Hail to the king!

Friday, March 2, 2007

http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2007/02/28/life_and_arts/malibu_seen/kim1.txt

Malibu Seen
By Kim Devore / Entertainment Columnist

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Hail to the king!

Hollywood's biggest, loudest and longest bash of the year came to and end on Sunday with honors for the king and queen, accolades for a former vice president and overdue recognition for one of the industry's most celebrated directors. The build up began back in January with the Golden Globe Awards, the SAG Awards, the DGA Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards and, finally, the Oscars. Then there were the parties-the kick-off parties, the pre-parties, the post-parties, the after-parties, the A parties and the B parties.

Coordinating these mega-events takes military precision and sometimes you feel like party planning should have an honor of its own. My winner for creativity and quick thinking goes to "L.A. Confidential," which hosted a wet and wild soiree for cover-king-turned-Oscar winner Forest Whitaker.

On any other night, the Skybar in Hollywood, with its cool pool and see-forever views would be the best place in town for an Oscar extravaganza, but a massive downpour threatened to turn the red carpet celebration into a soggy mess. "We are in emergency mode now," said one staffer, scrambling to sweep up as many puddles as possible. "What happened to the pool?" I asked. "You're standing on it," was the reply.

With all hands on-deck and no time to spare, party planners put down an expansive wood floor and tented the entire outdoor patio. In the end, even Mother Nature couldn't keep celluloid scenesters away from this fab fling. DJ Pesce got the party started with a little Donna Summer and was already mulling over the rest of her repertoire. The fact that the guest list included major music makers like Mary J. Blige, Ludacris and Natalie Cole only made the evening more exciting. "I'm not worried," she said. I'm really glad they're here. I'm going to give them some '80s and see how it goes."

With the area nice and dry, FOFs (Friends of Forest) started to roll in. Locals Jane Seymour and James Keach caught up with old pals like David Carradine, while servers made the rounds with Last King Cosmos and Whitaker Sours. Soon, the space was so cozy you completely forgot about the rain.

The previous night the place to be seen was at Global Green, where Oscar nominees Penélope Cruz and Leonardo DiCaprio hosted an eco-friendly affair. The environmental organization's fete at Avalon helped kick off its Red Carpet/Green Cars campaign, which provides energy-efficient wheels on Oscar night. From the food to the fuel to the organic hors d'oeuvres, everything at this event was delightfully down to earth.

Sure, Academy week is all about movies, but DiCaprio underscored the importance of the really, really big picture saying, "It's urgent that we all take steps to reduce our impact on the environment."

Four days later, he was at the Oscars sharing the stage with "his hero" former Vice President Al Gore. Through his acclaimed documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore brought the realities of global warming to millions. DiCaprio praised the ex VP as "an inspirational leader and a true champion of the cause."

Even though the "Blood Diamond" star lost to Whitaker as best actor, standing before a billion people as one of Al's best pals wasn't a bad consolation prize.

Courtesy of FGPR