What happens when stars collide
THE fun of the Globes room is the mix of television and film stars and other power people, jammed into a room where there is nothing barring anyone from walking up to anyone they want. There was Harvey Weinstein chatting with a bubbly Gillian Anderson (and, later, standing in a crowd saying, “Hey, who’s grabbing my rear?”); Steven Spielberg dashing past Tony Shalhoub; Kiefer Sutherland watching Dustin Hoffman greet old friends. And buzz-cut mega-mogul Rupert Murdoch chatting up LAPD Chief William J. Bratton as they waited in line for the bathroom. Times staff writers Rachel Abramowitz, Geoff Boucher, Maria Elena Fernandez and Richard Rushfield took in the scene.
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The first star to enter to the ballroom, at 3:47: Career deathwatch drumroll please ... David Spade.
Walking into the ballroom not long after, “Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry discovered that the third-year comedy had not been relegated to the nosebleed seats. “Ah, still a good table. Still relatively in the center,” he said to Ricardo Chavira.
As the room began to fill, the cast of “Ugly Betty” -- Tony Plana, Ana Ortiz, Becki Newton, Michael Urie, Eric Mabius and Ashley Jensen -- were drinking Champagne. A massive bottle of Moet sat in the center of each table in a plastic bucket, along with gold boxes of Godiva chocolates. Newton said she kept looking behind her to see whom the photographers were shooting and “couldn’t believe it was me.” Plana said he was keeping his fingers crossed, but thought maybe he wouldn’t need the good luck, since as he pointed out, “the viejitas [old ladies] are all doing their rosaries.”
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At a certain point Ken Davitian, the producer from “Borat,” appeared to be the most sought-after star in the room. John Stamos had him cornered, telling an unprintable story about having sex with a woman who began describing the sight of the producer’s testicles on Borat’s forehead during Davitian’s naked wrestling scene with Sacha Baron Cohen.... Ruined the mood, apparently. Dwight from “The Office” walked by: “Oh my God, it’s the guy from Borat!” As it happened, Davitian almost wasn’t in the room. On Sunday, an HFPA member ran into him at a swag suite and pulled strings to get him a seat (and ensure his nationally televised humiliation when Cohen’s acceptance speech focused on his nether regions).
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“Heroes’ ” Masi Oka teleported himself from the carpet to the ballroom without having to do his famous clench. Oka said he was very nervous, and rushed off to the bathroom. Back from the bathroom, Oka didn’t know the food gets taken away so quickly. Another first-timer goes hungry! “I guess I’ll have to wait for the parties,” he said. But wait -- then the entrees arrived. “I guess we just missed the salad and the appetizer. That’s a good sign.”
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“Weeds” nominee Justin Kirk, who plays the ne’er-do-well Andy Botwin, sought out some Ketel One at the bar (near, appropriately, the smoking patio). He said the cast of veteran actors know they have landed on a blessed project. “We’ve all been around, we’ve done things and, it sounds cliched, but we’re really happy to be doing something with such good words to say.”
It was time to head back to his table, but he had a nasty rumor to dispel. “Everyone in Hollywood, all the potheads, love us ... but the show, there’s not many of us smoking. We’re surprisingly chaste.”
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Sharon Stone chatted up “House” star Hugh Laurie before he picked up his award for best actor in a drama. La Stone swore she wanted to work with the dashing Brit, and when Laurie acquiesced, she told him to send her a letter.
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The nicotine set rushed for the patio during the third commercial break. Kiefer Sutherland held court. Eva Longoria puffed beneath an outdoor heater near some Dutch filmmakers with cigars. As Patricia Arquette, Rosanna Arquette and sister-in-law Courteney Cox left the patio, they kept stepping on one another’s trains. “What is wrong with the Arquette girls?” Cox said.
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Tete-a-tete between moguls with funny hair:
Donald Trump: I’m getting a star tomorrow [on the Hollywood Walk of Fame]
Brian Grazer: I’ve got one.
Trump: Oh really?
Grazer: Where is yours?
Trump describes.
Grazer: That’s a good spot.
Trump: That’s what they tell me.
Grazer: It’s great to show your kids.
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“Weeds” creator Jenji Kohan on losing: “If I cared about the opinions of 90 foreign strangers, I’d be a hooker outside the U.N.”
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How to break up in public: Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake were all smiles -- and separated by about 20 yards. This being Hollywood, she had the primo seat down center, and he was in the second ring, chatting with his publicist.
