
At 9:30 pm, Golden Globes nominee Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin) was striding out of the Chateau Marmont Hotel in West Hollywood in a blinding white sharply tailored suit, leaving W magazine’s pre-Globes party. On the other side of the street, three or four dozens fans were lined up, shouting “We love you Tilda.” The actress strode across to sign autographs for a few minutes. As she jumped in her car, one of the fans yelled loudly – so loudly that every photographer on the red carpet could hear – “Tilda, you are so nice. Jennifer Aniston should take tips from you.”
We’re not sure what the fan’s particular beef with Jennifer is, but the stars seemed in a good mood two nights before the globes with Melancholia‘s Kirsten Dunst and The Help‘s Octavia Spencer and Emma Stone also stopping to pose for pictures and sign autographs. Upstairs in the sixth-floor penthouse of the hotel, W was celebrating its February “Best Performances” Hollywood issue, which features a dual cover with Brad Pitt and Charlize Theron.
Theron showed up, Pitt didn’t. But the crowd included directors (Sofia Coppola, The Help‘s Tate Taylor), models (Agyness Deyn, Project Runway All-Stars host Angela Lindvall, Miranda Kerr), fashionistas (Rachel Zoe, couture vintage guru Cameron Silver), agents (CAA’s Bryan Lourd, WME’s Bryan Swardstrom), singers (John Mayer, Mika) and of course a throng of celebrities: Tom Cruise, Chris Hemsworth, Emmy Rossum, James Franco, Jessica Biel, Liev Schreiber, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rose McGowan, Ryan Kwanten, Stellan Skarsgard, Yaya DaCosta, Downton Abbey‘s Elizabeth McGovern, Eric Stonestreet and The Artist‘s Jean Dujardin.
Towards the end of the party — hosted by W editor-in-chief Stefano Tonchi, editor-at-large Lynn Hirschberg and Chateau Marmont owner Andre Balazs and sponsored by Dom Perignon — The Help group (Spencer, Viola Davis, Taylor and producer Brunson Green) packed into one of the hotel’s two small elevators. Spencer let out a big sigh and exclaimed, “It’s like … nothing else [tonight]!” — clearly ready to head home. The Help cast and filmmakers (along with the makers of War Horse) had already been feted at an earlier bash at Cecconi’s restaurant sponsored by Vanity Fair.
Inside, Dunst sat with Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy. Pedro Almodovar engaged in an animated chat with Copppola. PR honcho Nadine Johnson and Elizabeth Callender shared dessert with legendary hostess Dani Janssen. When we left the building, though, it seems that there must have been a core crew still partying up on the sixth-floor terrace. As Elizabeth Olsen ducked into her limo, a glass of champagne fell to the ground loudly shattering on the pavement.