock of toting an Emmy with her. “I was so surprised. I was pretty sure that this wasn’t going to happen,” she told us. “It was so weird. I felt like I was having a dream. I’m taking it to work tomorrow because I have a lot of people to share it with.” We wondered if any worries about the fate of Bob Newhart caused her to miss any thank-yous. “I didn’t prepare any sort of speech. It was on the fly—I’m sure I forgot to thank someone but I can’t remember who it was. I’ll listen to it later and I’m sure I’ve made a huge mistake.”
Video from Warner Bros Emmy After-Party at Cicada
Double nominee Martin Sheen, who met up with fellow West Wing-ers Allison Janney, Dule Hill and Josh Malina, was still in proud-papa mode. “Charlie and I have had a great time together celebrating our nominations,” he said. Yesterday we had so much fun at the practice run. We had a lot of laughs. We practiced our skit and made some changes. We were just clowning around and spent the day together. We had a great time.”
Charlie’s co-star Jon Cryer agreed. “It was so much fun tonight,” he said. “But I did wish that the show won, or anyone from the show won—hell, even anybody that I actually knew won but that didn’t happen. Maybe next year.” He consoled himself with the company of his girlfriend, L.A. TV reporter Lisa Joyner and cast mates Conchata Ferrell, Angus Jones, Melanie Lynskey, Holland Taylor, Marin Hinkle and April Bowlby.
Matthew Perry, Kyra Sedgwick and hubby Kevin Bacon, John Lithgow also cruised into Cicada, joined by the daringly attired Virginia Madsen who assured us that the ample décolletage she had on display was all hers (insert your preferred This-was-the-Emmys-not-the-Golden-Globes joke here) “I was so happy for Kiefer Sutherland,” said Virginia. “I love 24 and this was his night. I really wanted to meet James Gandolfini tonight but I was only able to see him as they were hustling me to my seat.”
And in that dress we’re sure Gandolfini would’ve wanted to meet her.
Family Matters at the HBO Party
The growling tummy syndrome continued at the HBO party as Tony Soprano himself hustled swiftly into West Hollywood’s Pacific Design Center to grab a plateful of the pasta, chicken skewers and seafood—the big man can move! He was trailed by Edie Falco and Jamie-Lynn Sigler. “We’ve got to get in there!” exclaimed Edie, “I haven’t had a bite of food all night!”
It wasn’t food that was on the mind of Jeremy Piven, who braved every stop of the massive press line with his hard-won Emmy before finally making it in the front door. “Brother, I have got to get my hands on an adult beverage,” he exhaled. Unfortunately for the Piv, before he got to the bar he needed to hug it out with the extremely excited Entourage entourage awaiting him, including Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Jerry Ferrara, Beverly D’Angelo and Debi Mazar—but bottles of Moet were quickly hustled over to his table, where he raised a glass with his mom Joyce and his cohorts.
“If it goes to his head, I’ll deal with it,” joked Piv’s on-screen assistant Rex Lee as he watched Jeremy go through the ring-kissing rounds with HBO talent and execs. Meanwhile Perry Reeves, who plays Mrs. Ari, promised us she had a secret and special congratulations for her TV hubby, and from our vantage point it included hoping into his lap.
Photos from the HBO Party
Video from the HBO Party
Less interested in Emmys were the Hilton sisters, who were much more concerned with the tech that they toted. As we entered the party we passed Nicky Hilton (longtime girlfriend of Kevin Connolly) engrossed in her Sidekick and almost certainly she was coordinating with her sis Paris, who strolled in several minutes later and offered us a wave without ever removing her cell phone from her ear.
Extras star Ricky Gervais eyed the plethora of Emmys being toted around with mock-jealousy—even though as a creator-producer of the trophy-winning comedy The Office he had one coming, he somehow escaped the Shrine without the gilded lady in hand. “Damn that Steve Carell,” he huffed.
Other HBO stars were in abundance, though there was one conspicuous absence. “Larry’s traveling in the touring company of Pippin,” said Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Jeff Garlin of his absent co-star Larry David before the conversation turned to the finer qualities of Cheryl Hines’ back. “She cleans up nice, huh?”
Conveniently labeling the tabletops reserved for its talent with the names of its signature shows, HBO made it easy for star-spotting: there was The Comeback’s Lisa Kudrow breaking bread with her writer-producer Michael Patrick King, who in turn racy traded bon mots with his former Sex and the City actor Willie Garson. Nearby Six Feet Under’s Peter Krause shared a hug with his on-screen mom Frances Conroy.
On the other side of the room the Deadwood cowpokes assembled, and Robin Weigert confided that she definitely does not knock back the shots like her character Calamity Jane. “I don’t have her tolerance,” she admitted. And you didn’t need to see the signs for the Elizabeth I crowd—all you had to do to find Helen Mirren and her husband Taylor Hackford chatting with Hugh Dancy and Jeremy Irons was look for the tabletop littered with Emmys.
But even with all the trophies, HBO didn’t practice nepotism: guests from a plethora of networks also made the scene, including Megan Mullally, Conan O’Brien, Stockard Channing, Rainn Wilson, Paula Abdul, Aisha Tyler, Candy Spelling, Leslie Bibb, Nadine Velasquez and Janel Moloney. Even Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa was on the RSVP list, chatting intently with Desperate Housewives Ricardo Chavira, talking either about the concerns of the L.A. Latin community or whether Gabrielle and Carlos might reconcile, we can’t be certain.
But every party has its epicenter, and in HBO’s case it was Sopranos Central, the outside cluster of tables where la famiglia assembled en masse and James Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli, Steven Van Zandt, Tony Sirico, Robert Iler and Steve Schrippa engaged in some affectionate made men backslapping. As a live band kicked out Latin beats Aida Turturro urged any of the ladies on hand—Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Sharon Angela and even long-lost Drea de Matteo—to join her on the dance floor, but settled for coaxing a quick move out of Olympic ice skater Sasha Cohen.
And as the dust finally settled on Emmy night, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening were on the move. What was Warren’s favorite part of the evening, we wondered? “Now!” he replied.
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