All The Stars At The Chateau Marmont – Deadline

Barbie director Greta Gerwig emerged from the elevator at the Château Marmont with producer David Heyman and her agent Jeremy Barber in tow.

Pleasantries and hugs were exchanged between them and May December filmmaker Todd Haynes and his longtime collaborators, the producers Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler. We were all waiting to go up to the hotel’s penthouse suite, with its sumptuous wraparound terrace, for W Magazine’s annual soiree to celebrate publication of its Best Performances edition, hosted by W’s Lynn Hirschberg, who has a pretty much unerring eye for discovering talent.

“So, if Greta’s leaving, who’s left upstairs?” Haynes wondered aloud as he entered the lift.

Amanda Grandinetti, the Château’s managing director who’d squeezed in with us, assured us that the joint was popping upstairs.

All true. The place was bursting and it looked super cool, too, with photographic murals of Juergen Teller’s images from the magazine emblazoned on walls — and ceilings — in the suite’s main salon and bedrooms. In the loo, a bathtub was loaded with yellow roses.

There was artwork featuring May December stars Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, and the hot newcomer Charles Melton. Vachon shook her head despairingly and questioned why Portman and Melton had been excluded from the BAFTA Film Awards longlist.

Don’t get me started. There were several egregious omissions, as there are on the Golden Globes nominations lineup, in spite of my best efforts as a Golden Globes voter! 

As a member of several awards panels in the UK, but not BAFTA, I’m well aware that oftentimes your darlings get bumped off  because, well, it’s impossible to control what others think!

In the suite’s main lobby Saturday, there was blowup of Teller’s portrait of Da’Vine Joy Randolph and hey, presto, The Holdovers star was there in the flesh out on the balcony. “It’s happening!” she said by way of greeting. She was, of course, referring to her name being on the BAFTA longlist, plus she has been experiencing awards-season exultation. I’ve known Randolph for many years, and it’s gratifying to see her being recognized for her thespian skills in Alexander Payne’s movie.

Danielle Brooks, another major contender for her brilliant performance as Sofia in The Color Purple, was in the next room. We had a lovely little chat. I’m thrilled for her, too .Though it’s kinda weird to me that my fellow Golden Globe voters didn’t include The Color Purple in the best musical or comedy category. Again, don’t get me started.

Taraji P. Henson, also from The Color Purple, was in the room. She fills the room. So much fun.

There’s a lady sashaying around with what, from a distance, looks like one of those dinky ornamental purses — you know, shaped like the Eiffel Tower, or whatever. This was furry. Only on closer inspection — up close and personal inspection — it turned out to be a 4-month old miniature Chihuahua puppy called Gilly. Our Keeshond and Shiba Inu back in London would have been most bemused — and probably badly behaved.

I see Andrew Scott, who has been building up steam as the lead in director Andrew Haigh’s highly regarded All of Us Strangers. He’s deep in conversation with fellow Irishman Barry Keoghan.

Keoghan’s literally dancing on the ceiling. Okay, not himself physically, but one of Teller’s images of the Saltburn actor is on the ceiling.

Later, Keoghan chats with Callum Turner [there’s a photo of him on a wall somewhere]. “I’m going to be spending a lot of time on the road with this guy,” said Turner, pointing to Keoghan. 

They happen to star in the Apple TV+ drama Masters of the Air. “I knocked him out,” said Keoghan, looking at Turner.

Yeah, don’t you have a fight, as I try to remember something that happens in one of the early episodes that I previewed. “Yeah, but I knocked him out for real. I was showing off my boxing skills and knocked him out,” Keoghan explained.

Turner had taken it all in good spirit. The star of George Clooney’s The Boys in the Boat is as good-natured as they come.

Though, I was alarmed when he admitted to being a Chelsea football club supporter. Even worse, another Brit standing next to him backed Liverpool. This is highly dangerous talk to an Arsenal fan. At least they didn’t use Leonardo DiCaprio’s “What’s Arsenal?” line on me.

Guests who attended throughout the night included Jon Hamm, Julia Garner, Aml Ameen, U.S. congressman Adam Schiff, Emma Stone, DiCaprio, Willem Dafoe, Cailee Spaeny, Kaia Gerber, Scott, Niecy Nash-Betts, Brooks, Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, Quinta Brunson, Taylour Paige, Jurnee Smollett, A.V. Rockwell, Celine Song, Todd Haynes, Benny Safdie, Addison Rae, Theo James, Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello, Bill Lawrence and Christa Miller, Natasha Lyonne, James Marsden, Janicza Bravo, Emma Seligman, Molly Gordon, Abby Elliott, Ayo Edebiri, Rachel Sennott, Storm Reid, J. Smith-Cameron, Kathryn Hahn, Hannah Einbinder, Ruth E. Carter, Christian Louboutin, Derek Blasberg, Lisa Love, Laura Love, Sally Singer, Nicolas Ghesquière, Charlotte Lawrence, Route Founder and CEO Evan Walker, Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, Zerina Akers, Lionel Boyce, Joseph Lee, Laura Harrier, Shameik Moore, Nick Kroll, Tallulah Willis, Ludwig Göransson, Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane, Gus Wenner, Chiké Okonkwo, Pom Klementieff, Aurora James, Mitch Glazer and Kelly Lynch, Chris Black and Jason Stewart, and Jeffrey and Glenne Azoff, among others. Plus a bunch of other folk I didn’t recognize at all because my special people-watching specs are back home in East London. Don’t ask.

But I did spot Abby Elliott, who plays Natalie on FX’s The Bear. It’s very strange when you’re working as a journalist and you spot someone who doesn’t know you from Adam, but you admire their work in a show that you love. It can come across as a tad creepy if you don’t approach them in the right way. As it happens, our meeting occurred naturally, so to speak, as we waited in the queue for the loo.

Turns out that she and her partner, screenwriter Bill Kennedy, had visited London and had stayed in a district not far from my home. I’ve invited them for tea next time they’re in my neck of the East End.

Seeing Elliott from The Bear made me think of food. There were canapés and stuff, but I liked the mini burgers and fries, which are really verboten for me. 

After one scoffs food at these kinda events, I do what the late Liz Smith delicately advised [suggested is probably the right word] me to do way, way back in the day – which is to pop an Altoids mint into one’s mouth.

I remembered to bring some, unlike my people-watching glasses.

However, lack of glasses didn’t hinder me from enjoying the view well after midnight.