Events

RSVIP: Notes From the Academy Awards Red Plush and More

by Jeffrey Slonim (RSS feed) — Mar 1st 2011 at 7:02AM

Dateline Hollywood: At the Golden Globes this year, Julianne Moore stopped on the red carpet to inform RSVIP that Bruce Cohen, the co-producer of this season's Academy Awards, who won an Oscar himself for producing "American Beauty," wanted this reporter on the red carpet at his Oscars. "He's really trying," she said.

The Backstory: I won't give the year, but in High School, back in Falls Church, Virginia, Cohen introduced me to his close friend, then known as Julie (nee Smith), a sweet redheaded sophomore. We went on exactly one date, Homecoming. Bruce was always the hyper-organized one, who made all the posters for class elections. At Yale, we were in the same film class. As RSVIP practically lives on the red carpet, I have run into both him and Julie (now Julianne Moore) every few months over the past 20 years.

And on Oscar Sunday, Februry 27, true to his word, Cohen invited RSVIP inside the world's largest red-carpet media bubble.

Tags: academy awards 2010, christian bale, elton john, florence and the machine, florence welch, jennifer hudson, jennifer lawrence, melissa leo, michelle williams, oscars 2011, rsvip

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James Franco and Gus Van Sant Partner On Art Exhibit

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Feb 28th 2011 at 3:01PM

If you didn't get enough James Franco during Oscar weekend you can head over to the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills to take a look at some of his art output. Franco and director Gus Van Sant are the double bill on a shared exhibit titled "Unfinished."

The exhibit includes screenings of the film, "My Own Private River," which is a collaboration between Van Sant and Franco. After casting Franco in the award-winning film "Milk," Van Sant showed him the dailies and other footage that he had shot for "My Own Private Idaho" an early 1990s movie featuring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves as street hustlers. Franco took the footage and created a new film which is a haunting video portrait of the late River Phoenix in his role as Mike. The film features a soundtrack by REM frontman Michael Stipe.

The exhibit also features artworks in watercolor by Van Sant. His poignant portraits of young men are well-done but have a certain mug-shot sadness as the subject stares at the viewer with an impassive and not-entirely-at-ease gaze. The exhibit runs February 26 through April 9 at the Gagosian Gallery at 56 North Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90210. Daily screenings of the Franco film run Tuesday through Saturday at 10:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm and 4:00pm.

Tags: Gagosian Gallery, gus van sant, james franco, river phoenix

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Rare Large Yellow Diamond Goes On Display

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Feb 28th 2011 at 8:05AM

Model Jerry Hall was on hand as the world's largest known vivid yellow pear-shape diamond went display at the Natural History Museum in London. The Cora Sun-Drop diamond is a 110-carat yellow diamond which was mined in Africa and loaned to the Museum by Cora International, the diamond company that crafted the original rough diamond. The stone gets its sunny color from small amounts of nitrogen in its carbon structure. Diamonds of this size with a strong vivid yellow color are very rare. It will be on display from February 25 for up to six months.

Tags: cora sun-drop diamond, jerry hall, natural history museum in london, yellow diamond, yellow diamonds

RSVIP: Oscar Countdown: 26th Film Independent Spirit Awards

by Jeffrey Slonim (RSS feed) — Feb 27th 2011 at 3:01PM

Day Five: The countdown is complete. Saturday, for reporters, the day before the Academy Awards, began at 9:00 a.m. at Santa Monica Beach. Public parking lot 5, reserved for the press, was a half-mile walk to the behemoth lunch tent pitched beside the beach. Wind off the ocean bit hard. Even towering palm trees looked cold as their branches whipped in gusts that littered Ocean Avenue with browning fronds.

The tent for the Film Independent Spirit Awards was a white plastic Quonset hut the size of an office complex. A crane huddled beside the white plastic structure that rippled in the wind. But apparently it was strong enough to hold the man standing on it three stories in the air, drawing a rope over the top.

Driving wind cut across the choppy surf, accumulating fine sand on the cement bike path. In our bones, we could feel the raw, salty proximity to the briny sea. One foreign female journalist in a short black sequined dress had goose bumps on her legs that resembled hives.
Waiting while staffed dried rain that had poured into the tent the night before, the press struggled for an hour in the bitter chill.

By 11:00 a.m.,the gray carpet arrivals corridor was flanked on one side by metal stanchions and a thousand journalists. Open at both ends it had flaps cut into the side facing the Pacific, creating a mild wind-tunnel.

"I love the weather," said director John Waters, above, a host at previous events, wearing Comme des Garcon and pants decorated with camouflage paint. "It's like a face lift." Actor Rainn Wilson, too, said he was relaxed "not to be hosting this time."

Tags: film independent spirit awards, indy spirit awards, james franco, kate walsh, natalie portman, nicole kidman, rsvip, spirit awards, vanessa hudgens

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RSVIP: Oscar Countdown, Women in Film Pre-Oscar Cocktails at Soho House

by Jeffrey Slonim (RSS feed) — Feb 27th 2011 at 8:02AM

Day Four: Skipped my first event. Oscar week in Hollywood is an endurance contest. For every party RSVIP attends, there are five more equally deserving ones. And of all the very special invites RSVIP receives, some go well beyond an ordinary envelope and printed card, especially during Tinseltown's busiest week.

RSVIP received the most extraordinary invitation from Trident Vitality as a part of Vanity Fair magazine's Campaign Hollywood. It was sent by express mail to my office in a mirrored box that will end up on a shelf at my house.

Thanks to the impressive physical invite, RSVIP had meant to stop by the West Hollywood event, ending at 6:00 p.m., but got caught up with work. The party launched the new Trident Vitality flavors. And the box also held a supply of Trident Vitality gum, which does have delicious flavor. But, sadly, a turn in the weather and traffic made the timing impractical.

On Friday afternoon, with only two days before the Academy Awards, the sunny weather we had been enjoying took a turn for the worse. With chilly temperatures and driving rain, Soho House, with its underground garage and sparkling penthouse views on Sunset Boulevard, called.

The Fourth Annual Women in Film pre-Oscar cocktail party began at 5:00 p.m. on February 25. As RSVIP arrived, we spotted Amy Sacco, a tall, blond diva of New York night life, leaving the underground parking structure at 9200 Sunset Boulevard. She was likely beginning her day.

When yet another special Amy, Amy Adams from "The Fighter," above, climbed out of her black town car, she was fighting with her clingy black dress.

The fabric had gathered static and had ridden up in the car. And she repeatedly pulled it down and flattened out wrinkles before facing the phalanx of photographers.

Tags: amy adams, dale dickey, Hailee Steinfeld, halle berry, kate walsh, melissa leo, rsvip, soho house

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Napa Valley School Benefit Offers Wine Lots For A Good Cause

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Feb 27th 2011 at 7:01AM

We like the way they raise money in wine country. The 12th annual fundraiser for The Young School in Napa Valley's St. Helena includes silent and live auctions with a wine focus. This year's event takes place on Saturday, March 12 at Failla Winery.

The winery's elaborate caves make a dramatic setting for the evening, which is called Casbah in the Cave. The evening features a Moroccan feast by Alex's Catering as well as a classical Middle Eastern dance performance. There will be a wide selection of auction lots featuring splendid adventures and truly fine wines from a variety of local wineries including Abreu, Blackbird, Colgin, Robert Foley, Harlan, Ovid, Joseph Phelps, Shafer and Silver Oak. Many wineries such as Far Niente and Smith-Madrone are offering event lots and travel lots offer getaways to Portugal, Nantucket and more.

The Young School is a private non-profit non-denominational Montessori-derived program for children ages 6 through 12 years old/first-sixth grades. The name of the school is taken from two sisters named 'Young' who were well-known Sonoma teachers several decades ago. The first Young School was founded in their home in downtown Sonoma. In 1997 the school moved from its Sonoma location to St. Helena in the Napa Valley. It operates as a 'one-room schoolhouse' in quarters rented from a church in a residential neighborhood of St. Helena and has an enviable 12-1 student-teacher ratio.

Tickets are $100 per person in advance and available at the benefit website.

Tags: napa valley, st helena, the young school, wine events

Big Bling: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels

by Bobbie Leigh (RSS feed) — Feb 26th 2011 at 10:01AM

You probably won't ever have the chance to see another jewelry exhibition like "Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels." The Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum on Fifth Avenue in New York City is the dramatic home until June 5 of some 350 dazzling high-art jewelry. Billed as the most comprehensive exhibition ever organized of Van Cleef & Arpels' masterworks, it covers some 100 years of the company creations -- not just jewels, but timepieces, extraordinary cigarette cases and evening bags.

Tags: Cooper Hewitt, cooper-hewitt, cooper-hewitt-museum, Diamond jewels, Jewelry history, Princess Grace of Monaco, Van Cleef Arpels

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RSVIP: Oscar Countdown, Essence Black Women in Hollywood Lunch and More

by Jeffrey Slonim (RSS feed) — Feb 26th 2011 at 9:02AM

Day Three: Phew, the Academy Awards week checklist is complete. RSVIP picked up our coveted credentials for the Kodak Center red carpet and a parking pass for the Elton John fete. We also gathered our credentials for Saturday's irreverent Independent Spirit Awards, which will take place in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

At 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 24, RSVIP took a quick right off Sunset Boulevard up the palm-lined driveway of the Beverly Hills Hotel, and an efficient attendant in a polo shirt commandeered my rental car.

Downstairs, by the leafy patio, a slenderized Jennifer Hudson had her adorable baby in tow during arrivals at the 2011 Essence Magazine Black Women in Hollywood Awards luncheon. Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Viola Davis were also being honored.

"This is very important to me," Davis, right, told RSVIP concerning the event. "Black women need to be acknowledged as often as possible," she said. "There's the business of deprivation of roles, and even when we've done roles, they often seem to be roles that aren't fleshed out."

Tags: cheryl hines, essence magazine, paris hilton, rsvip, viola davis

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'Black Swan' Good for Ballet Ticket Sales

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed) — Feb 25th 2011 at 8:01PM

Darren Aronofsky's hit film, "Black Swan," may do more for the arts than earn Natalie Portman a slew of best-actress awards. It may in fact have helped to boost professional dance companies - at least the ones performing the ballet "Swan Lake," which the film is centered around.

To prepare for the film, Portman trained with former New York City Ballet dancer Mary Helen Bowers. That company performs "Swan Lake" each year and this year its two-week run (which will end on Saturday, Feb. 26) sold extremely well, according to City Ballet spokesman Rob Daniels. The company sold out tickets to all nine of its performances in the 2,500-seat David A. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center.

Tags: academy awards, ballet, city ballet, culture, dance, film, natalie portman, new york city ballet, oscars, oscars 2011

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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.

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

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The Ultimate Las Vegas Philanthropic Gala: Diamonds, Exotic Travel, Classic Cars, And Curated Experiences

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Feb 25th 2011 at 9:02AM

According to the Organization For Economic Co-operation and Development, The United States led the world last year in charitable donations, a whopping $28.67 billion dollars worth. So it is no wonder that one of the largest, wealthiest and most respected charity galas, the Power Of Love, in Las Vegas also netted quite an amount last year, for a one-night celebration: $28M, with $8M from a single donor. This year, actually, this Saturday, they are expecting to do even better, due to the dazzling, over-the-top auction prizes, even for Las Vegas.

On Saturday, February 26, Keep Memory Alive (KMA) will host its 15th annual Power of Love Gala at Bellagio in Las Vegas. Along with an evening of live entertainment, Power of Love guests will enjoy a significant auction bidding experience with impressive, one-of-a-kind items to benefit Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Cleveland Clinic's Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health provides state-of-the-art care for cognitive disorders and for the family members of those who suffer from them. It is a substantial treatment center in Las Vegas, opened in July of 2009, where many substantial donations have helped the center thrive. A recent Luxist piece was written on Steve Wynn's commission of a James Rosenquist painting for the Clinic.

The live auction on Saturday evening will have items (see images next page) and experiences that are both pricey and priceless -- a private lunch with Lee Iacocca, and the opportunity to win the I-Legacy, one of 45 limited edition Mustangs. Luxist wrote about this unusual opportunity recently. Then, there's an eight night wine tour of Italy for four people, curated by Michael Mondavi, another wine trip to Australia, ownership of a new Fisker Karma, time in the Los Angeles recording studio with Kenny 'Babyface" Edmonds, and more. The silent auction will have ownership experiences like winning the Mercedes 2012 SLS AMG Roadster, and original Blue Dog art by George Rodrigues and others. There are many more entertainment, travel, and cultural adventures, jewelry giveways from Tiffany's and Harry Winston, to high end shopping sprees.

Some auction items are listed on the next page. A complete listing is on the Keep Memory Alive website.

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EXCLUSIVE: Ralph Lauren to Exhibit Car Collection Classics for the First Time

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) — Feb 25th 2011 at 8:02AM

Images exclusive to Luxist, courtesy of Ralph Lauren; click for high-res gallery

Some of the most precious gems in famed fashion designer Ralph Lauren's incredible car collection will be exhibited for the the first time ever in Paris this spring. Lauren's collection, in our opinion the finest one in private hands on the planet, features impeccable examples of the rarest and most valuable vehicles in the world. We can reveal exclusively that four of his exquisite automotive works of art, which have never before been seen in public, will be on view at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris from April 28 – August 28: a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM; a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Scaglietti; a 1956/1958 Jaguar XKSS; and a 1931 Alfa Romeo Monza 8C 2300.

13 other Lauren cars will also be on display during the exhibit, entitled The Art of the Automobile: Masterpieces from the Ralph Lauren Collection, including an amazing 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (above), a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, and a 1938 Bugatti 57 SC Atlantic Coupé. The last two alone are worth about $30 – $40 million each, and are among the world's most expensive cars. The Paris exhibit will focus on European models created between the 1930s and the 1990s, "illustrating the evolution of car design in the 20th Century." They were selected by curator Rodolphe Rapetti and will be arranged by scenographer Jean-Michel Wilmotte, with the "kinetics" and sound of the vehicles conveyed by means of various films and recordings. The museum will also be producing a luxe book to celebrate the occasion.

Gallery: Ralph Lauren's Cars Headed to Paris

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Academy Awards-Inspired Cocktails from Grey Goose

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) — Feb 24th 2011 at 2:01PM

Grey Goose, the super-premium vodka blended and bottled in the celebrated Cognac region of Western France, has come up with some entertaining cocktails inspired by this year's Best Picture nominees at the Academy Awards (aka the Oscars). The drinks have been cleverly concocted to reflect the films for which they're named and the stars themselves – don't orchids remind you of Natalie Portman? Bottoms up and may the best man win....:

Tags: Academy Awards, Academy Awards 2011, Black Swan, cocktails, entertainment, Grey Goose, movies, Natalie Portman, Oscars, Oscars 2011, Social Network, The Kings Speech, vodka

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RSVIP: Count Down to Oscars, Day One, The Costume Designers Guild Awards And More

by Jeffrey Slonim (RSS feed) — Feb 24th 2011 at 6:01AM

Oscar Week, day one: Deja vu. It had only been a matter of weeks since RSVIP, based in Manhattan, traveled to Los Angeles for the SAG Awards. And while snow had canceled my initial flight to the SAG Awards, yet again, at 4:00 a.m on February 21, the streets of Manhattan were freshly blanketed with the slippery white stuff.

Nonetheless, a brave cab driver agreed to head for JFK, and American Airlines was still flying. In fact, the flight landed at LAX in plenty of time for RSVIP to drive a rented Chevy HHR directly to the airport in Santa Monica to catch the Cartoon Network's Hall of Game Awards, taking place that afternoon at Barker Hanger.

Bleachers facing the Astroturf arrivals carpet were filled with shrieking tweens, and on the tail end of the NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, the Hall of Game Awards, hosted by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, included numerous famous athletes and child stars.

A low-key Drew Brees, left above, wearing dark blue jeans, mentioned to Luxist that he has two sons at home, "a 2-year-old and a 4-month-old." Greg Jennings of the Green Bay Packers wore a black ring, edged with diamonds, with Roman numerals on it. We asked if it was his prize from the Super Bowl. "This is my wedding ring," answered Jennings. "I don't even know if that ring is designed yet."

Tags: ashton kutcher, billy bob thornton, costume designers guild awards, demi moore, halle berry, rsvip, venus williams

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Donna Karan On Hand As Nomad Two Worlds Exhibit Opens In Los Angeles

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Feb 24th 2011 at 3:01AM

In our modern, high-speed culture, we lose track sometimes of what came before. How do we bridge the gap between how we live now and the ways that indigenous people have lived on this planet for millennia? A new exhibit in Santa Monica, California showcases art as a form of communication. Nomad: Two Worlds opened last night at Pier 59 Studios West in Santa Monica with a presentation that combined art with strong messages about what we lose when we forget our collective past.

Tags: aboriginal art, donna karan, nomad two worlds, Russell James, urban zen, Urban Zen Foundation

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