Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa describes his official residence in Hancock Park, Getty House, as “public housing at its finest.” Kicking off Oscar weekend on Feb. 24, three nights before the show, it doubled as an equally fine party location when The Hollywood Reporter took over the English Tudor-style home’s tented backyard for its annual Nominees’ Night party sponsored by L’Oreal Paris and Tommy Hilfiger. The evening’s turnout reflected the flood of guests in town for the Oscars. “The royal wedding is the only thing bigger than the Oscars,” said Piers Morgan, who came from taping his CNN show with guest Sharon Stone. Disney Studios chairman Rich Ross said he felt upbeat because “this is the year of great movies, big or small, succeeding commercially.” Hosted by Janice Min, editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter, and Oscar telecast producer Bruce Cohen, the party brought out True Grit’s Hailee Steinfeld, The Fighter’s Amy Adams and David O. Russell and The Social Network’s Aaron Sorkin and Armie Hammer, who said he was pacing himself for the weekend but couldn’t resist stopping by the fete. Said Villaraigosa: “This is the weekend that all the world will be watching. This is a great opportunity to acknowledge the real talent in this town and an industry that’s the bedrock of this city.”
