RSVPs: Eva Longoria, Jessica Alba, Kevin Connolly...
When: May 31
Where: ForbesLife Penthouse at the Beverly Wilshire
In Hollywood, there’s one addiction that doesn’t require a 30-day stint at Promises. You don’t snort it, you don’t swallow it—you just type on it. “I can’t live without it,” Ludacris says. Prison Break’s Amaury Nolasco feels the same way. “I’m so addicted,” he tells me.
What is this nontoxic obsession? The BlackBerry. Just about everyone in the entertainment business uses this full QWERTY smartphone, which is why stars like Nolasco call it a "CrackBerry." Tonight, AT&T is supplying celebrities with the newest and sleekest version of this addiction at the Launch Party for the New BlackBerry Curve.
Legal Drug Lines
I follow Jessica Alba up to the top of the Beverly Wilshire—the same hotel where Julia Roberts transformed from a hooker to Pretty Woman. The ForbesLife penthouse is packed with A-listers all eager to receive their new Curve. When they arrived, the celebrities were given a black card to trade in for a new phone, and now they’re anxiously standing in line by the window for their goods. The scene reminds me of patients in a psych ward waiting for their daily dose. Am I going to become this addicted when I receive mine next week?
More mature celebrities like Donald Sutherland, Star Jones Reynolds and Marcia Cross keep their swag in the bag and chat with friends in the crowded hallway. Youngsters like Rumer Willis and Cisco Adler, on the other hand, immediately open the box to check out the new technology. And for a few like Ian Ziering and Regina King, the Curve is their first taste of CrackBerry. Though she’s a novice to BlackBerrys, Regina has had experience with curves. “My favorite curve of my body is the small of my back into my butt,” she tells me. Now that’s hot.
Black Bubbly and Bad Tans
Not so hot is the upstairs terrace. Despite the heat lamps, it’s rather cold by L.A. standards. That doesn’t deter Lost’s Rodrigo Santoro from checking out the gorgeous city view. Meanwhile, Jeremy Piven manages to fall into a deep convo with the most beautiful, modelesque female at the bash: Crossing Jordan’s Leslie Bibb. While the leggy blonde sips some blackberry bubbly—made with the fruit, not the phone—Ari Gold talks so much he barely even puffs his large cigar.
I try to catch the gist of their convo but I’m distracted by Nicky Hilton’s electrifying orange glow at the other side of the terrace. Though she’s sporting her trademark pout, Paris’ sis looks otherwise adorable in a trendy mod shift. I just wish she’d lay off the self-tanner, which I guess is the second most common non-rehab-requiring addiction these days. I heard Paris was supposed to stop by, but the jailbird is nowhere in sight, leaving Nicky in the company of David Katzenberg and DJ Jon Alagem.
Cannes You Handle It?
I head back downstairs, where Kevin Connolly tells me how exhausted he is from his trip to France for the Cannes Film Festival. “Is it Can or Cahn?” I ask of the city’s pronunciation. “I don’t know,” he says. “But we get into a whole argument about it on an upcoming episode.” Being an Entourage addict, I can’t wait.
Nearby, Michelle Rodriguez catches up with her buddy Clifton Collins Jr. I know the two are just friends, but I’m curious if there is someone special in Clifton’s life. I subtly inquire by asking him who’s on his speed dial. “This female in Canada,” he tells me. “And, no, I’m not going to slip that name.” Oh well. It was worth a shot.
Doing the Exit Two-Step
Not shy about their affection are Mario Lopez and his former Dancing partner Karina Smirnoff. The beautiful lovebirds share a laugh with Mario’s Latina pal Eva Longoria before leaving the party. “I saw someone on their Sidekick,” Mario jests. “What a troublemaker!”
We exit the elevator and guess who gets in? Paris Hilton. The party is over in 10 minutes, but Paris was held up at another bash that Lauren "L.C." Conrad was hosting. I don’t know why the heiress needs another phone, considering she won’t even be able to use it in jail, but she proceeds upstairs to get her Curve like everyone else. Maybe being behind bars will help her break her addiction.
—With additional soiree scoping by our fete froshy Juontel White