By Chrissy Iley
I love Oscar Week much more than Christmas. Better parties and as I’m not nominated, no expectations. Oscar Friday was one of the best ever. It started with a party at the Chateau hosted by Gemfields honouring Oscar nominated Ruth Negga. Ruth was there in a black lace top with enormous white lace sleeves looking quite gorgeous. It was in one of the bungalows that were packed out with roses, rose petals and rose champagne – Perrier Jouet vintage. It was a top crowd. I met the stunning actress Garcelle Beauvais who was beautiful, chatty and a man magnet. This woman is possibly the sexiest in the world and had men who are normally perfectly sensible drooling in her wake. I’d never seen anything like it. She is the epitome of that something extra. Not blonde and skinny but black and voluptuous. I would love to have a happy hour with her.
Next it was Harvey Weinstein’s party for Lion, high in the Hollywood Hills. Classic, modern mansion, blonde wood, chrome, infinity pool, pasta bar with delicious wild mushroom glorious pasta-ness prepared individually. Imagine the hell of all those actresses starving to fit into their dress being presented with this. As it was a Lion party the Lion people were all there with no expectation but hopes. As it turned out they were right to have none. The amazing little boy Sonny Pawar who plays the young Saroo, the boy who gets trapped on a train and ends up in Calcutta hundreds of miles from his family and despite his street smarts ends up in an orphanage and adopted to a wealthy Australian couple. Well, the real Saroo and his parents were there. His adopted mother looks nothing like Nicole Kidman who played her in the movie. Not a bubble perm in sight. Saroo wrote the book on which the film was based, A Long Way From Home.
- Oscar Parties 2017
On the night, I was thrilled to be invited to the most exclusive viewing party in town. It was Circus magazine, the new film media outlet from Steve Shaw, hosted at the stunning residence of Jonas Tahlin, CEO of Absolute Elyx. If you can imagine a mix of contemporary and vintage Hollywood done to quirky, exquisite perfection, this is his residence. We watched in a cosy bar area with a copper disco ball, peacock ceiling and stuffed peacocks and everywhere the copper pineapple motif. On the patio there was a bar serving gorgeous Absolut Elyx cocktails. The Butterfly was made of Elyx, jasmine tea, lemon and Lillet and also served in a copper Martini coup was the Grapefruit Fling, an uplifting zestful cocktail that seemed to be a cross between a Moscow Mule and a Cosmopolitan, even though it contained neither ginger nor cranberry. It was the citrus version. Vodka really does taste good in copper.
In the grounds was a marquee with more screens and delicious food. Vegetarian lasagne and some kind of moorish toast with mustardy cheese and vegetables. Simple but heaven. We cosied up on velvet couch with other people in black tie and sequins. I was in Zero + Maria Cornejo cut velvet dress which was lovely but I’d forgotten it was too long. I selected my highest shoes which maybe was a bad idea and I should have just safety-pinned it. On several occasions I nearly tripped over my dress or off my shoes. It just wasn’t the kind of party you could put your flats in your handbag to. I noticed all the women there were carrying purses so small I don’t know how they even fitted a lipstick in. But why do they need anything but their lippy? They were limoed to the party and then Volvo, one of the sponsors, picked everyone up at the bottom of the hill and up we went into the gated villa. I wish I had remembered not to carry stuff. People were surprisingly friendly, funny and gorgeous looking.
We sat through the Oscars loving Jimmy Kimmel but wishing there could be surprises. Then we got one. It’s the strangest thing. People were really arriving now. The place was packed. Warren and Faye announced La. The La people were doing speeches when the Moonlight people were told they’d won after all. People were mystified and felt that no one won. La were robbed of the award that they’d already been given and Moonlight missed their moment of being announced Best Picture and everybody looked guilty and embarrassed. To have this happen in a crowded room full of enthusiastic, really quite lovey people was the nearest thing I’ve ever been to a group reverse orgasm. But it’s Hollywood and we all want a Hollywood ending.
As more guests started to arrive, including Oscar winning director Barry Jenkins, everyone was thrilled and made him feel like this was the moment he should have had onstage. A beautiful party, beautiful people. And there’s nothing as thrilling as a man walking into a room with an Oscar.