Machine Age
Sir Elton John and David Furnish have had their hands full lately, producing a box office hit (Gnomeo & Juliet) and raising a baby boy. Last night, as co-hosts, the high-profile couple added the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s Oscars viewing party to the list. Billed as the country’s largest fundraiser, it’s a reliable dress-up option each year for movie stars and deep-pocketed Angelenos who want to hobnob with them but don’t have any particular reason to be at the main event—which is, naturally, shown on TV screens throughout the room. As Sir Ben Kingsley put it: “It’s a spectator sport, and we’re spectators.”
“It’s been a great night for Brits at the Oscars,” John announced after dinner at the Pacific Design Center. (No argument from this crowd: Cheers went up when Colin Firth took Best Actor, and again when The King’s Speech was named the year’s best film.) “And it’s a great night for Brits here, too,” he went on—referring, in particular, to the evening’s hit performer, Florence and the Machine. Somehow, lead singer Florence Welch managed to belt out a song at the Oscars, then come over and do an audience-rousing set that included “Tiny Dancer” with the Rocket Man himself.
She was far from the only musician in town for the events. Over at the Sunset Tower, singers and starlets both flooded Vanity Fair’s annual post-show bash. There was no shortage of onscreen talent—Cameron Diaz, Jessica Biel, Elizabeth Banks, and Rashida Jones, among many others—but they were joined by songbirds like Taylor Swift and recent VF cover boy Justin Bieber. In fairness, he’s now a matinee idol, too: The Biebs doc Never Say Never hit theaters this month.
—Darrell Hartman
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