For some reason, the annual BAFTA tea party which usually takes place in the Four Seasons Beverly Hills ballroom was moved this year to an outdoor event space at the Maybourne Hotel not far away.
Luckily dozens of stars and famous faces heated up the tea because there were no heaters and a pretty stiff wind blowing in. This did not deter anyone including a knockout group that included this alphabetically arranged bunch:
Jonathan Bailey, Fantasia Barrino, Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks, Quinta Brunson, Neve Campbell, Tantoo Cardinal, Sam Claflin, Brian Cox, Willem Dafoe, William Stanford Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Leonardo DiCaprio, Colman Domingo, Phil Dunster, Phoebe Dynevor, Ayo Edebiri, Emerald Fennell, America Ferrera, Dominique Fishback, Greta Gerwig, Paul Giamatti, Brett Goldstein, Paul Walter Hauser, Tom Hiddleston, Derek Hough, Julianne Hough, Glenn Howerton, Janelle James, Cord Jefferson, Mark Johnson, Harry Jowsey, Joseph Lee, Eva Longoria, Archie Madekwe, Ashley Madekwe, Julianne Moore, Lamorne Morris, Carey Mulligan, Cillian Murphy, Cara Jade Myers, Chris Perfetti, Rosamund Pike, Karen Pittman, Adina Porter, Bella Ramsey, Judy Reyes, Alfonso Ribeiro, Sam Richardson, Andrea Riseborough, Seth Rogen, Mark Ruffalo, Matthias Schweighöfer, Rhea Seehorn, Dominic Sessa, J. Smith-Cameron, Celine Song, Lisa Ann Walter, Diane Warren, Jeffrey Wright.
So what was going on? First of all, a change in leadership as Joyce Pierpoline has taken over the chairman’s job at BAFTA USA. Pierpoline has been a behind the scenes producer in the New York movie world for a couple of decades now and she’s going to up the profile of BAFTA immensely.
Most of those names above are headed to tonight’s Critics Choice Movie and TV Awards tonight on the CW network (7pm EST).
Some of them popped in and out — the cold was maybe daunting for bare shoulders — but most stuck around for some time. Particularly enjoying the crumpets and tea were “Succession” actor Brian Cox, J Smith Cameron, and Zoe Winters, plus “Holdovers” star Paul Giamatti who chatted with “Poor Things” actor Willem Dafoe. I ran into Neve Campbell, who said she’s open to coming back to the “Scream” series under the right conditions, Maria Bello told me all about living in Paris, and so on.
