W magazine’s pre-Golden Globes party on the Friday night before the big show is often one of the hardest fetes to get into, and this year’s bash was no exception.
As always, the soiree took place in the penthouse suite of the iconic Chateau Marmont hotel.
But Keegan-Michael Key and Sarah Hyland were among some guests who had trouble making it past the velvet rope because they were duped — as was this Variety reporter — into handing over their party tickets to a scammer posing as security.
The scammer — a tall white male in a black suit and white shirt — asked guests for their tickets before they hopped on the elevator in the lobby to get to the sixth floor. But, when they stepped off the elevator, they were asked for their tickets again. Confusion ensued as more guests coming up the elevator also explained that they already handed over their tickets to the man in the lobby.
Said man had nothing to do with the party. Once staffers realized what was going on, stranded guests were let in. What the scammed tickets’ ultimate destiny was, nobody knows. But in Los Angeles, tickets for the W party could go for big bucks.
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CREDIT: Michael Buckner/Variety
Inside, the soiree was in full force with the likes of Nicole Kidman chatting with Jamie King and “Roma” stars Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira being fawned over by fans while their director Alfonso Cuarón was nearby talking to Tracee Ellis Ross.
Amy Adams arrived on the later side with her “Sharp Objects” co-star Patrica Clarkson after the two were feted by Clase Azul tequila with a dinner at the Tory Burch store in Beverly Hills. Also there was their “Sharp Objects” director Jean-Marc Vallée, who told a friend he was getting “less allergic” to crowds.
Kathryn Hahn was huddled in a corner near the deejay booth chatting with Leslie Bibb.
The crowd parted like the Red Sea when “Pose” star Billy Porter arrived wearing an oversized black fedora and black knitted dress with white trim. “I love your hat,” one friend cooed, while another said, “And your dress!”
Porter cracked, “It’s my Amish look.”
Édgar Ramírez, like most of the stars at the party, was ambushed shortly after entering the party by overzealous HFPA members asking for selfies.
Also seen were Emma Stone, Olivia Colman, Lili Reinhart, Kat Graham, Amandla Stenberg, Michael B. Jordan, Lakeith Stanfield, Kate Beckinsale, Troye Sivan, Andrea Riseborough, Jon Voight, Rachel Bloom, “Pose” co-creator Steven Canals, Linda Perry, KiKi Layne, restaurateur Michael Chow and W’s Stefano Tonchi and Lynn Hirschberg.
The party, presented in collaboration with Audi and Giorgio Armani Beauty, featured poster size covers of W’s new Best Performances Issue as well as framed copies of celebrity portraits that appear in the magazine. Waitstaff offered glasses of Perrier-Jouët Champagne as well as mini-cheeseburgers.
CREDIT: Getty Images for W Magazine
As the party dwindled down, guests made their way to the valet, which was overrun by paparazzi and fans screaming for selfies and autographs.
One woman with an unusually high voice screamed to Catherine O’Hara, “Can I get a picture with you?”
The “Schitt’s Creek” star practically ran to her car — with “Can You Ever Forgive Me?’s” Richard E. Grant by her side — and squealed back, “Sorry, not right now.”
CREDIT: Michael Buckner/Variety
