Inside Vanity Fair’s Oscar Party With LeBron James, Billie Eilish and Steven Spielberg
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On Oscar night, details matter. Who are you wearing? What are you nominated for? Who won? Just don’t expect everyone to know the answers.
“What movie won?” Rick Hilton asked as he and wife Kathy Hilton assumed position at the end of a glamorous queue to get into Vanity Fair’s 30th anniversary Oscar party in Beverly Hills on Sunday after 10 p.m. They asked their son, Kathy says, but no clue. Fortunately, a gentleman standing directly in front of the couple had the answer. “It was Oppenheimer,” he said, not mentioning the awkwardness of Al Pacino’s best picture reveal. Some details can be saved for Monday morning. Plus, there are more rapid-fire questions to field.
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What movie is that? Is it based on a true story? Who was the emcee?
“Oh, Jimmy Kimmel. I like him,” Rick said, smiling, in a totally relatable moment because who doesn’t love Jimmy Kimmel? And who doesn’t love Vanity Fair’s annual Academy Awards party? It may have taken some hits in previous years due to hosting too many suits or too many influencers, or facing too steep of competition because of invites sent out by party pairs Beyoncé and Jay-Z or Madonna and Guy Oseary. But the truth is, in 2024, there’s still no beating Vanity Fair for attracting the highest number of A-list stars under one roof at one time outside the Dolby Theatre. Maybe it was the milestone, but it appeared that the list sacrificed a number of TikTokers in favor of returning to its roots by packing in as many actors, auteurs, models, studio executives and moguls.
Oh, and sports stars, too, led by superstar LeBron James who made the rounds with an entourage that included Rich Paul, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Lakers pal Anthony Davis. Tennis legends Roger Federer and Serena Williams both made the rounds as did Russell Wilson with wife Ciara, and Odell Beckham Jr. with rumored love interest Kim Kardashian, whose Calabasas clan was well represented by mom Kris Jenner and sisters Kendall and Kylie.
Back to the Hiltons. While they were waiting at the step-and-repeat, a couple dozen stars lined the luxe 125-foot red carpet when The Hollywood Reporter arrived to the scene. Lizzo was behind the Hiltons, sporting a new bob for spring (“the bob is bobbing,” she said), when Sandra Hüller arrived with an entourage that included her agent, UTA’s Houston Costa. The Anatomy of a Fall best actress nominee wasn’t in the zone long because Wicked star Cynthia Erivo grabbed her hand and pulled her close to a stanchion. “I’m stealing Sandra,” she announced as she welcomed her into an on-camera chat.
Just then, Steven Spielberg snuck behind the wall of photographers, whispering to Kristie Macosko Krieger, “No photos for me, please.” The filmmaker had plenty of screen time during the telecast, but he did change his mind once he got inside the custom Basil Walter and Will Cooper-designed structure. He posed with Celine Song while holding an In-N-Out burger, caught up with VF’s editor-in-chief Radhika Jones and bumped heads with daughter Jessica Capshaw. Likewise, the Vanity Fair party always proves to be a mind-bending affair because everywhere you looked there were boldfaced names.
Chris Hemsworth and Matt Damon held court near one corner of the bar with Endeavor’s Patrick Whitesell, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski. Melissa McCarthy huddled with two-time Oscar winner Finneas while NBA leading man Russell Westbrook nonchalantly passed by. Across the way, Beck congregated with Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann.
Around the corner, Federer and his wife fended off a strange advance from a TV star who won’t be named. John Waters chatted with Jodie Foster, J.J. Abrams mingled with his agent, CAA’s Maha Dakhil, while Bill Maher chomped on a cigar. Julia Fox bumped shoulders with Oppenheimer producer Emma Thomas who was holding her Oscar below her waist. Maggie Rogers nearly tripped on the train of Camila Mendes’s dress. Catherine O’Hara and her husband waited in line for the photo booth (“It’s our annual tradition,” she said), while the Haim sisters dashed to the dance floor only to be stopped by a group hug from Allison Williams. A couple of songs later, Jon Hamm busted a movie to Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” remix featuring the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
Then along came Kylie Minogue. “It’s been a big week,” she told THR after being congratulated for gifting the gays with an epic surprise when she joined Madonna on stage at Kia Forum for The Celebration Tour. But since details matter, Minogue then listed off why it’s been such a stellar few days. Not only did she duet with Madge, she accepted a global icon award at the Brit Awards in London and had a layover in Las Vegas for one show at Voltaire at the Venetian. “It’s been a lot,” she said. “The energy in Las Vegas was amazing. They were the best crowd. And I’m going back for two more dates this week.”
Speaking of good crowds, Billie Eilish, who became the youngest person to win two Oscars, had swarms of people around her wherever she went. At one point, it was Babyface and Jeffrey Wright, another it was Sydney Sweeney, Camila Cabello and Maude Apatow, and later, it was Ramy Youssef. By the end of the night, it was an unidentified female love interest holding Eilish’s hand as they snaked their way through the party. Sunday was a big night for couples. Reneé Rapp was overhead introducing her new(ish) girlfriend Towa Bird, Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter stayed close throughout the night and looked every bit the lovestruck couple, Cabello was spotted leaving with Cinderella costar Nicholas Galitzine, and married pair Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel had a black-tie Hollywood date night.
A date worth noting on the calendar: WME co-chairmen Richard Weitz and Christian Muirhead were overheard accepting congratulations from rival agency competitors (gasp!) for winning the most Oscars of any talent agency thanks to Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Emma Stone, Robert Downey Jr., Jonathan Glazer, Eilish and her brother, and a few more.
Also dishing out compliments, Grammy nominated Gracie Abrams gushed to Simu Liu, “Nice moves tonight, that was epic” in reference to Ryan Gosling’s show-stealing performance of “I’m Just Ken” in which he played a part. Meghann Fahy got in on the action, saying hello to Florence Pugh and more. “You look so fucking hot. I want to be you when I grow up!”
One more: One well-placed source offered details on how they see the current Oscar party landscape shaking out in Vanity Fair‘s favor. “People complain that they miss when the party used to be intimate, like it was at Morton’s back in the day, but look around, there’s no room where you will see LeBron James, Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman and Steven Spielberg. The world has gotten bigger.”
The Beverly Hills sidewalks are still the same size and are the best place to be after midnight when the crush of revelers are making their way to their vehicles and off to Bey and Jay’s Gold Party or up the hills to Madge and Guy’s bash. Since details do matter, in addition to the regular Vanity Fair accoutrements — In-N-Out burgers, a IHG Departure Lounge (offering end-of-evening luxury essentials like custom slippers, phone chargers and robes) and featuring a ISDIN beauty bag Gnarwhal Coffee & Donuts and an Uber concierge desk — there was a new accessory this year. The head vehicle attendant hoisted a mini megaphone to better call out whose car had just pulled up. “Billie Eilish, your car is ready. Billie Eilish, your car is ready.” And off she went, trailed by an entourage, like she was made to do.
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