Oscar parties are like Best Picture nominees: Only one or two have plotlines and casts that truly stick in the mind for months afterward. Miramax's private shindig was one such event, luring Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz, Joel and Ethan Coen, Casey Affleck, Russell Simmons, Scott Rudin, Julian and Olatz Schnabel, Stephen Gaghan, and even literary recluse Cormac McCarthy to the Soho House aerie high above the Sunset Strip. Co-sponsored by Audi and "A Diamond is Forever" campaign, the confab offered not only an infinite supply of lobster, Perrier-Jouët, and Hollywood networking par excellence, but also a chance for Disney CEO Bob Iger — whose Pixar and Miramax divisions helped reel in Disney's 31 Oscar nominations and seven statuettes — to take a well-deserved victory lap with his moneymakers. I asked if he thought the Academy acclaim would silence those pesky critics of the Mouse House. "Yes," he replied with a smile, "and that's always a good thing."
Of course, guests were already talking about the other event of the season: a hush-hush gathering at ex–Microsoft poobah Paul Allen's retreat in Beverly Hills. Problem was, a late-night party in L.A. is like a seniors' kegger in high school: No one will say how to get there, or exactly whose name to drop to get inside. Around 2:00 a.m., we finally located social Shangri-la, and talked our way into what first appeared to be a traditional manse with a courtyard, palm trees, pool, and baron's-eye view of the city below. But then we were directed into a glass gondola that lurched down a steep 50-yard diagonal slope to a fortified rumpus room that was like a James Bond villain's lair reimagined by Paris Hilton. There was thick blue carpet that, with the help of forensic investigators, would tell a thousand tales; jars of Twizzlers; fridges stocked with beer; a hi-fi recording studio; and a mini–concert stage, where our 55-year-old billionaire host was on the guitar, performing Rolling Stones covers with Courtney Love for 100 or so guests, including Diddy, Jennifer Aniston, and an undercover Lindsay Lohan.
As an anthropological expedition — or maybe because I'm just shameless — I wandered down a quiet hallway, past mysterious doors with electronic keypad locks. Eventually I stumbled upon a security room, where one of Allen's sentries was hunched over a computer screen glowing with a dozen grainy views of the party. Spooked, I scampered back to the main bar area, past heiresses Casey Johnson and Courtenay Semel, and found that even at 4:00 a.m., guests were still arriving. Among them was Josh Hartnett, who loudly dispensed directions to a friend on his cell phone and gave him or her the best advice I heard all night: "Just say you're with me."
