Events of the Week: ‘House of Gucci,’ ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ and More

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 House of Gucci (on both coasts), Ghostbusters: Afterlife, King Richard, Hawkeye and Scarlett Johansson’s American Cinematheque tribute.

Bruised world premiere

Bruised, following a disgraced MMA fighter’s return to the ring amid the unexpected return of the young son she gave up, premiered at Hollywood’s AFI Fest on Saturday night with star and first-time director Halle Berry. Berry, appearing alongside costars Shamier Anderson, Danny Boyd Jr. and Valentina Shevchenko, said taking on the grueling on-camera performance while also helming her first film was “one of the biggest challenges of my career,” and in a post-screening Q&A with Ava DuVernay she spoke about her path going forward.

“It’s hard to say what will actually be in my future but I will say this — I know that women of color have to keep telling their stories because we have a definitive point of view,” Berry told the crowd at the TCL Chinese Theatre. “For so long, our stories have been told by men or white men or even white women. And I think it’s really important that we continue to tell our own stories through our own lens and make them valuable.”

King Richard Los Angeles premiere

After five nights of starry events, Hollywood’s AFI Fest closed out on Sunday with the premiere of Warner Bros.’ King Richard, plus two very special guests — the film’s subjects, Venus and Serena Williams. The sisters — who are both executive producers on the story of their journey to tennis stardom, fueled by father Richard and his extensive plans for their careers — walked the red carpet alongside Saniyya Sidney, who plays a young Venus, and Demi Singleton, who plays a young Serena, as well as Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis, who play their parents. “We’re so grateful and so honored to be here, this obviously couldn’t have happened without this incredible story, this incredible team that we have — Will, everyone that was a part of the movie has been so amazing,” Serena told the crowd inside the screening. “So many people here have been a part of that team effort and just thank you from the bottom of our hearts. As you’ll see tonight it takes a team to make this happen.”

The Great season two premiere

Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult debuted the second season of their hit Hulu comedy The Great at L.A.’s Sunset Room Hollywood on Sunday, where they were joined by creator Tony McNamara and costars Gwilym Lee, Sacha Dhawan, Bayo Gbadamosi and Belinda Bromilow.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife premiere

Original Ghostbusters Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson joined the next generation, led by Paul Rudd, at the Ghostbusters: Afterlife premiere at New York’s AMC Lincoln Square on Monday. O.G. director Ivan Reitman, a producer on the new film, also appeared alongside son Jason Reitman, who is helming this version, and costars Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor and Logan Kim.

House of Gucci NY premiere

Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek and director Ridley Scott continued their international House of Gucci tour with the New York premiere on Tuesday (with some of the cast continuing onto the L.A. celebration two days later). “Great scripts attract great actors, and we have a formidable cast,” Scott said ahead of the screening, describing the film as “a very posh-world satire.” And though the Gucci family provides the backdrop, Gaga’s Patrizia Reggiani will be taking center stage, as screenwriter Roberto Bentivegna told THR: “It was always going to be her story.” – Christy Pina

Hawkeye launch event

Christmas came early to Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday with a launch event for Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ series Hawkeye. Stars Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Vera Farmiga, Tony Dalton and Alaqua Cox, along with Marvel execs Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, walked the carpet under sparkling holiday lights and fake snow.

House of Gucci L.A. premiere

Two days after their NYC premiere, Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Al Pacino and Ridley Scott took House of Gucci to the west coast, premiering at the newly opened Academy Museum on Thursday night, where Leto reminisced on the dramatic transformation he underwent to play Paolo Gucci: “I was sad to see Paolo go.”

Scarlett Johansson American Cinematheque tribute

Scarlett Johansson was honored with the 35th annual American Cinematheque tribute on Thursday night in Beverly Hills, featuring (some in-person and some virtual) collaborators, co-stars and friends like Jon Favreau, Thomasin McKenzie, Abbie Cornish, Jamie Lee Curtis, Marvel chief Kevin Feige and the company’s biggest stars like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Rockwell and Jeremy Renner.

Baby2Baby 10 Year Gala

At Saturday’s Baby2Baby Gala, celebrating 10 years of the nonprofit that provides basic essentials to children living in poverty, Vanessa Bryant was honored with the “Giving Tree Award” for her dedication to children in need. The Los Angeles event, hosted by James Corden, also raised more than $8.5 million to support the organization’s critical COVID-19 and disaster relief efforts to support families and communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Attendees included longtime supporters Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Kerry Washington, Kate Hudson, Nicole Richie and Mindy Kaling, as well as Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo, Jeff Bezos, Mandy Moore, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann and Baby2Baby co-CEOs Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein.

Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards

Kristen Stewart, Regina King, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst and Jamie Dornan kicked off award season Saturday night by honoring those who work behind the camera during the 11th annual Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards. Hosted by Insecure‘s Yvonne Orji, the show recognized those behind Spencer, The Harder They Fall, The Lost Daughter, Belfast, Dune and CODA at the Avalon Hollywood, with Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jake Gyllenhaal, Javier Bardem, Denis Villeneuve, Simon Rex and Marlee Matlin also on hand.

Outfest Legacy Awards Gala 

In a night recognizing LGBTQ film and television, Outfest kicked off its 40th anniversary at the Academy Museum on Saturday with honors for Marvel president of physical and postproduction, visual effects and animation production Victoria Alonso, NEON, Tick, Tick… Boom! star Robin de Jesús, Jonathan Howard, Rain Valdez, and Alan Koenigsberg and Marissa Román-Griffith.

Dom Pérignon and Born This Way Foundation Dinner

Born This Way Foundation founder — and Lady Gaga’s mother — Cynthia Germanotta hosted a charity dinner on Saturday at the Museum of Modern Art in partnership with the superstar’s mental health organization and Dom Pérignon, which donated $570,000 to the group during the event. VIP guests at the event also included Amanda Seyfried, Billy Porter, Pom Klementieff, Evan Mock, Tommy Dorfman, Indya Moore, Antoni Porowski and Joshua Jackson.

InStyle Awards

On Monday, InStyle presented the sixth annual InStyle Awards, honoring the actors, actresses and artists whose style defines the red carpet, as well as the industry’s top image makers. Melissa McCarthy, Simone Biles, Michael Kors, Jason Bolden, hairstylist Lona Vigi, makeup artist Nina Park, stylist Samantha McMillen, Representative Katie Porter and Anifa Mvuemba were among the honorees, with presenters including Elle Fanning, Amanda Gorman, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, Hannah Einbinder, Christian Louboutin, Storm Reid and Reese Witherspoon.

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip experience

Peacock unveiled The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip on Monday night, transforming Malibu into Turks and Caicos for an evening Yacht-themed event. Brad Goreski served as moderator for a Q&A between the spinoff’s stars, including Cynthia Bailey and Kenya Moore of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kyle Richards of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Dopesick finale event

Dopesick stars Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, Will Poulter, John Hoogenakker, and creator Danny Strong gathered at NeueHouse Hollywood on Monday for a sneak peek of the series finale, followed by a Q&A.

C’mon C’mon Los Angeles screening

Writer-director Mike Mills and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman, Jaboukie Young-White, Producers Andrea Longacre-White and Chelsea Barnard unveiled their film C’mon C’mon at a Tuesday night screening at Los Angeles’ Fine Arts Theatre.

Power Book II: Ghost season two premiere

Stars Mary J. Blige, Daniel Sunjata, Michael Rainey Jr., Lovell Adams-Gray, Berto Colon, LaToya Tonodeo and creator Courtney Kemp walked the red carpet ahead of the season two debut of Starz’s Power Book II: Ghost at Wednesday night’s premiere in NYC.

Multimedia Access Awards

Deaf advocate and actress Millicent Simmonds hosted Wednesday night’s virtual Media Access Awards, in partnership with nonprofit disability services provider Easterseals. The annual ceremony paid tribute to individuals, series and films that have redefined on-screen representation for the disability community, while advancing the portrayal and employment of people with disabilities in Hollywood. John Krasinski, Selma Blair, CODA‘s Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur were among the night’s honorees, with appearances by Lauren Ridloff, Jimmy Kimmel, Russell Crowe, Jim Parsons, Zac Efron, Jacob Tremblay, Wilmer Valderrama and Sian Heder.

CARE Impact Awards

Humanitarian organization CARE hosted the 4th annual virtual Impact Awards on Wednesday, honoring leaders from across industries for their philanthropy and activism. Honorees included Hillary Rodham Clinton, Darren Walker and Carol B. Tomé, with performances by Cynthia Erivo and Yo-Yo Ma.

True Story NYC screening

Kevin Hart hosted a screening of his new Netflix limited series True Story at The Whitby in NYC on Thursday, where he was joined by writer Eric Newman, costar Billy Zane and Matthew Broderick.

The Humans special screening

Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell, Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein, Steven Yeun and writer-director Stephen Karam attended a special A24 and Cinema Society screening of their film The Humans on Thursday in NYC. The film, an adaptation of Karam’s Tony-winning play, also welcomed guests Molly Ringwald, Julia Stiles, Noma Dumezweni and Jo Ellen Pellman to the Village East event.

Gossip Girl part II premiere

After its first six episodes came out earlier this year, Gossip Girl is back with the second half of its first season, which it premiered in NYC on Thursday. Timed to the holiday, HBO Max hosted a Friendsgiving-themed pop-up in Soho, converting a five-story townhouse into a show-themed experience, with appearances from stars Jordan Alexander, Evan Mock, Eli Brown, Emily Alyn Lind and more.

GQ Men of the Year party

GQ hosted its annual Men of the Year party on Thursday, with guests including Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, Nicholas Cage, Henry Golding, Kumail Nanjiani, Alexandra Daddario, Angus Cloud, Sydney Sweeney, Tim Robinson and Zazie Beetz. The event, held at the West Hollywood Edition, also featured a surprise performance by Lil Nas X and Take a Daytrip.

American Museum of Natural History Gala

With gala chairs including Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond, Lorne and Alice Michaels and Jodie and John Eastman, the American Museum of Natural History’s gala on Thursday night proved to be a Saturday Night Live haven. Guests included Michaels, Steve Martin, Kenan Thompson, Aidy Bryant, Bowen Yang, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd and Sarah Sherman, with a performance by the Foo Fighters, as attendees helped support the Museum’s educational and scientific programming.

The Beatles: Get Back special screening

Disney hosted a sneak peek screening of its upcoming doc The Beatles: Get Back on Thursday night at the El Capitan Theatre, where Bob Iger was joined by John Lennon’s sons Julian and Sean.

Stella McCartney x The Beatles: Get Back

Beatlemania continued on Thursday at Stella McCartney’s launch party for her The Beatles: Get Back capsule collection, held at the iconic Henson Recording Studios. Guests included Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Judd Apatow, Kate Hudson, Dakota Johnson, Amy Poehler, Jaden Smith and Al Pacino.

WWE Survivor Series

Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event at Barclays Center — featuring matchups between Big E and Roman Reigns, and Charlotte Flair versus Becky Lynch — drew a mix of Hollywood stars, industry executives and music standouts. Taking in the sights, sounds and smackdown in the ring were Succession star Kieran Culkin, new Saturday Night Live cast member Sarah Sherman, Bachelor Nation star Tyler Cameron, NBC Universal’s Frances Berwick and Rick Cordella, A&E’s Rob Sharenow, CC Sabathia, Jadakiss, Smoke DZA, Westside Gunn, Words & Pictures’ Connor Schell, ESPN’s Burke Magnus and Evolution Media’s Alan Gold.

Hilarity for Charity’s Head to Head

Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen returned to host the ’80s-themed virtual game show that featured celebrity team captains Charlize Theron, Ike Barinholtz, Jillian Bell, Yvette Nicole Brown and Martin Starr. Presented by Biogen, the fight raised more than $475,000 to provide free, in-home care relief as well as online support to Alzheimer’s caregivers and fund brain-health education and Alzheimer’s-prevention research. Founded in 2012 by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, HFC’s mission is to empower people with the tools and knowledge to take care of their brain health, provide critical support to families impacted by the disease, and activate the next generation of advocates.

Star Trek: First Contact 25^th anniversary screening

Star Trek icon, filmmaker and multi-hyphenate Jonathan Frakes teamed with Emmy Award-winning FX artist Todd Masters and the Visual Effects Society to present a 25^th anniversary screening of the 1996 entry Star Trek: First Contact at Harmony Gold Theater in L.A. on Sunday night. The screening — possible through a print provided by Paramount Studios — hosted a number of cast and crew members from the film including Alfre Woodard and LeVar Burton, producer Rick Berman, ILM visual effects supervisor John Knoll, ILM digital effects supervisor Habib Zargarpour, art and production designer Herman Zimmerman, VES fellow Dan Curry, the latter of whom moderated a post-screening Q&A that featured Zimmerman, Berman, Frakes, Knoll and Masters.