planet gossip (38 posts)

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Sharon Stone sure knows how to get people to pay up.

She was a guest auctioneer at Elton John and David Furnish's Oscar gala benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation. And while coaxing one fella to bid $1 million for a 1971 Stingray Corvette donated by her family, Stone sneered, "Don't be a p--sy!"

Sir Elton joined Stone onstage to try to get even more money for it. "Elton and I will sing a duet," Stone joked.

Better yet, John announced, "I'll take my trousers off."

Also up for bid was a rare black-and-white print by the late photographer Helmut Newton. X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner bid first with $150,000. When bidding hit a high of $900,000, the auctioneer pleaded with Ratner to go for a million. "You have the money," the auctioneer said.

Ratner didn't bite.

Around 9:50, John started the night's performance with "The Bitch Is Back." Here's what else went down...

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Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder. Fonder for parties, that is.

I hear one of the highlights of Madonna's post-Oscar party with Demi Moore and Guy Oseary, held at Oseary's L.A.-area manse, was the Le Tourment Vert absinthe. Yes, absinthe! (Yep, the strong green stuff's legal again.)

While the party was superVIP and closed to the press, I've got some more details for you.

Among the guests were Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Cameron Diaz, Forest Whitaker, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Piven, Wesley Snipes and, fresh from their megastar AIDS fundraiser with Chopard and VH1, Sir Elton John and David Furnish.

No official word on this, but I hear Kate Hudson wanted to bring more than one guest to Madge's bash. A source tells me the starlet was told she'd have to personally call Moore to ask. No word yet if Hudson ever made it to the party or bothered to call.

Most of the party was in Oseary's tented backyard. The tennis courts were covered and transformed into a lounge area.

—Filed by Marc Malkin

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Talk about a royal performance. Prince took center stage in the middle of his living room last night to jam for about an hour during his post-Oscar blowout.

He even rolled out a purple carpet, I'm told, for guests like Oscar winners Marion Cotillard and Tilda Swinton, plus Eva Longoria Parker, Kate Beckinsale, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Rosario Dawson, Dane Cook, Jonah Hill, Macy Gray and directors Spike Lee, Julian Schnabel and Brett Ratner. And then he performed with a full band, starting at about 1:30 a.m.

At one point, Stevie Wonder and John Legend joined in.

Also there? Undercover couple Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz. "Javier had his arm around Penélope and his Oscar in his hand," one partygoer said. They also danced together in one room of the house that was dubbed the Citizens of Humanity 3121 Lounge, another guest said.

Newly minted lovebirds Sean Penn and Petra Nemcova also stopped by.

The party, held at Prince's recently rented $50 million estate in Beverly Park and sponsored by Citizens of Humanity jeans and Klipsch speakers, didn't start until about midnight. Prince mingled with guests in a white suit before changing into a blue ensemble for the performance. And then, for the closing number, "You've Got the Look," he came out in a little more casual white shirt with a multicolor print. "People were going wild," a partygoer told me.

There were several bars at the party, plus a menu of appetizers, including spring rolls, dumplings and sweet-potato crisps.

That's not all from last night's soirees...

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Were Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart arrested outside Elton John and David Furnish’s Oscar party?

Nope.

But they were spotted driving away in the back of a squad car.

Huh?

Turns out the superstar couple had some, well, car trouble at the end of the night.

“They were standing outside waiting for their car to pick them up,” a source reports. “They called and called and called the car, but the driver never showed.”

Deputies from the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station came to the rescue. They offered Indiana Jones and the Brothers & Sisters star a lift.

"Harrison and Calista accepted and were taken home in the back of a squad car!" says my source.

A spokesman for the Sheriff's Department insists the missing car became a public safety issue because people were crowding around Ford and Flockhart. They were driven less than a mile to the Sunset Tower hotel to visit some friends, the rep says.

—Filed by Marc Malkin

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The post-Oscar party scene is already in full swing, especially at Elton John's viewing party and after-fete in West Hollywood. Sitting at Sir Elton's table are Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Josh Groban, Billy Joel, Sharon Stone, Mary J. Blige, Donna Karan and agent Ed Limato.

But the real couple getting attention here is Sean Penn and model Petra Nemcova. Penn has his arm around her and is whispering in her ear.

I'm told the two were a surprise even for organizers. Apparently, no one knew they'd be arm in arm at the bash. "They arrived together, and are definitely together together," an insider told me.

But when they made their way through the room at one point, more than one guest whispered, "Who is Sean Penn with?" Nemcova's blond hair rendered her unrecognizable, even to some of the fashionistas in this crowd.

Meanwhile, the sorbet dessert has just been served, the auction has begun and the auctioneer is having a little trouble getting people's attention.

More on the parties as the night goes on...

—Filed by Marc Malkin

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Jennifer Aniston was among the gazillion or so stars last night at the Beverly Hills Hotel for the Night Before pre-Oscar party benefiting the Motion Picture Television Fund.

"She looked beautiful," an onlooker told me.

Aniston was decked out in Bulgari jewels, including an 18-karat white-gold bracelet with diamonds, pear-shaped platinum-and-diamond earrings and an 18-karat gold ring. Her crocodile clutch was from Bulgari's 1910 collection.

The onlooker saw Aniston chatting with Aaron Eckhart around 10 p.m., her costar in the upcoming romantic drama Traveling.

Also at the Night Before were Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Cameron Diaz, George Clooney, Orlando Bloom, Heidi Klum and Eric Bana.

Now, another megawatt superstar party took place on Friday. Here's what went down...

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Welcome back, Eva Mendes?

The recently rehabbed beauty has popped up in Hollywood for Oscars weekend. First, she was spotted at CAA honcho Bryan Lourde's pre-Oscars bash on Friday night. (I'll have more about Lourde's shindig later today.)

And then on Saturday, Ms. Mendes hit the Film Independent's Spirit Awards. She was onstage as a presenter and even made a quick trip to Elle magazine and Biolage's backstage lounge, followed by some swagging in the On 3 Productions gifting tent.

I’m told Mendes picked up a new white AT&T Palm Centro Smartphone and an organic cotton T-shirt from C&C California Apparel emblazoned with "Go Paperless."

"She was surrounded by a crowd of people, so no one could really talk to her," an onlooker reports. "She stopped by a few booths, went halfway through the tent and then snuck out the side." No surprise, but she declined to take photos at Elle or On 3.

No word yet from Mendes' rep if she's planning to return to rehab or if she's completed her treatment.

Meanwhile, Allison Janney was mortified when she realized she was picking up swag as her Juno costar Ellen Page was winning Best Female Lead. "I can't believe I wasn't in there!" she said as she watched Page give her acceptance speech via a television monitor. "I feel so ashamed that I’m here getting free stuff."

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There it was—Angelina Jolie’s baby bump!

She did nothing to hide it today at the Film Independent's Spirit Awards in Santa Monica. No loose-fitting clothing. No holding oversize handbags over her midsection. Not even a coat. She wore a body-hugging black dress along with matching Jimmy Choo heels.

She and Brad Pitt arrived about 10 minutes or so before the show started. They made a quick dash down the blue carpet before heading inside to their table.

A nominee for Best Female Lead for her work in A Mighty Heart, Jolie sat with Pitt on one side of her and her manager Geyer Kosinski on the other. Their six tablemates appeared to be Industry suit types.

Jolie didn’t smile much, except when she laughed at some of host Rainn Wilson’s hilarious jokes. During the ceremony, Jolie and Pitt—who was also a nominee for Best Feature for A Mighty Heart (he was a coproducer of the film)—chatted with Don Cheadle and a pregnant Cate Blanchett and said a quick hello to Forest Whitaker when he walked by their table.

When Jolie lost to Juno’s Ellen Page, she smiled, nodded her head and clapped.

Shortly before the show ended, Pitt and some others at the table toasted with Stolichnaya vodka shots.

When the Spirit Awards were over, Pitt and Jolie made a beeline for Lust, Caution’s Tang Wei, who was also a nominee for Best Female Lead. Brangelina also talked with The Namesake and A Mighty Heart's Irfan Khan. But within seconds, Jolie and Pitt were surrounded by dozens of fellow showgoers snapping photos with cell phones and cameras. They stuck around for about 10 minutes before heading back to their car holding hands.

And now, I just gotta tell ya a quick little beauty thing about Mr. Pitt. I’m told that a colorist from the Neil George salon in Beverly Hills made a house call a couple of hours before the awards show to give him a touch-up.

—Filed by Marc Malkin

Disney Enterprises, Inc / BARRY WETCHER

Talk about a hairy situation.

Yesterday—just 48 hours before the Oscars—and Amy Adams’s hairstylist Mark Townsend still didn’t know what the starlet was going to be wearing on the big night. Adam’s not only a presenter, but she’ll also be singing “Happy Working Song,” one of the three songs nominated from Enchanted. In other words, Townsend is responsible for two looks for the redheaded beauty!

“This is the first time that it was two days before the Oscars and I haven’t seen the dresses,” Townsend said yesterday at Elle magazine and Biolage’s Salon and Spa beauty suite at the Thompson Beverly Hills hotel. “But I actually did get some beautiful diamond pieces. I have some things I am very inspired by. It’s going to be a really glamorous night so I want diamonds in her hair and a nice 1940s wave.”

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Oscar nominee Ruby Dee isn't slowing down anytime soon.

"It's been a good year," the 83-year-old legend said last night at Ebony magazine's annual pre-Oscars gala at Hollywood's Boulevard3. "I've been a really busy kind of creature."

And get this: Dee is currently writing a musical. (She was mum on details, because it's too early in the process.)

Dee,  Denzel Washington, Queen Latifah and Quincy Jones were honored at last night's soiree.

And Holly Robinson Peete may not have been an honoree, but the event has an extra special place in her heart. She said that three Oscars ago, she was pregnant and hitting the party circuit with Chris Rock's wife, Malaak Compton. "She kept taking me to party to party, and I was like, 'I need to sit,' " Peete remembered. "My water broke in the middle of the Ebony party, this party that we are at right now!"

Now Peete has another baby to worry about—a new daily one-hour talk show with her husband, former football star Rodney Peete, on Oprah Winfrey's Oprah & Friends XM radio channel.

"She's awesome," Peete said about Ms. Winfrey. "We'll email each other back and forth, and she'll give me little tips. She's a great boss, and she's very inspiring."

—Filed by Marc Malkin, with additional reporting by Laura Lane

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For anyone who thinks Hollywood's skinny-minnie starlets don't eat—especially right before the Oscars—you should have lunch with Kate Beckinsale.

"I'm starving," Beckinsale said when she sat down at this afternoon's Los Angeles Confidential magazine luncheon in her honor, at the Mondrian hotel's Asia de Cuba restaurant. "I'm just gonna shove it all in!"

And that she did. The British beauty didn't hold back, enjoying—ready?—tuna tartar, calamari salad and black bean and chickpea dumplings, hearty pieces of Alaskan butterfish and chicken palomilla and even some helpings of side dishes like plantain fried rice with avocado salad.

Calories aside, she showed off her stunningly in-shape physique in a Michael Kors minidress. She did the same last night in a vintage YSL (above) at the Art of Elysium benefit at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

No word, however, on what she and Paula Abdul had to chat about. But by the time lunch was over, Abdul had slipped her number to Beckinsale. Maybe she's hoping to score American Idol tickets?

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The battle of the bashes has begun!

I just got word that preparations are in full force for Madonna, Demi Moore and Guy Oseary’s Oscar-night soiree. All three have been sending out invites to the bash, which will take place at Oseary’s L.A.-area manse.

Meanwhile, word has it that Prince will be throwing a shindig, too! Last year, he hosted a star-studded Oscar gathering at Teddy’s inside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel that went until 6 a.m. Who was there? Sean “Diddy” Combs, Penélope Cruz, Queen Latifah, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Orlando Bloom, to name a few.

And of course, there’s Sir Elton John and David Furnish’s AIDS fundraiser with Chopard and VH1, happening at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. He’s got David Beckham and Posh, among others, on his list. Hot!