Stars shine on Oscar's night

Arguably, the chief function of the Oscars is to serve as an appetiser for the Post-Oscar Party. With many presenters banished from the Oscar red carpet this year (quite possibly a good thing considering that there were at least five presenters per award), the parties gave media and fans a good look at some of Hollywood's most beautiful while enabling them to engage in that most enjoyable of activities: frock-bashing.



The two main parties of the night are the Vanity Fair Oscar Party and Elton John's now traditional AIDS Foundation bash. However, the supremacy of the VF event becomes clear when one considers that Elton auctioned off a ticket for the Vanity Fair party at his own party, upon which, Elton, partner David and auction winner ($60,000 lighter in pocket) hot-tailed it over to the Sunset Tower.



Whether the VF Party can strictly be defined as 'A Party' is another matter - in the words of Mickey Rourke: 'Party? That was just a lot of people standing around kissing ass.' Nevertheless, despite the absence of dancing and the last minute trip to the off-licence, the VF Party provides the unique opportunity to witness a bottleneck of stars, each waiting to enter the party at their allotted time.


But this great article, outlining the philosphy of the Vanity Fair Party, shows that the party succeeds because it gathers in these exotic moviestars on an even, democratic (albeit it beyond the reach of normal mortals) keel - it's impossible to get a ticket so, if you are invited, you will be surrounded by your peers: 'For a couple of years we had this phenomenal dance band from Havana, and pretty much the only fool cutting the rug was me. So it wasn't the dancing they stayed late for. Hollywood people being Hollywood people, all they wanted to do was meet one another. They couldn't stop hatching deals, exchanging business cards, flirting, lying about how they loved the other person's last movie, and just … talking.' Mingling on a Hollywood scale. And yet, like so many partygoers across the world, they also nick the table decorations. The seating plan also presents a challenge...



The accounts of the goings on at this year's VF party make engrossing, if not necessarily flattering, reading. Snippets reveal that Heath Ledger's family was there while Anne Hathaway was a centre of much appreciated attention for being able to hold that last note in the Oscars' opening number.



This video of the 2009 party contains a glimpse of Jake Gyllenhaal in conversation with a very happy winner - Sean Penn. If you can't see the video below, try this link.




Jake, of course, has been assured of his invitation through the years, as can be seen from the photos in this post, courtesy of IHJ.



And many thanks to Metizzl.