The Hot Zone

Golden statuettes and silver lighters, media moguls and supermodels, rap stars and athletes, Swank and Blanchett, Cruise and Cruz: at V.F.'s Oscar bash, Hollywood gives-and gets-the best show of the year.

OSCAR NIGHT

Vanity Fair has already written the book on Academy Awards parties, but even Oscar Night is going to need an update after this year's blowout at Mortons, in West Hollywood. It began with a seated dinner and ceremony screening for 150 invited guests, including Betsy Bloomingdale, George Lucas, Larry David, Anjelica Huston, Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, and Ronald Perelman and Ellen Barkin. Among those enjoying banner years were Tom Freston, Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady, and Sir Howard Stringer, the new head of Sony— which set up a Blu-ray Disc-equipped Qualia LCD TV near the cigar bar, where diners employed their complimentary Dunhill silver lighters. After the broadcast wrapped, new waves of A-listers began streaming in. Amid the throng of paparazzi, a VanityFair.com Webcam filmed the arrivals on the red carpet, but inside the tent even the movie stars were swiveling their necks like spotted owls. Mike Myers and Meg Ryan lined up to greet reality-TV personality Donald Trump and his blushing bride, Melania Knauss, while R&B sensation Usher introduced himself to Spike Lee. At the other end of Lee's bench, Dominick Dunne thumbed through the early edition of the next day's New York Post, which featured an erroneous report of a best-picture

victory for The Aviator. (No word on dinner guest and Post owner Rupert Murdoch's reaction to that snafu.) Awards host Chris Rock soon arrived to claim a few pats on the back, but the biggest entrances were those of best actress Hilary Swank and best supporting actress Cate Blanchett. Best-picture-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy, top screenwriters Alexander Payne (Sideways) and Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and nominees Natalie Portman, Annette Bening, and Clive Owen also stopped traffic. For some, the party was a family affair. Nominee Virginia Madsen hung out with her big brother, Kill Bill star Michael Madsen, while Bob and Harvey Weinstein savored their last dance with Miramax. Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal arrived together, and Jake's former flame Kirsten Dunst was escorted by her brother Christian. Orlando Jones, Rashida Jones, and Star Jones were there, too, but they're not really related. Paris and Nicky Hilton swanned in after midnight and beelined to the corner banquette where V.F.'s Lisa Robinson had corralled Jay-Z and Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Gwen Stefani, Beck, and Fran Lebowitz. As Tom Cruise, who'd zoomed up to the back door on a motorcycle, shared a wistful moment with Penelope Cruz nearby, Paris and Jessica Simpson set aside their Sidekick-related differences and air-kissed, suggesting that, for one night at least, peace and harmony prevailed in Hollywood.

MICHAEL HOGAN