As Hollywood events return to full force in New York and Los Angeles amid the coronavirus pandemic, here’s a look at the week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings, including red carpets for And Just Like That, Don’t Look Up, Being the Ricardos, West Side Story and A Journal for Jordan.
Don’t Look Up world premiere
Adam McKay premiered his end of the world comedy Don’t Look Up in New York City on Sunday, where he was joined by stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Tyler Perry, Himesh Patel and Kid Cudi. “This is now,” writer-director McKay told The Hollywood Reporter of tackling the climate crisis with the film. “Right this second, the livable atmosphere is collapsing. We’re literally living in the movie. And if we don’t take immediate action, billions of people are going to die and we’re going to see this civilization collapse.”
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Being the Ricardos L.A. premiere
After premiering in NYC last week, Aaron Sorkin, Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem continued their Being the Ricardos press tour, taking the Amazon film to Los Angeles for Monday’s premiere at the Academy Museum. The trio was joined by costars J.K. Simmons, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat and Nina Arianda, as Bardem broke down what it’s like to work with a Sorkin script. “It’s like a coin with two sides. One side is a golden ticket to acting joy. On the other side of the coin is a lot of work, it’s a demanding ask for any actor to fulfill those words with honestly and truth and organicity,” he told THR. “They’re beautifully written but the images are so powerful and so rich that you have to bring all you have, all you know into it.”
Fourth Annual Celebration of Black Cinema and Television
Halle Berry, Barry Jenkins, Anthony Anderson, Danielle Brooks, Robin Thede and Toheeb Jimoh were among those honored at Monday night’s Celebration of Black Cinema and Television, hosted at Fairmont Century Plaza by the Critics Choice Association in recognition of Black images on screen and the diverse community of talent that brings them to life.
West Side Story L.A. premiere
After first screening in New York last week, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story adaptation premiered in Los Angeles on Tuesday with stars Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, Rita Moreno, David Alvarez, Mike Faist and Josh Andrés Rivera appearing alongside the director. The event came just shortly after news that the film would be banned from screening in six countries because of its transgender character, as producer Kevin McCollum said, “I think we’ve done our jobs as artists to make this film, and the world will discover it even if certain cultures decide they don’t want it in their borders. He added, “This film will overcome any border because it will be seen.”
And Just Like That premiere
Sex and the City returned to NYC on Wednesday night with the premiere of the HBO Max revival And Just Like That, held at the Museum of Modern Art, where returning stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis were joined by newcomers Sara Ramirez, Karen Pittman and Sarita Choudhury. And of that one missing character in the iconic quartet, showrunner Michael Patrick King told THR, “I never thought, ‘Oh, there’s a hole I have to fill.’ Samantha doesn’t not exist in their lives. The show was born of these three characters: What’s their life, and who can I bring in to inform it?”
A Journal for Jordan premiere
The Sony romantic drama, directed by Denzel Washington and starring Michael B. Jordan, Chanté Adams and Jalon Christian, held its world premiere at NYC’s AMC Lincoln Square on Thursday night.
Teen Vogue Summit
Mindy Kaling and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan took part in the annual Teen Vogue Summit on Saturday at L.A.’s Goya Studios, where Olivia Rodrigo closed out the event with a live performance.
The Freak Brothers event
Pete Davidson, John Goodman and Blake Anderson, who star in the voice cast of Tubi animated series The Freak Brothers, celebrated the series at Sunset Boulevard’s Fred Segal on Monday.
A Broadway Celebration
On Monday night, CAA Amplify, Broadway Advocacy Coalition and The Movement Theatre Company honored this fall’s historic eight Black playwrights on Broadway. With a host committee including Kerry Washington and Leslie Odom Jr., the Times Square Edition hotel event feted Jeremy O. Harris, Douglas Lyons, Lynn Nottage, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, Dominique Morisseau, Keenan Scott II and Alice Childress.
Make-A-Wish’s Galaxy of Wishes at Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
The franchise jewel inside the Anaheim park closed early to the general public in order to host an unprecedented event for the Make-A-Wish chapters of Greater Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire. Dubbed Galaxy of Wishes, the fundraiser hosted supporters, wish families, corporate partners, special honorees (Richard and Demi Weitz and the Los Angeles Chargers and owners Dean and Susie Spanos) and one Star Wars legend (Mark Hamill) for a night of rides, food, drinks and live music all in the spirit of granting wishes for children battling critical illnesses. The night raised $2.5 million and featured performances by DJ Cassidy, Montell Jordan, Lisa Lisa, Morris Day and Fitz and the Tantrums.
Live in Front of a Studio Audience after party
ABC rolled out a third installment of its Live in Front of a Studio Audience franchise on Tuesday night with the Norman Lear-presented special offering up Diff’rent Strokes and Facts of Life in partnership with Sony Pictures Television. Jimmy Kimmel, who executive produced the star-studded special alongside Lear, Brent Miller, Kerry Washington, Will Ferrell, Justin Theroux and Jim Burrows, toasted the live broadcast with an afterparty in partnership with Johnnie Walker at Wheelhouse in Los Angeles.
MacGruber premiere
Peacock premiered its upcoming MacGruber series at the California Science Center on Wednesday, alongside stars Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Laurence Fishburne, Billy Zane and co-showrunners Jorma Taccone and John Solomon.
Audi’s Sustainability Dinner with Olivia Wilde
The actress, filmmaker and new Vogue cover star teamed with the luxury automaker to host a dinner on Wednesday at Plant Food + Wine in Los Angeles at which the menu also featured a conversation about all things sustainability. The guest list featured Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator’s Matt Petersen, The Carbonauts and Treehugger’s Graham Hill, The Little Market’s Hannah Skvarla, Ambercycle’s Shay Sethi, and Audi’s Emilie Cotter and Spencer Reeder. Guests dined on Plant Food + Wine’s locally sourced vegan fare paired with wine of natural, biodynamic varieties. Environmentally sustainable practices were applied to all aspects of the Babs Burchfield-produced event, including the use of recycled materials, composting leftovers, reusing table scapes and florals and transportation in Audi’s fully electric fleet of e-trons, e-tron Sportbacks and e-tron GTs.
With Love premiere
Creator Gloria Calderón Kellett and cast Emeraude Toubia, Mark Indelicato, Vincent Rodriguez III, Rome Flynn, Isis King, Todd Grinnell, Desmond Chiam, Constance Marie and Benito Martinez celebrated season one of new Amazon series With Love with a holiday-themed premiere at NeueHouse Hollywood on Thursday.
Balman and Dogpound launch party for B-Bold Sneaker Collab
The Parisian fashion house, led by Olivier Rousteing, teamed with the luxury fitness lifestyle brand to kick off the launch of a limited-edition collab on the B-Bold sneaker. Making the rounds inside Dogpound’s Robertson Boulevard shop were Maria Bakalova, Cindy Bruna, Larsen Thompson, Yovanna Ventura, Jocelyn Chew, Sabrina Quesada, Cynthia Parker, Elah Garcia, Austin Mahone, Blake Gray, Amanda Diaz, Kiyo Cyr and Diego Larez.
Ralph Lauren Fragrances Presents Ralph’s Club
Sunset Tower hosted a starry, chic affair on Thursday to toast Ralph’s Club Eau de Parfum, a new masculine fragrance. A curated cocktail menu was inspired by the woody notes of the fragrance and the event also featured a performance by Prince Charlez. Attendees included faces of Ralph’s Club Fai Khadra and Luka Sabbat along with guests Darren Barnet, Angus Cloud, Cameron Dallas, Isabelle Fuhrman, August Getty, Blake Gray, Vinnie Hacker, Barron and Tessa Hilton, Kathy and Rick Hilton, Chriselle Lim, Jonas Maier, Dexter Mayfield, Ava Michelle, King Princess, Hailee Steinfeld, Tinx, Everett Williams, Quinn Wilson, Brian Wolk and Claude Morais, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Amelie Zilber, Rachel Zoe, and more.
Baby2Baby Holiday Party
Jessica Alba, Eiza González, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Vanessa Bryant, Ali Wong, Julie Bowen, Chriselle Lim, Rachel Zoe, Emma Grede, Jennifer Meyer, Monique Lhuillier and Sara Foster were among the Baby2Baby supporters who took part in the nonprofit’s holiday party, presented by FRAME and That’s It., on Saturday. The group welcomed hundreds of children and their families to a special holiday distribution event at SoFi Stadium where Baby2Baby provided warm clothing, winter coats, healthy snacks, blankets, groceries, soap, shampoo, diapers and toys to families in the Inglewood area who have been severely impacted by the pandemic.
WWE’s Friday Night SmackDown
A nearly sold-out crowd packed the rows Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, formerly Staples Center, including CBS Entertainment’s Kelly Kahl, Apple’s Matt Cherniss, actor and producer Noah Harpster, MGM’s Barry Poznick, actress Vanessa Hudgens and boyfriend, MLB’s Cole Tucker, actor O’Shea Jackson, influencer Bryce Hall, actress and TV host Maria Menounos, journalist Jemele Hill, WNBA superstar Candace Parker, and the cast of Jackass.
Virtual Snowball Express
Due to the ongoing pandemic, Gary Sinise pivoted once again to host a virtual installment of his Snowball Express event so, in lieu of a trip to Walt Disney World for 1,500 kids of fallen military service members and their surviving parents or guardians, 750 families logged on for a day full of programming and a gaggle of boldfaced names. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen kicked off the event by throwing to their beloved Toy Story characters followed by appearances from Steve Buscemi (as Randall from Monsters, Inc.), Matthew McConaughey, Gordon Ramsay, Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Brett Goldstein, Joe Mantegna, Norman Reedus, Zachary Levi, Laurie Metcalf, magic from Penn & Teller, a slime class with influencer Ricky Waite, Disney animation lessons, a Q&A session with Gary himself and showings from Olympians Simone Biles, Caeleb Dressel and Jordan Chiles, among others. More about the Gary Sinise Foundation and his event can be found here.
Brooks Brothers Family Holiday Party
Brooks Brothers hosted its 7th annual family holiday party for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on Saturday at the Maybourne Hotel for an afternoon of holiday treats, music, and a variety of festive activities including ornament and cookie decorating. Hosted by Rachel Zoe, Rodger Berman, Emma Roberts and Tia Mowry, the event included a special performance by Jana Kramer and included attendees Christina Hendricks, Josh Peck, Kathryn Newton and Jared Harris.
