Diane Keaton Talks Sipping Wine, ‘Annie Hall’ & Woody Allen at the Hammer Museum

Diane Keaton in Commes des Garçons and Chloé boots at the Hammer Museum event in her honor. Photo: Getty Images

“I sort of don’t exactly understand why me,” Diane Keaton admitted to Yahoo Style on Saturday evening before she was honored at the Hammer Museum’s 13th annual Gala In The Garden, sponsored by Bottega Veneta. “But I’m honored to be here. What am I going to do? Not accept? I think this is spectacular so I’m proud just to be part of it in some way.”

The actress, dressed in a black Commes des Garçons dress and Chloé boots, celebrated her honor by drinking her new brand of red wine, The Keaton, on ice, which is how she said it’s meant to be consumed. “I’m a normal-type person,” explained Keaton, who has been drinking red wine chilled for years. “And I like ice. What’s wrong with that? And also I like the twist-off caps. They’re really practical.”

The actress drew an array of art lovers and admirers to the Los Angeles party, including Will Ferrell, Julia Roberts, Ashley Olsen, Martin Short, Elizabeth Banks, Emma Stone, and Armie Hammer, as well as contemporary artists like Ed Ruscha and John Baldassari. Steve Martin, Keaton’s co-star from Father of The Bride, was there both to fete Keaton and to celebrate his role as curator of a recent exhibition by painter Lawren Harris. Most of the guests, especially the actresses, were particularly taken by the presence of the Annie Hall star.

For Roberts, who wore a Bottega Veneta ensemble she said was selected by her husband, Keaton has been a real influence. “Her fashion is such an inspiration to me,” the actress said. “I love menswear and nobody has ever done it better than she has.” Roberts’s current style icon? “My daughter,” she said. “Because she doesn’t care what she wears. We all put way too much thought into what we look like. It would just be better to get out the door faster and spend that time with our family instead of coiffing.”

Selma Blair, Amanda Peet, and Sarah Paulson, all wearing Bottega Veneta. Photo: Getty Images

Amanda Peet and Sarah Paulson arrived together in nearly matching Bottega Veneta dresses, which they claimed were not selected on purpose. “We didn’t mean to look like the Bobbsey Twins,” Peet said. “But that often happens.” Paulson added, “It’s really embarrassing.” The pair said they were attending more for Keaton than for the art.

Paulson, who starred with Keaton in 1999’s The Other Sister, wanted to keep her Keaton moments close to the vest. Her favorite movie moment, though? “Anything in Baby Boom,” Paulson said. “Annie Hall is the obvious answer but I think Baby Boom is a treasure that has not been celebrated quite enough.” Peet, who worked with Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give, interrupted, “I’m Annie Hall. Diane Keaton is my style icon. She wore all that mensy stuff. Her idea of sexiness and femininity has something to do with intelligence. She doesn’t feel the need to flaunt everything to flaunt what she has, which is – take it from me – a lot. I’ve always like that kind of tough, mensy look and she can pull it off.”

Keaton’s iconic Annie Hall style actually originated from the actress herself. “I wouldn’t be here without Annie Hall,” Keaton recounted. “Woody [Allen] just said to me ‘You wear whatever the heck you want.’ And that is not just not something that ever happens, you know, in movies. People don’t say to you ‘Wear whatever you want.’ The fact that the director, who was the boss, said that was not possible and it never ever happened again.”

Actress Selma Blair spent the evening catching up with Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant, who she worked with back in the day on Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Blair, who selected a brightly colored Bottega dress Bryant claimed looked like something from Mad Men, said events like this one encouraged her to continue fostering a love of art. “I wish I had a stronger relationship with art in that I wished I owned all of it,” Blair said. “I went to art school and it’s something that’s in my life, an appreciation for it. But I’m not exactly a benefactor right now.”

Sam Taylor Wood, Bottega Veneta’s Tomas Maier, and Julia Roberts. Photo: Getty Images

Nearby actor Matt Bomer is focused on the new season of American Horror Story: Hotel, in which he plays Lady Gaga’s lover. “I went to the premiere and I watched it and I was really blown away by Ryan Murphy’s vision,” he said. “I felt like it was a really well-directed, seamless hour and a half where he had to introduce so many new cast members, new characters and a whole new world. The hotel, which is really the main character this season, really shown. I was really happy.”

Kiernan Shipka, who wore a blue and green belted Bottega dress, has attended in the past, but, like her fellow actresses, was mostly in it for the Keaton (the woman, not the wine). “I just think she’s so cool,” the Mad Men actress said. “She has always remained so cool. I love her vibe and I love her work. She brings this nice vibrancy to the screen and is such a subtle actress in the most beautiful way.”

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