Inside all the glamorous pre-Oscars parties

9Honey will be bringing you all the action from the 2022 Oscars, from the most dazzling red carpet looks to the biggest moments as they happen in our live blog.

Hollywood is out and about in the days and nights leading up to the Oscars. Here, Variety reporters go inside the hottest parties and events.

Chanel and Charles Finch Dinner

Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, March 26

It sounds like Belfast director Kenneth Branagh and the film's Ciarán Hinds will be at the Oscars. It was unclear if they could attend after both contracted COVID at the BAFTA Awards in London. "I know Ciarán is all clear," Caitríona Balfe told Variety before heading into the Chanel and Charles Finch's annual pre-Oscar dinner. "I think [Branagh] is, too. I think he's good."

Henry Golding said it was nice to see Hollywood reopening for Oscar festivities. "I think it's great and it's about time," he told Variety. "Chanel has made sure everyone has had a PCR test and that's a step further than a few events that I've been to. But I'm fully vaxed and have all the shots, so it's back to normal."

Golding said he suspects he and his wife Liv Lo had COVID at some point, but they were never officially diagnosed. "Our little baby [daughter] had it," he said.

Spencer Oscar nominee Kristen Stewart arrived at the party hand-in-hand with fiancé Dylan Meyer. Taika Waititi playfully chewed on his Chanel necklaces for photographers as his girlfriend Rita Ora did some interviews with the press.

Click the photo below to see all the dazzling arrivals on the Oscars red carpet.

Sofia Coppola said she was excited to see her longtime muse Kirsten Dunst nominated for the supporting actress Oscar for her work in The Power of the Dog. "It's so fun to watch and I'm just so happy for her," she told Variety.

When will the two team up again? Coppola cracked, "I'm going to track her down tomorrow."

Also at Chanel were Sienna Miller, Rashida Jones, Simon Kinberg, Jamie Dornan, Camila Morrone, Whitney Peak, Soo Joo Park, Adrien Brody, Brie Larson, Camila Morrone, Chris Pine, Daisy Edgar Jones, Francis Ford and Eleanor Coppola, Giveon, Gerard Butler, Griffin Dunne, Harvey Keitel, Jason Clarke, Jessie Buckley, Joan Collins, Jonathan Majors, Julie Delpy, Kate Beckinsale, Lily James, Minnie Driver, Paolo Sorrentino, Pablo Larrain, Regé-Jean Page, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Richard Curtis, Sofia Boutella, Ava DuVernay, David O. Russell, Denis Villeneuve, Jane Campion and Oswald Boatang. —Marc Malkin

Giorgio Armani

Beverly Hills, March 26

Giorgio Armani honored Nicole Kidman with its annual pre-Oscar party, but the fashion house also used the occasion to toast the re-opening of its renovated Rodeo Drive flagship store.

The Being the Ricardos Oscar nominee entered the party with Roberta Armani. Kidman told Variety she is still recovering from a torn hamstring. The magazine was the first to report that production of Kidman's Amazon series Expats had to be temporarily halted after the injury flared up during shooting Los Angeles. "It's getting better," Kidman said. "I'm healing."

Inside the store, Kidman chatted with rising star Alan Kim as well as Amazon's Jennifer Salke and Dune director Denis Villeneuve.

Also at the soiree were Miles Teller, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Taylor Zakhar Perez, Justin Hartley, Glenn Powell, Justice Smith, Adrien Brody, Diego Boneta, Lana Condor, Alexandra Daddario and Sebastian Stan.

Dickinson star Ella Hunt stunned in a white Armani suit. "It feels so good," she told Variety. "I feel like you can wear it to get married."

And then she added with a smile, "Or if I go to the Oscars one day."

Euphoria star Colman Domingo attended the party with his husband and producing partner Raúl Domingo. The actor returned home to Los Angeles for the weekend festivities from Atlanta, where he's shooting the feature adaptation of the Color Purple musical.

A crowd of fans and paparazzi swarmed in front of the store to catch a glimpse of Sophia Loren. When Tiffany Haddish's driver pulled up too far away from the store entrance, the funny lady asked if her security could be escorted into the bash. Traffic came to a halt as dozens of people ran into the street when Mark Wahlberg was spotted driving down Rodeo in a massive black and white convertible Rolls-Royce. —Marc Malkin

Green Pre-Oscar Gala

Petersen Automotive Museum, March 26

On the eve of the Oscars, guests including Ronen Rubinstein, Sharon Lawrence and Jordyn Wood, hit the rooftop of the Petersen Automotive Museum to enjoy a night of eco-conscious vibes, cocktails and mixing and mingling to promote the widespread adoption of diverse zero emissions solutions.

Before the main event began outside, attendees grabbed Seven Springs Vineyard wine from waiters' trays inside and drifted around the top floor of the museum, eyeing famed cars like the Ghostbusters Cadillac Ecto 1 and the beloved Batman 1989 Batmobile. There was also a silent auction at the event hosted by Global Green USA and Energy Independence Now, with items like a Vrai diamond tennis bracelet and a signed football by Eli and Peyton Manning up for grabs.

But as guests headed outside to enjoy the main event and the sunset, there was one car that was the main topic of conversation – a custom Toyota Mirai covered with an artistic design, on which guests could leave their signatures. It turns out the car produces clean water, and Brian Goldstein, the executive director of DriveH2 and Energy Independence Now, explained how hydrogen plays a big part in how that water is stored, and why the element is so important in the fight against climate change.

"It's the storage part of that equation that makes hydrogen the cornerstone of our clean energy future," Goldstein said as he took the stage. "And that's because, as we march towards 100% renewable electricity, that's law in California, that electricity's coming from intermittent sources, like wind and solar."

"Imagine how much solar energy it will take to power a town the size of LA, then consider that we'll have to produce three times more than that and store it in order to keep the lights on at night across the city," he continued. "There are just not enough batteries on the planet to do that. So in order for us to achieve 100% renewable electricity, we simply must use hydrogen to store and distribute the power of the sun and the wind. We have to use every single resource at our disposal to clean up our air and to fight for climate change."

Guests went on to munch on buffet style small bites, including kebabs, macro salads and miniature desserts, clinking cocktails from an open bar. They also mixed, mingled and danced in their seats as Jake Wesley Rogers and Eric Krasno performed.

As they wrapped up the evening, every attendee took home a planet-friendly gift bag curated by Erewhon, filled with goodies and sustainable foods and drinks. —Brandi Fowler

Onyx Collective's "Summer of Soul" Celebration Brunch

Private home, Brentwood, March 26

Disney hosted an intimate outdoor brunch in the verdant backyard of a private home in Brentwood to toast the success of "Summer of Soul," a top contender for Oscar's documentary feature prize after landing a slew of docu honors in recent months. Disney TV chieftains Dana Walden and Peter Rice hosted alongside Tara Duncan, president of Freeform and leader of Disney's new Onyx Collective label that championed the release of Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson's feature directorial debut.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek and Kareem Daniel, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution chairman, were also among the Disney executives on hand. So was Cinetic Media's John Sloss, who brokered the Sundance deal with Disney for Thompson and other producers, and RadicalMedia's Jon Kamen. Quinta Brunson, creator and star of ABC's new comedy Abbott Elementary, drew compliments on the success of her freshman-year series.

Duncan told guests she knew Summer of Soul had to be Onyx Collective's first major effort after she learned that Thompson was at work on a movie about the Harlem Cultural Festival, the 1969 musical event known as "Black Woodstock," as Duncan noted.

"What we saw in 'Summer of Soul' was a mixture of awe and pride — it was an experience we wanted Onyx Collective to stand for," Duncan said.

She praised Thompson's dogged work on the film and his emergence as a filmmaker in addition to his other activities. "You are bursting with endless amounts of story to tell," Duncan told the longtime leader of the Roots and bandleader of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." —Cynthia Littleton

Women In Film Oscar Party

Bar Lis at the Thompson Hollywood, March 25

Following a two-year hiatus, the 15th annual Women in Film pre-Oscar Nominee party returned, with guests heading to the swanky rooftop of the Thompson Hotel at Bar Lis for a star-studded poolside celebration.

Last year's Best Original Song winner, H.E.R., who co-hosted the evening with 2006 Best Picture winner and WIF LA president, Cathy Shulman, arrived in a black sequined jumpsuit and struck poses with "P Valley" director Katerina Evans before heading inside.

"I'm so grateful for events like this and people like you who really advocate for us women," H.E.R. went on to say as she took the stage with Schulman later in the evening. "To me it's always about the women supporting women and I always say that the moment we realize we are unstoppable together the stronger we will become."

Schulman, meanwhile, whose highly anticipated Showtime episodic The First Lady premieres April 17, was beaming as she reflected on what it meant to her to be back at the party she helped start. "My daughter is about to, like, explode that she's on her spring break trip and isn't here tonight to meet H.E.R.," she quipped to Variety. "[This year's event] is very exciting mostly because of the cross-generational aspect of things. This was something that was only a dream when I started this party 16 years ago and there were so few of us. To have somebody like H.E.R a part of this excites me because she still thinks it matters. That means that if a woman in her twenties sees how much we still have to do to get to where we need to be, that means it's important."

As far as what still needs to be done, CODA star Amy Forsyth called on more transparency with actors' salaries. "I think it needs to be the norm to discuss with your coworkers what we're all making," she told Variety. "There have been countless circumstances where either for myself or dear friends of mine that are women have found out they're making less than half of their male counterparts. This happened this year."

Forsyth went on to head into the party with her mom, whom she told us will also be her Oscar date.

There was a sense of sisterhood and camaraderie in the air as guests and nominees enjoyed Don Julio cocktails and Don Julio 1942 cocktail tastings at sunset with the picturesque Hollywood sign serving as the backdrop for the scene. In the midst of cocktail toasts, guests also stopped by the Charlotte Tilbury make-up touch up station, set up with illuminated mirrors.

As in previous years, before the day was done, Schulman called nominees like "Attica" director Traci A. Curry and The Power of the Dog cinematographer Ari Wegner to the stage to share a few words. West Side Story star Rita Moreno stole the show when she did, giving a quick candid speech that had guests chanting "Rita, Rita, Rita".

"I want to say to all of my brown skin friends, all of my Latinas I have never forgotten where I came from. It's so important to me," she told the crowd.

Writing With Fire co-director Rintu Thomas also made onlookers laugh when she revealed, "I'm so excited to be in this room that I spilled a glass of wine on my sari." —Brandi Fowler

No Time Limits on Equality

NeueHouse Hollywood, March 25

California congresswoman Jackie Speier, Nevada State Senator Pat Spearman, Virginia legislator Jennifer Carroll Foy and Fun for Women's Equality CEO Carol Jenkins were honored at the No Time Limits on Equality cocktail soiree to promote the inclusion of the Equal Rights Amendment in the United States Constitution.

The event, hosted by Hollywood players-cum-activists such as Jane Fonda, Jill Vedder and Rosanna Arquette, was a political powerhouse of politicians and concerned American citizens fighting for equal rights of women.

Actor and activist Alyssa Milano stressed the importance of the ERA, which has been ratified by 38th states and needs to be certified and published in the Constitution by the United States archivist in order to be enforced. "To have the weight of the Constitution behind [the ERA] is a very important thing," Milano said. "Because of the way we look at cases, it will be under strict scrutiny for discrimination cases, things like violence against women, sexual assaults, harassment, but also things like equal pay for equal work. The ERA will codify Roe v. Wade and will make sure that no one can discriminate anybody on the basis of gender. The ERA will protect trans rights as well."

Twelve-year-old guest Nathan Martone said, "We need to all support the ERA. My mom should have equal rights to my dad."

Speier, an attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 14th congressional district since 2008, has been a tireless advocate for equal rights since the 1970s. "The ERA has been ratified by 38 states," she said. "But it has not been certified by the archivists. And there is a dispute about whether or not it can be certified because there was in the preamble [of the Constitution], a deadline date, which the Congress actually extended, and has since expired. Meanwhile, all these other states have actually ratified it. The ERA should be the law of the land. It should be the 28th Amendment to the Constitution."

Speier was serving as a congressional staffer for Congressman Leo Ryan in 1978 when she was shot five times during a fact-finding mission to Guyana to investigate human rights violations by infamous cult leader Jim Jones and his Peoples Temple followers. Ryan was assassinated; Speier miraculously survived. And she made it her mission to do whatever she could to fight for human rights.

"When I was shot in Guyana, I said to myself that if I survived, I would never take another day for granted, and I would pack in as much as I could every day," Speier says. "I said that I would dedicate my life to public services. And I've done that. And it's been a wonderful, fulfilling profession for 39 years." —Malina Saval

The Future of Hollywood

Mother Wolf, Los Angeles, March 24

Presented by Vanity Fair and Lancôme and co-hosted by the magazine's editor in chief Radhika Jones and Amanda Seyfried, the early evening soiree attracted Kaitlyn Dever, Brittany O'Grady, Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Fineman, Diana Silvers, Harley Quinn Smith, Nat Wolff, Jack Quaid, Jane Levey, Greg Tarzan Davis, Ella Hunt, Winnie Harlow, Rumor Willis, Kathy Hilton, Casey Wilson, Ashley Benson and Chris Sullivan.

Angelica Ross caught up with Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson. "She's taking over the world," the Pose star beamed about her friend. Dylan O'Brien stopped by after having to cut off his recent press tour for his latest movie The Outfit after contracting COVID. "I'm trying to get to the bar for a drink but not sure that's going to happen," he said as he looked around at the packed out.

The White Lotus star Brittany O'Grady stunned on the carpet before heading into the party but then returned to the arrivals line to shoot video of Ryan Destiny posing for photographers. "I gotta take care of my friend," O'Grady said. Destiny was enjoying her night off because she's been spending her days been training for her starring role in Flint Strong as real-life Olympic boxer Claressa "T-Rex" Shields. Shooting begins any day now in Toronto.

Mother Wolf chef Evan Funke watched party-goers devour his cheese-filled zucchini blossoms and bite size pieces of pizza.

The Sex Lives of College Girls actor Will Ropp joined his friends for some shots at the photo booth but not before telling Variety how excited he is about the release of "The Greatest Beer Run Ever," his upcoming Peter Farrelly-directed feature starring Zac Efron, Russell Crowe and Bill Murray. They shot the film during the pandemic in Bangkok. —Marc Malkin

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Title: Inside all the glamorous pre-Oscars parties
Sourced From: celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/oscars-2022-inside-2022-oscar-parties-with-nicole-kidman-lana-condor-and-colman-domingo/c4d3e642-424d-47c0-abe3-4d0632b41e8c
Published Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2022 20:03:00 GMT