Inside MPTF’s Evening Before Benefit with Stars of ‘Succession,’ ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘Abbott Elementary’

Who doesn’t love a group photo packed with big-name actors?

A slew of stars came together to say cheese and help raise north of $2.5 million in West Hollywood on Saturday night at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s 17th annual Evening Before benefit. Co-chaired by Quinta Brunson and Bob Odenkirk, the annual event takes place ahead of the Emmy Awards, and this weekend’s installment shifted to the new year to follow the TV Academy’s celebration due to the dual strikes last summer.

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“We’ve had quite a year, and this organization and its fundraiser has helped many weather the storm,” said Brunson. Added Odenkirk, “I’m thrilled to be a co-chair of MPTF’s Evening Before benefit with Quinta. MPTF really stepped up during a very challenging year to support the entertainment community, and I’m proud to be a part of a fundraiser that will help to sustain that vital support.”

Evening Before, held at Pacific Design Center, was designed as a relaxed town square atmosphere by Studio Komorebi with specialty food served up by Carmelized Prods. run by Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of Jon and Vinny’s fame. The pizza helped fuel the party as did all the lively conversations among stars of some of this year’s most nominated shows.

Succession stars Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, J. Smith-Cameron, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun and Alexander Skarsgard made the rounds, as did the crew from Ted Lasso including Jason Sudeikis, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Phil Dunster, Hannah Waddingham, Kola Bokinni, Billy Harris and James Lance. Stars of The White Lotus who checked in included Meghann Fahy, Theo James, Will Sharpe, F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Beatrice Grannò and Simona Tabasco. Other cast reunions included The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Marin Hinkle and Caroline Aaron.

Nominee James Marsden marveled at a big year delivered by the success of Jury Duty and posed for photos with Jenny Slate. Marsden’s co-star Ronald Gladden took in the scene. Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph recounted how it took 40 years to become an overnight sensation thanks to Abbott Elementary. Emmy host Anthony Anderson worked the room and shook a ton of hands, The Color Purple star Taraji P. Henson huddled with Brunson and The Bear star Ayo Edebiri and later tried her hand at a basketball hoops game. Speaking of ballers, Henson also caught up with the retired NBA star formerly known as Ron Artest (currently Metta Sandiford-Artest) who was a popular party guest. He also was spotted in conversation with Wanda Sykes. Lukas Gage kept close to Zachary Quinto.

Also in attendance were Fellow Travelers star Jonathan Bailey, Zach Braff, Danielle Brooks, Yvette Nicole Brown, Sophia Bush, Lizzy Caplan, John Cho, Sam Claflin, Auli’i Cravalho, Kristin Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Ariana DeBose, Zooey Deschanel, Danny DeVito, Colman Domingo, Phoebe Dynevor, Abby Elliott, Nathan Fielder, Max Greenfield, Rashida Jones, Joe Keery, Keegan-Michael Key, Nick Kroll, Joseph Lee, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olsen, Camila Morrone, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Matthew Rhys, Christina Ricci, Keri Russell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jeffrey Wright and many others.

Aside from Jon & Vinny’s pizza, one of the more popular corners of the party proved to be The Hollywood Reporter’s exclusive photo booth with photographer Ryan Slack. At some points during the party, the wait ticked upwards of 30 minutes, and stars like Jenna Ortega and the cast of Ted Lasso and Never Have I Ever waited to pose for black-and-white images. Others cut a rug thanks to beats delivered by celebrity DJ Daisy O’Dell who turned up the volume with danceable, old-school hits.

The Delta Air Lines booth also was a big draw thanks to auction items, including trips to New York and Aspen. Presenting sponsors were Delta Air Lines, Penske Media Corporation (owner of THR), People and UCLA Health with additional support from Diamond sponsors Apple TV+, IATSE, Netflix, the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery and Wondery.

“The Evening Before is always a great night for the guests and MPTF, and this year’s show of incredible solidarity and support was remarkable. The need is still great for many of our industry members who suffered during the recent work stoppage and are not yet back to work, and the support of our many Evening Before sponsors, donors and guests will make a great impact on their lives,” said MPTF CEO Bob Beitcher.

Funds raised from the night will support industry members and families who benefit from MPTF’s charitable programs and services such as financial assistance, crisis counseling, caregiving support and residency on the Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills. During the recent work stoppages, MPTF received north of 13,000 incoming calls and doled more than $8 million in assistance.

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