FAIRGROUND

AROUND THE WORLD, ONE PARTY AT A TIME

MAY 2007

OSCAR'S STARRY NIGHT

WHAT

Vanity Fair's 14†⅛ annual Oscar ,party at Mortons restaurant in West Hollywood.

WHEN

February 25, 2007.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

Jonathan Becker, Eric Charbonneau, Billy Farrell, Larry Fink, Patrick McMullan, and Richard Young.

At five P.M. on the dot, Mortons restaurant was transformed into a room lush with glamour and power—Oprah Winfrey, Bette Midler, Barry Diller, Diane von Furstenberg, Ron Howard, David Geffen, David Hockney, Mary J. Blige, Les Moonves, and Donna Karan all took their seats for dinner. Hugh Jackman dashed off after his beet-salad appetizer to present at the Kodak Theatre, but returned in time for dessert, and Agent 007, Daniel Craig, waltzed through the doors seemingly only minutes after he and Nicole Kidman were seen on television standing at the podium. This year's Oscar party was a standout if only for the sheer star power in the room. Under a gossamer canopy of ever changing colors, a capacity crowd that included Meryl, Madonna, Gwyneth, Gwen, J.Lo, Travolta, Wahlberg, Orlando, Harvey, TomKat, Penn, Hopper, Penelope, Helen, Beyonce, Anderson, and Prince mingled and lounged on custom-made King Furniture, from Australia. Even Elton John skipped his famous post-awards bash and took up residence at Mortons. As the Priuses arrived, so did An Inconvenient Truth's beaming Al Gore with buddy Leo—both with their families in tow. Oprah, Gayle, and Dreamgirls'Jennifer (J.Hud) Hudson held court in a cozy corner shared by Kidman and husband Keith Urban. In another corner, fellow Aussie Naomi Watts celebrated her pregnancy with friends Clive Owen, Isla Fisher, and Sacha Baron Cohen, while the Three Amigos, Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, created a centripetal force. A second wave brought Martin Scorsese and his multi-Oscar-winning posse. They were followed by the most jubilant entry of the evening, The Last King of Scotland'sForest Whitaker. Thankfully short on text-messaging celebutards, the golden crowd continued to swell until a threeA.M. curfew forced the Oscar-wielding party to head for the door.

KRISTA SMITH

FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM INSIDE THE PARTY, VISIT VF.COM.