There’s a lot of griping, I’m told, about the Vanity Fair Oscar party next month in Hollywood.
This is the first one hosted by 36 year old editor Michael Guiducci, who was chosen by Anna Wintour to do her bidding.
This is also the first party away from the Annnenberg Center on Santa Monica Boulevard. Vanity Fair had a giant space there, and filled it with advertisers. The big stars were hitting the red carpet for a photo op, then taking off for parties held by Madonna and Guy Oseary, Jay Z, and others.
But the Conde Nast mag is downsizing, and moving to the almost opened David Geffen Galleries at the new Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The new building is smaller and weirder than the old Vanity Fair space, looking like a Spielberg space ship with a lizard sculpture outside.
The new space is also smaller than the Annenberg set-up. Because of that, sources say the magazine is cutting way back on guests, disallowing agents and publicists from accompanying their stars. Well, not all. Some top agents will get in, of course. But most will be left out on Wilshire Boulevard, far from the Dolby Theater.
“They’re wrecking the one good thing they have,” snarked an insider.
Those advertisers? Vanity Fair needs them so badly, they’ll be at the front of the line.
Some of the guests could include the members of the Trump Administration that the mag fangirled over recently. Now, that would be interesting. Maybe Stephen Miller will show off tricks from his planet. (That outdoor sculpture is him in his original form.)
Oddly, the main museum is selling tickets for the same day, March 15th, right through 6pm. It should be a madhouse!
Meantime, the magazine is rolling the dice on its next issue with cover subject actress Margaret Qualley. Her comedy with Glen Powell, “How to Make a Killing,” A24 will be released on February 20th, maybe the same day the magazine is out. Not much is known about “Killing,” but the trailer looks like fun. (See below.) If it’s not a hit, March 15th is a long three weeks away.
Qualley is a good choice for a celebrity profile if the interview covers her marriage to rock star music producer Jack Antonoff (which makes her Taylor Swift adjacent), and Qualley’s terrific mom, Andie McDowell. If it’s just another press release, forget it.
