Jared Leto, Leonardo DiCaprio among stars relaxing at THR party
The event: The Hollywood Reporter’s Nominees Night on Monday at Spago in Beverly Hills attracted guests including actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong’o, Ethan Hawke, Bruce Dern and Steve Coogan; directors David O. Russell and Alfonso Curson, producer Harvey Weinstein, Viacom’s Sumner Redstone, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and more Hollywood VIPs.
Leto continued turning heads on the red carpet as he has with his iconoclastic choices throughout awards season, wearing a Lanvin blazer with a hat perched atop his flowing locks.
Taking place the same day as the Motion Picture Academy’s official Oscar nominees luncheon — where awards hopefuls learn about the telecast and pose for a formal portrait — THR’s affair offers nominees good food, entertainment and a chance to relax, according to Janice Min, co-president of the Guggenheim Media Entertainment Group. Min and THR publisher Lynne Segall co-hosted the affair.
The scene: Guests crowded into the main dining room, which had been transformed into a night club, for performances by DJ Kiss, Karen O and CeeLo Green. Nyong’o, for one, edged close to the bandstand as Green delivered his mini-concert while the audience moved to the music.
Out on the patio, Andrea and Bruce Dern shared a table, while Melissa Howell and Rebecca Bicksler — great, great, great grandchildren of the real Solomon Northup of “12 Years a Slave” — chatted with Tata Vega, one of the backup singers in “20 Feet from Stardom.”
Quote of note: Speaking of his Oscar-nominated film “Nebraska” and his character who believes he’s won a million dollars, Dern said, “Don’t ever let the old folks in your house give up on their dreams,” adding, “That’s when you’re facing the grim reaper. So don’t cast them out because they’re in your way.”
Ellen Olivier is founder of Society News L.A.
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