WME PARTY
Where: Ari Emanuel’s Brentwood estate
Who’s expected: Nominees and WME clients Ben Affleck, Hugh Jackman, Denzel Washington, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino and Oscar show host Seth MacFarlane.
Why you don’t want to miss it: There’s bound to be at least one winner in this bunch.
UTA PARTY
Where: Jim Berkus’ Beverly Hills home
Who’s expected: A host of the agency’s clients and top industry execs
Why you don’t want to miss it: It’s a must-attend on the percentery party circuit
50th ANNUAL ICG PUBLICISTS GUILD AWARDS
Where: Beverly Hilton Hotel
Who’s expected: Theo Von hosts, and Matt Bomer and Ron Meyer present.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Honorees include Kirk Douglas, Kevin Feige, Jeff Wachtel, Chris McCumber and top publicists.
WARNER BROS. PARTY
Where: Soho House
Who’s expected: Cast and creatives from “The Hobbit” and “Argo.”
Why you don’t want to miss it: “Argo” is leading the awards buzz so this is your chance to mingle with its director.
OSCAR SHORTS AWARDS
Where: Paley Center for Media
Who’s expected: All the Oscar nominees for short films, including live action, animated and docs, along with Matthew Modine, Bill Kroyer and Jon Bloom.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Cocktails, goodie bags and a chance to get a leg up on handicapping your Oscar pool while celebrating the best in shorts.
OK! MAGAZINE 2013 PRE-OSCAR PARTY
Where: Emerson Theater
Who’s expected: Stars who regularly appear in the pages of the magazine.
Why you don’t want to miss it: A chance to try UV Vodka’s Oscar-themed cocktails, including the “Les Mis” Blue Raspberry Martini and the “Silver Linings” Red Cherry Smash and to check out some expensive baubles from jeweler Le Vian.
UNIVERSAL PICTURES PARTY
Where: Lucques in WeHo
Who’s expected: “Les Mis” gang meets “Snow White” crew.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Chance to sample chef Suzanne Groin’s fare.
CAA PARTY
Where: Greystone Mansion in BevHills
Who’s expected: A good chunk of the thesp and helmer nominees
Why you don’t want to miss it: There’s always something interesting going on in the private room off the main courtyard.
THE GREAT BRITISH FILM RECEPTION
Where: British Residence of the consul-general
Who’s expected: Daniel Day-Lewis, Roger Deakins, Jacqueline Durran and the 33 other British nominees.
Why you don’t want to miss it: As consul-general Barbara Hay says, “We are quite British about our party. We do it about 4 o’clock in the afternoon, at tea time going into drinks time, and hopefully people are nicely relaxed as they go on to their next party of the evening.”
QVC 4th ANNUAL RED CARPET STYLE PARTY
Where: Four Seasons Beverly Hills
Who’s expected: Jennifer Hudson, Heidi Klum, Nicole Richie, Joan Rivers and celebrity stylist Jen Rade, who is premiering her clothing line during the live broadcast from the event.
Why you don’t want to miss it: This party just keeps growing, expanding this year to take over not only the garden but the ballroom of the hotel as well. Plus, as QVC director of strategic brand initiatives Jamie Falkowski puts it, “We’re bumping up our social presence at the party, we’re actually bringing this not just through the broadcast, but through Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, with a social media suite called our InstaGlam.” And those groaning QVC goodie bags are back — to selected guests only, however, as the company will be “delivering them the next day.”
6th ANNUAL WOMEN IN FILM PRE-OSCAR COCKTAIL PARTY
Where: Fig & Olive
Who’s expected: Hosts Octavia Spencer and Cathy Schulman, along with just about every female nominee, as the org’s prexy Schulman says, “both above and below the line,” including Jessica Chastain, Stacey Sher, Colleen Atwood and Karen Baker Landers.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Perrier-Jouet champagne flows, MAC cosmetics in the goodie bag, pretty women wearing Max Mara and those Fig & Olive tasty tidbits help make this one good bash.
16th ANNUAL IMPACT AWARDS
Where: Beverly Wilshire Hotel
Who’s expected: Honorees John Leguizamo, Michael Pena, Lana Parrilla, Mario Lopez, Gina Torres and Morena Baccarin, along with the town’s top Latino players and their supporters.
Why you don’t want to miss it: The Latino honorees definitely show up, for as Alex Nogales, the prexy of the National Hispanic Media Coalition that gives the prizes, says frankly, “If they don’t come, no award. I mean, I’ve been to so many places or events where they have all these wonderful names and then three out of the 10 showed up. What’s that?”
FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS
Where: A tent on the beach in Santa Monica
Who’s expected: Nominees including Bruce Willis, Helen Hunt, Wes Anderson, Jennifer Lawrence, Wendell Pierce, Matthew McConaughey, Benh Zeitlin and Michael Pena.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Jameson’s Irish Whiskey is back as a sponsor, so the drinking can start early at this casual awards bash by the ocean. We’re thinking McConaughey might jog there from his Malibu digs, just to show off those “Magic Mike” pecs one more time.
OSCAR CELEBRATES: FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILMS
Where: Samuel Goldwyn Theater at the Academy
Who’s expected: Moderator Mark Johnson, special guest Ang Lee and the directors of the five nominees for foreign-language film.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Films from Austria, Norway, Chile, Denmark and Canada vie for the top prize; and here’s where you can meet the filmmakers up close. Sold out, but standby tickets are available for this 10 a.m. event at 8.
GERMAN PRE-OSCAR PARTY
Where: Villa Aurora in Pacific Palisades
Who’s expected: Christoph Waltz, Wolfgang Peterson, Udo Kier, Elisabeth Rohm, Q’orianka Kilcher.
Why you don’t want to miss it: German Films and the German consulate general throw an afternoon bash for Oscar hopefuls who come from that fair land (and others nearby, like Austria), serving food and drinks that are sure to remind all the Hollywood-based expats of their homeland.
2013 MPTF NIGHT BEFORE PARTY
Where: Beverly Hills Hotel
Who’s expected: Usual suspects of the 2012 awards season will show up in force, including Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Ben Affleck, Naomi Watts, Steven Spielberg and Mark Boal.
Why you don’t want to miss it: This exclusive and casual bash bans press and has no red carpet, plus it benefits the Motion Picture and Television Fund.
WEINSTEIN CO. PARTY
Where: WeHo’s Soho House
Who’s expected: “Django Unchained” and “Silver Linings Playbook” nominees
Why you don’t want to miss it: Chopard is sponsoring. You can only imagine the gift bags.
MONTBLANC UNICEF BRUNCH
Where: Hotel Bel-Air
Who’s expected: Special guest Hilary Swank
Why you don’t want to miss it: Sample Wolfgang Puck’s brunch offerings; plus, the meal benefits Montblanc and Unicef’s Signature for Good initiative.
SONY CLASSICS PARTY Location: London Hotel in WeHo
Who’s expected: Nominees from “Amour,” “The Gatekeepers” and “Searching for Sugar Man”
Why you don’t want to miss it: Gordon Ramsay serves up some of his delectable specialties.
PRODUCTION DESIGNERS AND SET DECORATORS PANEL
Where: Egyptian TheaterWho’s Expected: Thomas A. Walsh, Rosemary Brandenburg, Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer from “Anna Karenina”; Dan Hennah, Simon Bright and Ra Vincent “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”; Eve Stewart and Anna Lynch-Robinson from “Les Miserables”; David Gropman and Anna Pinnock from “Life of Pi” and Rick Carter and Jim Erickson from “Lincoln.”
Why you don’t want to miss it: Learn the scoop on how these designers and decorators create movie magic.
INAUGURAL BORGNINE MOVIE STAR GALA
Where: Sportsman’s Lodge Events Center in Studio City
Who’s expected: Honoree Sean Penn, Nance Borgnine, Diane Lane, Jennifer Coolidge, Tim Conway, Marilu Henner, Hector Elizondo, Cloris Leachman.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Borgnine’s daughter Nancee launches this gala, created as a tribute to the late actor’s film legacy. First up: giving Sean Penn an “Ernie” award, which is “celebrating his acting achievements and humanitarian efforts.”
OSCAR CELEBRATES: MAKEUP ARTISTS AND HAIRSTYLISTS
Where: Samuel Goldwyn Theater at the Academy
Who’s expected: Moderator Leonard Engelman, special guests Sacha Gervasi and Graham McTavish and this season’s Academy Award nominees.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Where else can you get the inside scoop on how makeup and hair transformed goodlooking actors into a bunch of Hobbits, some starving French peasants and a very fat film director? Sold out, but the standby line begins at 12:30 p.m. for this 2:30 conversation.
GOVERNORS BALL
Where: Hollywood & Highland grand ballroom
Who’s expected: Winners in every category, standing in line to get their golden statues engraved; and losers drowning their sorrows by throwing back Patron tequila shots.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Napa’s Sterling Vineyard’s extraordinary Reserve Cabernet and Chardonnay will flow freely here, pairing up with Wolfgang Puck’s Snake River Farms New York steak, lobster with black bean sauce or some other delicacy. In a room inspired by the gardens of Versailles, guests will find it easier to navigate, according to producer Cheryl Cecchetto. “The design this year has been driven by the fact that I really want the guests to be able to access each other with the most mathematically and logically and just very, very precise pattern, foot pattern.” So they can easily find their way to the dance floor, where they will groove to the swingin’ tunes of the Gregg Field Band featuring Smitten Blu and special guest Judith Hill, dancing under a massive Swarovski crystal chandelier, before they head out to the next afterparty.
THE ABBEY PRESENTS THE 12th ANNUAL OSCAR VIEWING PARTY, ‘THE ENVELOPE PLEASE,’ BENEFITING AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES
Where: The Abbey in WeHo
Who’s expected: Abbey founder David Cooley, hosts Pauley Perrette and Becca Tobin.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Flowing Moet & Chandon bubbly and Belvedere Vodka will help loosen everyone up at this iconic gay bar, as Perrette and Tobin run a live auction during commercial breaks. All the proceeds go to fighting AIDS via APLA. A public party begins after the telecast ends too.
23rd ANNUAL NIGHT OF 100 STARS AWARDS GALA HOSTED BY NORBY WALTERS
Where: Beverly Hills Hotel
Who’s expected: Cloris Leachman, Ryan O’Neal, Laura Dern, Missi Pyle, Bryan Cranston, Garry Marshall and more than 100 more stars of film and television.
Why you don’t want to miss it: “It’s the best party,” says host Norby Walters. “The Beverly Hills Hotel is an elegant place, it’s chic and small enough that it isn’t a zoo.” But don’t expect the swag-bag suite he’s had in the past, however. “We stopped with giving out gift bags or having a gifting suite. It was a pain in the ass! Everyone was schlepping the stuff or running to get the gift bag as soon as they came in. No matter how big the star, they were all saying, ‘Where’s the gift bag? Where’s the gift bag?’ What? What is that? You’re coming here to watch the Oscars, you’re coming here for a party, what the hell do you worry about a $1.98 gift bag for? It’s just that so many people spent so much time trying to be the first ones on the line for the gift bag, it just created too much of a scene. It’s just not worth it.”
HELLMAN AND WALTERS’ SALUTE TO THE STARS AFTERPARTY
Where: Andaz Hotel
Who’s expected: Hard partiers from Norby Walters’ Night of 100 Stars are likely to bounce to this one, since his son Richard is one of the hosts.
Why you don’t want to miss it: “It’s a select party, only about 300 people,” Walters says. “The nice thing about it is that it is on the pool rooftop garden of the Andaz, so they are looking right down on the Vanity Fair party, watching all the celebrities go into that party.”
THE ROBEY THEATER COMPANY ACADEMY AWARD VIEWING PARTY FUNDRAISER
Where: Los Angeles Center Studios
Who’s expected: Viola Davis, Danny Glover, Louis Gossett Jr., Margaret Avery
Why you don’t want to miss it: The African-American Film Critics Assn. and the Robey Theater Company board of directors are having this black-tie viewing party, fundraiser and celebration of African-American actors who have been nominated or won Academy Awards.
FOX AFTERPARTY
Where: Lure Nightclub
Who’s expected: Nominees from “Life of Pi,” “The Sessions,” “Hitchcock” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” though it may go past Quvenzhane Wallis’ bedtime!
Why you don’t want to miss it: The best thin-crust truffle-laden pizza in town.
VANITY FAIR DINNER
Where: Sunset Tower Hotel
Who’s expected: Host Graydon Carter and all his close personal friends — Hollywood’s A list, B list and anyone else who scored a ticket.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Always the behemoth of all Oscar afterparties, it’s the place where all the beautiful people meet to compare their golden statues — and gloat just a little bit.
21st ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS VIEWING PARTY TO BENEFIT THE ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION
Where: West Hollywood Park
Who’s expected: Elton John and David Furnish, along with event co-chairs including Sharon Stone, Miley Cyrus, John Waters, Katy Perry, Quincy Jones and Heidi Klum
Why you don’t want to miss it: As Scott Campbell, the director of the foundation, reminds us, “All of what we make goes to educating people about AIDS and helping to find a cure. And anyone can buy a ticket, starting at $3,500 and going up to about $10,000.” Plus, “Gordon Ramsay is our chef this year and Emeli Sande is our entertainer and our party starts early and goes into the wee hours. People really don’t have to go anywhere else if they don’t want to party hop.”
OSCAR EXPERIENCE: BENEFITS
Where: 45 U.S. cities, including one at Universal Studios
Who’s expected: Movie lovers across the United States.
Why you don’t want to miss it: The Academy’s charitable outreach, once called Oscar’s Night Out, allows a single charity in each city to have an official viewing party, complete with official posters and show programs. Affiliated with local ABC-TV stations, the parties bring local celebs in for a gala night of giving back. MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity) hosts the Los Angeles celebration at Universal Studios this year.
14th ANNUAL CHILDREN UNITING NATIONS VIEWING DINNER AND AFTERPARTY
Where: Warner Mansion Beverly Hills
Who’s expected: Honorees Isaiah Thomas, Roderick Sherwood III of Cinemoi North America and Marvin Markowitz of Marmar Group along with Jane Seymour, Garcelle Beauvais, Radha Mitchell and Eric Benet.
Why you don’t want to miss it: Kenny Lattimore and Miki Howard will perform at this fundraiser to help children in foster care, as will Nexus, an up-and-coming young R&B singer who came out of foster care. “Oscar Sunday is the one time of year that I think, whether it’s us or Elton John, we get attention to the cause, because it’s the one day everybody pays attention,” says Daphna Ziman, prexy of Cinemoi North America TV Network and founder of CUN.
Oscar’s big weekend starts the Sunday before | Stylists to the stars keep it classic for Oscars | The party guide | The suite life of Oscar weekend
