The 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Marriott Marquis last night was a fun time once I decided I was for sure not dashing to Connecticut to support a friend's event starring Mickey Rooney. I'd already committed to GLAAD and couldn't quite wrap my mind around three hours (both ways) of travel for an hour of notoriously curmudgeonly Rooney fielding questions about his career and undoubtedly griping about the filth that passes for entertainment today, but I was happy to hear later that Mickey's gig was a treat in the end.
José was my camerman (which removes a lot of the stress; having to stick a video camera directly into someone's face is awkward, especially when they're not performing sexual acts and high on whatever people get high on these days).
He and I and everyone I ran into were kvetching about how tired we were, didn't wanna do this massive red carpet, etc. But it wound up being rather cool.
I was next to a really fun girl whose hair, nonetheless, kept creeping into my face and all over my body (she had a mane on her). At one point, it worked itself under my MEDIA sticker and tugged it partially off like one of those cartoon vines. She apologized and I accepted, but I have enough hair all over me.
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Madonna gets teary thanking her late mom
I was invited to cover the red carpet for Madonna's W.E. premiere at the Ziegfeld earlier tonight. Then I was uninvited. (Space.) Then I was re-invited. I wound up getting to go, and it was a blast of epic proportions. There was a very light turn-out of fans in the cold rain, but the press was packed into a long tent leading into the theater. I was placed two slots from the bitter end, which turned out to be a nice position because anyone who did the red carpet had to pass us to get inside.
I've had front row before but A-1...I'd be riding her dress train!
I made friends with a woman covering for Pink Is the New Blog, but she was whisked away ("first, they came for...") to a spot in the lobby so I wound up bonding with Matt from Hard Candy Music. As I told him, we were probably the lowest men on the totem pole so as such would be lucky to sniff Madonna's stardust as she breezed by. Which meant anything else would be a cause for joyous celebration. We also chit-chatted with a sexy, dark-haired (they have those there?) Swede named Pablo (they have those there, too?) who shoots for Vogue. He was much nicer than you'd expect for a Vogue shooter, and him saying, "One shot for Vogue?" had the effect of a brick wall, stopping nearly every celeb who breezed by. (Patti Smith was not impressed, but I was fucking impressed that Patti Smith walked past me, let alone that she was attending a movie by Madonna.)
The carpet got off to a slow start, but the tip sheet was insane! Check out all the names:
Some of these people didn't do press or didn't show
The first star on the carpet seemed to be one of the film's two male leads, dreamy James D'Arcy, who looks even better with a shaved head that he does with his foppish blond Edward 'do.
Julia Stiles is miles of smiles—for Vogue
Ewan told this reporter the answer to her question was HIS business
Andrew McCarthy was born to run
Patti Smith— love to know her opinion of her fellow Downtown doyenne
It's Diane von Furstenberg, y'all!
"Mine is even younger than yours, dahhhling!" With Calvin Klein!
Guy Oseary said "too stressed!" when I asked if I could quiz him
Spartacus sexpot Lucy Lawless with Liam McIntyre; she unceremoniously plopped her coat on the carpet to pose. She was fab!
Big, unaffiliated stars slipped past most of the press, namely Ewan McGregor (who was at one point attached to do this film), Julia Stiles (who was having absolutely none of any press except for a shot for Vogue), Andrew McCarthy (who gamely answered my question about a fantasy Madonna collaboration: "A duet, of course!"), a stunning Lucy Lawless with equally stunning Liam McIntyre (she gave me a great answer, he sort of avoided making eye contact rather than give us a "no") and then still others who I only saw fleetingingly like Diane von Furstenberg, Guy Oseary (Madonna's manager said he was too stressed to answer my question), Donna Karan, Calvin Klein (big kiss for and from Madonna and some conspiratorial chatting amongst them, perhaps about hot young guys!), Lady Bunny (I was impressed, too), Zac Posen, Ivanka Trump (pretty, actually) Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez (hotness) and several people even I didn't recognize. (Not Z-listers, more like fashion A-listers.)
According to National Enquirer (October 31, 2011), Carson Kressley is in love with boyfrined John Guerrera, who's run for political office (as a Democrat, take note, Sofia Vergara) in Pennsylvania. Cute!
