When we arrived,
we met colleagues, bump into celebrities, appreciate the most beautiful and
daring outfits; eat the finger food that are served, because you never knew
what is going to be served in the dining room...
I arrived early
when the cocktail area was not yet full and I met friends and celebrities, such
as the couple Silvia Bottini (Italian actress) and her husband, the journalist
Matteo Ghidoni; the American journalist Steve Goldman; Brazilian journalists
Cleide Klock and Jana Nascimento, with their respective husbands; journalists
Virág Vida from Hungary and Sara Gerlach Madsen from Denmark; actress Judy
Greer (13 GOING ON 30, THE DESCENDANTS, JURASSIC WORLD, ANT-MAN, 15:17,
HALLOWEEN ENDS); the cast of ARGENTINA 1985, actors Ricardo Darín and Peter
Lanzani, the director Santiago Mitre, and the lawyer who lived the drama in
real life, Luís Moreno Ocampo; Michel Emerson (from EVIL, THE NAME OF THE ROSE,
PERSON OF INTEREST); film critic Leonard Maltin and the RRR director, S. S.
Rajamouli. Not forgetting Mr. Ben Stiller.
At 3:30 PM we
were invited to enter the main room, where lunch/dinner was waiting for us –
three little piles; one of olive paste, another with eggplant cream, humus, and
red peppers; a tiny piece of artichoke, three toasts, and three olives - viola!
This was our meal during the 3 hours of the show...
To kill hunger,
just water, champagne, and red wine. A dangerous liquid meal. At least I sat
among many stars. At the next table were actors Sebastian Stan (PAM &
TOMMY, AVENGERS: END GAME, BLACK PANTHER), and Melanie Lynskey (DON’T LOOK UP,
YELLOWJACKETS, TWO AND A HALF MEN). In the various commercial breaks, everyone,
famous or not, would get up and chat with friends at other tables. Actors
Kegan-Michael Key (THE PROM, DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, JUNGLE, JANGLE), Johnny
Knoxville (JACKASS, SKIP TRACE, THE LAST STAND), Tyler James William (ABBOT
ELEMENTARY, EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS) and Giancarlo Esposito (KALEIDOSCOPE, BETTER
CALL SAUL, THE MANDALORIAN, ALI), passed by ours and I photographed them.
I enjoyed it
when Jeff Bridges received his Lifetime Achievement Award from his friend and
THE BIG LEBOWSKI film colleague John Goodman.
Jeff said that the event was taking place
exactly on his father's birthday, Lloyd Bridges. In his speech, he said: “He is
the reason I am here. My dad loved showbiz and being an actor. As a kid, I
said, 'Dad, I'm not sure I want to be an actor. Perhaps I prefer painting or
music.' He reacted, 'Jeff, don't be ridiculous. Being an actor, you're going to
do all those things. And tell wonderful stories, from different human
perspectives. This is a wonderful profession. "
What happens during the commercials is that those
stars that we admire so much and only see on the red carpet, or receiving
awards, leave their tables and “stars-like behavior” and go chat with their buddies,
who are also stars. I recorded with my cell phone the time Kate Blanchet came
to the table next to ours, to hug an Australian colleague; and then had a long
chat with Julia Garner (INVENTING ANNA, OZARK, THE AMERICANS). And Guillermo
Del Toro, who thanked James Cameron onstage when his film PINNOCHIO won best-animated
film, later went to chat with Cameron at his table. I recorded everything; I
just couldn't hear what they said.
And some speeches were moving like ABBOT
ELEMENTARY actress Sheryl Lee Ralph who said, “To all of you watching, get up
close to the screen and listen. People don't have to like you, people don't
have to love you, and people don't even have to respect you. But when you look
in the mirror, you better love what you see!”
Singer and actress Janelle Monáe, who stars in
the film GLASS ONION, was also applauded as she received the award for her
support of women's causes. But the most emotional and tearful speech of the
night was that of Brendan Fraser who received the Best Actor Award for his
performance in THE WHALE: “This film is about love. It's about redemption. It's
about finding the light in a dark place."
The party ended with EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL
AT ONCE got the Best Picture Award. I think our party was much more relaxed,
intimate, and good-humored than the Golden Globes. Our Host, Chelsea Handler,
gave an opening monologue that was much more amusing than Jerrod Carmichael's
(no one knows who he is) and which was aimed at hurting the organization
responsible for the Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. And the
overall atmosphere of the night, as you can see in the images, was one of a
relaxed party. Anyway, I enjoyed this night of pure hype among Hollywood stars.
At the exit, in the cocktail hall, there was a
feast waiting for us; sushi and Italian food and sweets, and lots of elegant
people jostling each other to satisfy their 3-hour hunger. I confess that I ate
little because my favorite film – ARGENTINA 1985 – did not win the prize for
Best Foreign Language Film, which went to RRR. My fellow CCA members did not
grasp the quality and importance of the Argentinian film. That’s life. But we
still have the Oscars ahead of us...
#criticschoiceawards #criticschoice #hollywood
#oscars #celebrities #wladimirweltman
Here is the video of that party night:
https://youtu.be/gdJE_X6kGrM
