Party Report: Hollywood Stars Embrace the ‘New’ Golden Globes by Partying Up a Storm
The Golden Globes has refreshed as a whole new brand these days, as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association disintegrated and a new corporate strategy took over for the awards, which marked their 82nd iteration during the first weekend of 2025.
And Hollywood’s biggest stars returned in force to embrace the new entity and join in the festivities, rolling first into Palm Springs on Friday, Jan. 3 for that city’s annual Film Festival Gala and continuing straight into the wee hours after the awards show on Sunday night, Jan. 5. Here’s just some of what happened as awards season in Tinseltown blasted off the new year.
82nd Golden Globes Fashion Statements
Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills
It was a return to the most glamorous days of the Golden Globes, as today’s stars channeled Audrey Hepburn (Ariana Grande) and Ava Gardner (Zendaya), went for vintage gowns (Ariana again, in Givenchy from 1966) and made a statement about fashion excess (Cate Blanchett) by re-wearing a couture gown less than a year after the first time. Louis Vuitton and Armani Privé captured the fancy of many women on Sunday night, with incredible results.
36th Annual Palm Springs International Film Awards
Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs
Always the unofficial beginning of awards season, the Palm Springs International Film Festival consistently draws a stellar lineup of huge stars to their annual International Film Awards. (The great weather in Palm Springs in January is a big draw, too.) And at this gala, everyone already knows they’ve won, and knows to prepare a speech.
Which is why it was a bit surprising to witness Nicole Kidman burst into tears at the podium as she accepted her International Star Award. “I’m still grieving for my mom,” she admitted and began sobbing. Kidman has now lost both parents in recent years and added through the tears, “I’m sorry I’m crying, but I feel my mama right now. This is for you, mama.”
As the lineup of big names, both as presenters and award winners, took to the stage, they included established Hollywood stars like Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini, John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci, all part of the Ensemble Performance Award for “Conclave,” and new Hollywood, embodied by Timothée Chalamet, who took home the Chairman’s Award for his body of work at the age of 29, and by Ariana Grande, who laughed as she accepted her Breakthrough Award at 31, after a career that began when she was a teenager.
So many stars turned out to give awards (Demi Moore, Jennifer Coolidge, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jacqueline Bisset, Sharon Stone, Gary Oldman, Andrew Garfield) and so many 2025 Oscar hopefuls to receive them (Angelina Jolie, Zoe Saldana, Mikey Madison, Adrien Brody, Coleman Domingo, Selena Gomez, Karla Sofia Gascon, among others) that the huge ballroom was in a constant buzz of palpable excitement.
That continued over at the Parker Hotel, too, where the large after party took over the place. But as a sign of the times in 2025, the usually wide-open party this time had the VIP stars mingling behind an impassible wall of shrubbery and keeping the rest of the partygoers looking in, a bit like “looking at the monkeys in the zoo,” as one wag put it.
SATURDAY’S STAR-STUDDED SOIREES
Unlike the old days of the Golden Globes, when every studio and network booked their post-show celebrations in one or another of the Beverly Hilton Hotel’s numerous venues immediately after the show, some of this year’s parties actually happened Saturday night; and the Sunday night bashes were all a town car-ride away from the Hilton. But no one skipped a beat, as they simply partied straight through the weekend.
Vanity Fair and Amazon MGM Studios Celebrate Awards Season 2025
Bar Marmont at Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles
Vanity Fair joined forces with Amazon MGM Studios to put on the party of the weekend, as they took over Bar Marmont, providing room after room of places to see and be seen, including the main entrance spot, with its circular bar and massive Beluga caviar gustation station.
That drew a crowd all night, including caviar lovers who simply used the pearl spoons to do a hand “bump” of the stuff (thus leaving the calories of potato chips or hard bread rounds out of the night’s indulgence). And as the weekend progressed, the caviar theme kept repeating at parties; it seems it is the taste du jour of this awards season.
Kate Beckinsale held court in that space, wearing a sleek black lace catsuit and towering over much of the crowd in huge platform shoes, while Jennifer Lopez caused a stir when she arrived all in white, including a large fur coat. And that was just the beginning of the sea of beautiful people who eventually filled the rabbit-warren-like space that gives Bar Marmont its charm, wandering up and down narrow staircases, making new friends and greeting old ones along the way.
Jodie Foster and her wife Alexandra Hedison found Jane Seymour in the crush, and Kali Reis, too, while Richard Gadd and Nava Mau held tight onto each other in the crush. Jared Leto slid down at the very bottom of the winding bar, finding Sofia Bush, Titus Welliver and a throng of others jostling for position. Rufus Sewell bustled by, looking dapper, while Paris Jackson had everyone slightly goggled by her see-through skin-toned sheath.
And Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna stopped to chat along the way about their new family business that started with “Harry’s Famous Sauce,” a tomato-rosemary pasta sauce selling only on Amazon right now. But they have bigger plans, Harry explained, telling us that “as soon as I can launch a few more products, maybe I can do what Paul Newman did, and give back with our food to the charitable causes that help hungry people find food to eat.”
Paramount Golden Globe Nominee Celebration
Cipriani Restaurant, Beverly Hills
The Paramount and CBS crowds gathered at Cipriani, where pasta was also the foodie talk of the night, as that famed Italian restaurant offered up a large pasta bar with choices for every palate. Nominees like “A Gentleman in Moscow” star Ewan McGregor naturally brought his wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead (who is his co-star in the show, too), while nominees Kathy Bates and Skye P. Marshall shared a smile with co-star Jason Ritter over their quick “Matlock” success.
Billy Bob Thornton, nominated for “Landman,” was almost unrecognizable as he slid through the crowd, while Wilmer Valderrama, Keegan-Michael Key, Esai Morales and Alex Winter were also in attendance. Meanwhile, Kelly Rowland seems to be drinking from the fountain of youth and Ziggy Marley is looking more and more like his famous father Bob. All were happy with the intimate style of this bash, designed just for those happily ensconced in the bosom of the Paramount family of media brands.
W Magazine’s Annual Best Performances Party
Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles
W Magazine brought a fashionable take on the Globes Saturday party trail, taking over the Chateau Marmont to celebrate their multiple-cover Volume 1 issue of 2025. Cover stars including Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Demi Moore, Zoe Saldaña, Cynthia Erivo, Mia Goth, Nicole Kidman and Colman Domingo gathered, surrounded by giant photos of themselves adorning the walls. Adrien Brody even brought his mom and dad to the bash!
Lots of other hot young fashion-loving stars turned out, too, with Sabrina Carpenter and Charlie XCX leading that charge along with Ayo Edebiri, Rachel Sennott, Kaia Gerber, Monica Barbarao, Theo James, Mikey Madison, Lily Collins and a huge gaggle of others.
Some of fashion’s top names were in the chateau as well, including Nicolas Ghesquiére (Louis Vuitton), Hedi Slimane (Yves Saint Laurent, Celine) and Christian Louboutin, whose eponymous label presented the evening. No word on if he handed out gift bags, too, but the Casamigos Tequila was definitely free and flowing as the party kept dancing (and drinking) well into the night.
SUNDAY’S ELITE AFTER PARTIES
Fewer Golden Globes after parties happened on Sunday night, but those that did had the special plus of winners proudly showing off their trophies as they roamed from Beverly Hills to West Hollywood, stopping into all of the big three before the witching hour tolled and another year was in the books.
Universal Pictures
Lavo Restaurant, West Hollywood
Universal Pictures may have come away with fewer trophies than they hoped for, but “Wicked” and “The Wild Robot” are still definite contenders in the race for the Academy Awards, so the crowd that formed at Lavo was in high spirits. It certainly helped that the food offerings were top-notch, including lots of caviar (again!) served with creme fraiche, crusty pizzas with gluten-free options and a groaning dessert table filled with Food LA LA-created macarons, truffles and other diet-busting delights.
Cecil B. DeMille Globes special award-winner Viola Davis and her actor-producer husband Julius Tennon arrived fashionably late (as did most of the crowd), happily digging into those gluten-free pizza and desserts as we chatted about her award, which adds to her EGOTs, but was given to her a few nights earlier, not at Sunday’s live show.
“I understand the time constraints they are under with the show,” she said diplomatically. “And my speech is on YouTube, I’m sure. More important to me is the meaning of the award, given for what I have contributed to the industry. I have to remember that things like this have meaning far beyond me; they reverberate in our society and help to keep changing things for the better.”
Davis was certainly the center of attention at the bash, along with Isabella Rossellini, whose film “Conclave” comes from Focus Features, a subsidiary of Universal. She stopped in early and drew a big crowd of admirers; and then things really got hoppin’ when Glen Powell, Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Derek Hough, Christopher McDonald and “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu all arrived to close out the bash. Happily, everyone went home with a goodie bag of sweet things from Food LA LA; we’re wondering how many figure-conscious actors actually dove into those tasty treats on the car ride home!
Netflix
Spago Restaurant, Beverly Hills
Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, hosted his annual Netflix Globes after party at Spago Beverly Hills as a big winner, with “Emilia Perez” taking home numerous awards. First-time winner Zoe Saldaña and her co-stars Selena Gomez, Karla Sofia Gascon and Adriana Paz all enjoyed Wolfgang Puck’s famous cuisine, including those scrumptious spicy tuna tartare tuile cones and his famed salmon-and-caviar (that food staple of the weekend) pizza.
Keri Russell may not have won (she was nominated for her fantastic show “The Diplomat”) but she took the prize for her fashion sense, wearing a beautiful Stéphane Rolland caped gown with pockets that stood up all night without the need for a clothing switch. Famous faces were found in every nook of the iconic restaurant, ranging from Adam Sandler and Jamie Foxx to Kaley Cuoco, Tilda Swinton and Colman Domingo.
The Walt Disney Company
Funke Restaurant, Beverly Hills
The “Abbott Elementary” gang hit The Walt Disney Company Golden Globes After Party at Funke, including Quinta Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lisa Ann Walter and Chris Perfetti, indulging in Chef Evan Funke’s famed homemade pasta, pizza and other Italian classics.
“Shogun” star Anna Sawai toted her Globes trophy through the throng, as did her winning co-star Hiroyuki Sanada and creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, as their first-season run from Emmys dominance to Globes wins came to an end. Kieran Culkin had his trophy too, hanging with Jesse Eisenberg in one corner, while Kevin Bacon and his daughter Sosie hung out with her main squeeze, Scoot McNairy. Also spotted in the crush were Amy Adams, Edward Norton, Ryan Murphy, Emma Stone and Anthony Mackie. And as the last party of Globes weekend came to a close, it seems obvious that the awards show that was on life support a few short years ago has roared back to life in its new iteration.
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