The Vanity Fair party is the hottest ticket in town on Academy Awards night and this year the bash drew a mix of Oscar winners who mingled with the finest of old and new Hollywood glamour.
As we arrived, Eddie Murphy was confidently working the carpet, while Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman accidentally stepped on the train of Lady Gaga’s sheer long black gown and was profusely apologetic. Meanwhile, Sir Patrick Stewart was greeting action star Jason Statham, and Jessica Chastain appeared hand-in-hand with boyfriend Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo.
A beaming Best Actress Oscar winner Julianne Moore swept in, still in her strapless Chanel dress from the awards, clutching her gold statue. As soon as she stepped inside, she was deluged by well-wishers, including Natalie Portman, Rashida Jones and designer Tom Ford. She told us, “I feel really happy, so happy.”
Jennifer Aniston, with fiancé Justin Theroux, was seen chatting to Sacha Baron Cohen and his heavily pregnant wife, Isla Fisher, and Aniston bonded with Fisher over her bump.
When we asked Aniston about Patricia Arquette’s Best Supporting Actress acceptance speech, in which she advocated for equal pay for women, as well as Reese Witherspoon questioning red carpet sexism and starting a social media campaign #AskHerMore to encourage interviewers to move away from the “Whom are you wearing?” line of questioning, she said, “These women are wonderful. I think it is wonderful that we are all so supportive of each other.”
The Vanity Fair Oscar party, hosted by editor Graydon Carter, was held in a new location and venue this year, in a custom-built space that occupied a whole city block next to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills and surrounded by a tight ring of security. Guests lucky enough to get a coveted invitation had to pass countless checkpoints.
Meanwhile, once inside, Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello were spotted taking pictures in the magazine’s photo booth, and after posing behind the curtain for a few moments, they emerged and Vergara joked in her purring voice to onlookers waiting in line for their turn: “Yes, we just had sex.”
She told us of her well-fitted sequined strapless dress, “This dress is killing me, it is too tight and the bones are sticking in me. I ate dinner and now I regret it.” Of watching the awards over dinner at the Vanity Fair soiree, “I loved it, this is such a fantastic party.”
“The Imitation Game” star Benedict Cumberbatch was seen gallantly shepherding his pregnant wife, Sophie Hunter, through the crowd, while being careful not to stand on the train of her one-shouldered red gown, and later in the night giving her an affectionate hug and kiss.
Best Actor Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne arrived in a storm of camera flashes after midnight brandishing his statue and still appearing giddy about his win. Sticking close to his wife, Hannah Bagshawe, he was congratulated by stars including Lupita Nyong’o and Jared Leto — who both won Supporting Actor Oscars last year — Aaron Paul, David Oyelowo, Keira Knightley and her husband, James Righton. Redmayne said of his win, “It still hasn’t sunk in.”
At the far end of the party, in a circular section which had hosted a 150-person dinner earlier in the evening, Lady Gaga sat in a booth elegantly sipping a huge martini, while Monica Lewinsky, who wrote an acclaimed June 2014 piece for Vanity Fair about the culture of humiliation, was seated opposite with friends. And Witherspoon was deep in conversation with Robert Duvall.
Iconic British sisters Joan and Jackie Collins occupied a nearby booth, and both looked glamorous in black gowns with their trademark dramatic hair. Joan told us, “I was delighted that Eddie Redmayne won, his performance was terrific, and his acceptance speech for me was the highlight of the night.”
Joan is receiving her Damehood at Buckingham Palace next month, and Jackie told us, “She is planning months of parties.” As for when author Jackie received her OBE from Queen Elizabeth in 2013, did she ask if Her Majesty had read any of her racy books? “You have to stick to protocol,” Jackie explained. “But the Queen was very kind and said, ‘I hear you have written some successful books?’ And I said, ‘Yes, it’s quite something for a school dropout.’”
She said she and Joan had been “people-watching” from their booth, and had talked to many of the circulating stars. Jackie continued, “Jennifer Aniston looks astonishing tonight. And I was just talking to Jared Leto, whose hair is so beautiful, it is unfair that it is on the head of a man. He’s like Samson. But he told me he’s cutting it all off tomorrow for a role.”
At around 1 a.m., Jay Z and Beyoncé arrived with her sister Solange. Beyoncé, her hair in a short bob, turned heads in a figure-hugging white gown, paired with a large diamond necklace and a fur stole, while Jay wore a matching sharp white tux. As they moved through the crowd, Beyoncé was overheard telling a fellow guest, “We just moved to LA because our daughter is going to school here.” The couple is reportedly renting a home in the posh Holmby Hills area.
Jay and B then took over a booth with Jennifer Lopez, her manager Benny Medina and Kevin Hart, who, in a slim-fitting white tux, bounced around and appeared to be entertaining the group, especially Jay, with an energetic comedy routine. Excited to be at his first Oscars, Hart was also heard saying he wants to host the show next year: “Let’s start a Twitter hashtag ‘Hart4Host.’”
Beyoncé was even briefly handed a Lego Oscar, which were made in a limited edition and handed out at the awards to just a few stars including Oprah Winfrey, much to the chagrin of the Academy, which it turns out is not amused by imitation Oscars.
J.Lo, who had changed into a plunging sheer jeweled gown, was offered some mints by an usherette with a tray. Lopez asked, “Do I have to pay for these?” When she was told they were free, the star added, “Thank you, because I don’t have any money.”
Despite recent reports that had suggested otherwise, Kim Kardashian was not invited to the Vanity Fair party — in fact, there was not a reality starlet in sight. Editor Carter told The Times last year of his carefully curated party, “If you walk in and the first person you see is Kim Kardashian, that sort of brands the evening for you.”
Instead, on the terrace overlooking Beverly Hills City Hall, despite some drizzly rain, Adam Levine was seen joking around with his fellow “The Voice” judge Christina Aguilera, while farther down, Robert Pattinson smoked a cigarette and looked artfully aloof.
Later, around 2 a.m., the dance floor was awash with joyous winners waving Oscar statues, and even supermodel Karolina Kurkova had her shoes off and was barefoot on the carpet.
“Birdman” director Alejandro Iñárritu, who won the Best Director Oscar while his film was named Best Picture, was surrounded by friends as he smoked on the terrace, his statue placed on a high-top table shielded from the rain by an umbrella.
A late arrival was the film’s star, Michael Keaton, who ordered a round of In ‘n’ Out burgers for his family. When asked if he was having an enjoyable evening, he told Page Six, “Yeah! I never get tired of this.”
