RSVIP: Countdown to Oscars, Global Green Pre-Oscar Party and More

by Jeffrey Slonim (RSS feed)
Feb 25th 2011 at 11:02AM

Day two: Breakfast at the timeless Fountain Coffee Room in the basement of the Beverly Hilton Hotel remains heavenly. A large pink napkin completes every setting at the counter. The wallpaper has a broad palm frond pattern. RSVIP had the same thoughtful waitress and the same distinguished gent with long white hair seated beside me as usual. Stellar bacon.

Wednesday evening, the black-and-yellow Bugatti Veyron, a bumblebee of a race car, parked daily outside of Bijan on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and, emblazoned with Ettore Bugatti's initial logo, "EB," was drawing crowds as usual.

In the plush interior of Solange Azagury-Partridge, a gem of a jewelry store, just down the hill, a glam Katharina Harf, near right, was hosting cocktails for DKMS, a center which has registered 2.6 million bone-marrow donors worldwide.

Colorful rings that resembled lips glimmered in a glass display case. And Zooey Deschanel, above right, in a Valentino dress with a glittering gold pattern soon joined the party. Over wee hors d'oeuvres in puffed pastry, wine and sparkling water, Harf mentioned that she founded DKMS in Germany after losing her mother to leukemia.

"I'll try," Deschanel mentioned to Harf when she brought up a DKMS gala in New York, "I'm not sure I can make it." RSVIP overstayed long enough to encounter evening traffic on Santa Monica Boulevard.

A half-hour behind schedule, RSVIP pulled into "The Art of Elysium" auction at Siren Studios on West Sunset, hosted by Vanity Fair and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Open like a garage at street level, the tower of loft-like spaces had an art-museum feel. A wall of shrubs at the entrance gave the event the stamp of a Vanity Fair party.

A handsome server in the back of the spacious elevator was manning a stainless steel bar, handing out tall glasses of wine. "A bar in an elevator," quipped "Hangover" star Justin Bartha, above left, to friends. "This makes me nervous. What if your drink doesn't come in time?"

The bartender appeared nonplussed. "Okay, I'll have one of those," requested Bartha. Immediately, the doors opened, and his friends held them as Bartha's drink was quickly poured.

alison brie

The vast white space was peopled with neatly coiffed hipsters and young Hollywood, including Amber Heard. Before entering, guests had traded their credit-card information for bidding paddles. Colorful art up for auction decorated the walls. A waiter described the crisp he offered as a "mini-BLT," but the flavor wasn't small.

North of Hollywood Boulevard, on Vine, at a vintage nightclub called Avalon, Global Green USA meanwhile hosted its eighth annual pre-Oscar party, "Greener Cities for a Cooler Planet."

A silver Chevy Volt, right, was being charged on a sustainable, non-plastic version of Astro Turf that made up the green carpet for arrivals. Global Green CEO Matt Petersen was wearing a black eco-tux. He claimed that the shiny lapels were made from "recycled audio cassettes." Yes, green black tie.

Alison Brie, above right, mentioned that she had learned the Charleston for her role on "Mad Men." She had worn a dress made from the same material as Petersen's lapels during a previous gala but now opted for Nicole Miller.

james van der beek and kimberley brook

Many stars mentioned green concerns. Eddie Hassell, a young actor from "The Kids Are All Right" said he'd "just got into composting." Daphne Zuniga's dress was "sustainable," she said, as a designer had reworked a vintage gown. And Frances Fisher had on a necklace made by women in Rwanda.

A live performance by Black Rebel rocked the fading Spanish colonial-style club. And director James Cameron introduced a designer who had created a green ball gown that was actually pink.

New parents James Van Der Beek and his fresh-faced wife Kimberly Brook, left, were enjoying date night, and commandeered a roped-off banquette. A friendly Taylor Armstrong, of the Bravo hit "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," snuck in late.

And Dennis Haysbert, who played the Commander in Chief on "24," sounded like a president when he spoke of green concerns. But Haysbert really lit up on the subject of golf.

"It's a trip to the mind gym," Haysbert mused.

For Day One's party report click here and stay tuned for the next installment...

Tags: alison brie, daphne zuniga, dennis haysbert, francees fisher, global green usa, james van der beek, justin bartha, rsvip, taylor armstrong, zooey deschanel