Plastic covers Oscars statues along the red carpet ahead of the 96th Academy Awards Friday, March 8, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Locher)
LOS ANGELES (AP) – On the Friday before the Oscars, the center of Hollywood seemed to be at a private home in Los Feliz. That’s where the cast and crew of “Oppenheimer” had gathered, after all.
Christopher Nolan, Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy and Emma Thomas convened for one last toast before Sunday’s Academy Awards, where the blockbuster film is expected to have a near sweep of the prizes, including best picture and best director.
Hollywood people can be more than a little superstitious about celebrating too early, but Vanity Fair has chosen correctly for its pre-awards toasts in the past, hosting events for both “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “Parasite” before their wins.
The magazine led by Editor-in-Chief Radhika Jones partnered with Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello and Universal Pictures Chairman Dame Donna Langley for the small party, held in the home of producer Mitch Glazer and actor Kelly Lynch.
The modernist marvel with jetliner views of Los Angeles was designed by renowned architect John Lautner in the 1940s and known as the Harvey house for its original owner, Leo Harvey. Lautner is also famous for some other architectural movie stars, including the Chemosphere, immortalized in “Body Double,” the Sheats”“Goldstein Residence, seen in “The Big Lebowski,” and the Garcia House from “Lethal Weapon 2.” Though the Harvey house might not have its own IMDB page, it had enough stars for one.
The ensemble cast of “Oppenheimer” alone could make for a solid Hollywood party, with the likes of Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck and Alex Wolff in attendance, and many others turned out as well, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Hayley Bieber, Sharon Stone, Salma Hayek Pinault, Donald Glover, Channing Tatum, Zoë Kravitz, Charli XCX and Jon Hamm. Some left after the dinner, but many, like Tatum and Kravitz, stayed for the music and socializing.
And there was was one common refrain throughout the night: See you on Sunday.
The 96th Oscars will be broadcast live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 10 at 7 p.m. EDT.
