By Laura Saltman
12:58 A long day finally comes to an end and I head back to the office to put this tantalizing info out there on the web for you. I'll finally get home tonite around 2:30am.. 12 hours after I hit the Oscar red carpet.
12:45 Jennifer Hudson is the last to arrive and disappoints me yet again by acting too good for the press. Even Al Roker can't get her to stop. She says one line about not being able to believe she came from American Idol to this and then blows by the press but spent five minutes posing for photographers. Al and I decide she needs a slice of humble pie.
12:30 Forest Whitaker arrives and spends ten minutes signing autographs for fans across the street. His publicist tells us he is finished with interviews but Al, Kevin and I gang up and grab him. He tells me he will be putting the Oscar on a shelf near his staircase where everyone can see it. He has been partying it up with Travolta all night. They have been friends for years.
12:25 I'm feeling exhausted and ready to get the heck out of here until Al Roker tells me he will not be going home to sleep tonight. Just a quick shower and a change and then he is live from 4am till 7am! I'm impressed he is still standing out here with the masses as many of the reporters left long ago and stars are beginning to leave the party.
12:20 Cameron Diaz arrives wearing a short black trench coat. I ask her why she ditched the white dress and she tells me she couldn't take the "sausage-ing" effect of her tight dress.
12:16 John Travolta and Kelly Preston arrive and say they are partying tonight as long as they have too with Forest Whitaker and his wife. The kids are at home with the nanny. They ask me who is inside and I tell them Tom and Katie and Madonna and they seem impressed.
12:14 Victoria Beckham leaves the party the correct entrance while Minnie Driver goes the wrong way and security sends her away.
12:12 The crowd chants Helen! Helen! She arrives with Jamie Foxx on her arm and her Oscar in her hand. She tells me that she will be taking Oscar home to England and knitting him a sweater because "it's very cold".
12:10 Meryl Streep attempts to leave the party the wrong exit and gets sent back the other way by security.
12:02 Martin Scorsese arrives holding his Oscar telling the press "It feels good".
11:47 Tyra Banks tells us she missed part of the telecast because she was on a plane. She talks about the Vanity Fair party being surreal, "You don't feel famous when you come to this party. I feel like a little girl."
11:46 And they just keep coming...I'm starving and sad to realize that I left my snacks I bought at Starbucks in my other purse. Ugh!! This party last year had already wound down by this time.
11:45 Katie Holmes' ex, Chris Klein arrives with his new girlfriend Ginnifer Goodwin. That could be interesting if Tom and Katie are still inside. No sign of Tom's ex, Nicole Kidman yet. She has come to this party in the past.
11:42 Penelope Cruz arrives. She has changed into an Ivory Chanel gown with pearls all over it. The fans on the street were chanting her name as she arrived and signed autographs.
11:37 Abigail Breslin arrives and admits its way past her bedtime but it’s a special night.
11:36. Ellen Pompeo arrives with her fiancé. She jokes that yes she is still alive but barely breathing in her dress. She has to be sitting in the makeup trailer at 5am tommorow!
11:34 I catch a glimpse of Sarah Michelle Gellar posing for the photographers. She must have arrived when were doing interviews. I'm sad because I was hoping to ask her about her "date" with Jaden Smith.
11:31 Mark Wahlberg arrives and sneaks by the media also. Doesn't even look our way. He was pretty low key on the Oscar red carpet. Is he shy or just doesn't like doing interviews?
11:20 Sheryl Crowe arrives with a mystery guy.
Lance Armstrong is already inside playing third wheel to Robert Downey Jr. and his wife. He says he couldn't watch the telecast because he has ADD.
11:19 Al Gore arrives and blows off the media saying, "We are going on in."
11:18 Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony arrive. Fans outside chant J-Lo. J-Lo!!!
11:17 As promised, Will Smith arrives with Jaden so he can meet Buffy.
11:09 Jerry Seinfeld and his wife, Jessica arrive.
11:08 Tobey Maguire and his fiancée Jennifer Meyer arrive. Another gal who looks great after just having a baby.
11:07 Naomi Campbell arrives wearing a gold dress that she says "weighs a lot". Someone asks how her boyfriend is and she says, "I don't talk about my personal life." Someone from the back yells "good because we don't care about your personal life"
11:06 Orlando Bloom arrives and blows off the media but offers a wink at least.
11:05 Natalie Portman arrives with Lucy Liu. They blow off the press though it seems as if Lucy wanted to talk while Natalie wants to go inside.
11:01 Kate Winslet arrives and does a group interview saying how wonderful she thought it was that The Departed got so much recognition.
10:59 Suzanne Somers arrives and jokes that she is "probably the only homeless person at the party tonight." Making reference to the fact that her Malibu home burnt down recently.
10:57 Diddy talks about his disappointment over Eddie not winning. He thinks he deserved it.
10:56 Victoria Beckham arrives and blows right by the media.
10:20 It’s non-stop celebrities now with lots of people using the opportunity that it’s so busy to sneak by and ignore the press.
10:12 Jon Bon Jovi arrives. Sean Penn comes in right after and Jon says hi. He tells me despite the fact that he will be going on American Idol he has never seen the show! Also its Bon Jovi the group coming on not just him alone as was mentioned on the show.
10:08 Regis Philbin arrives and makes fun of Al for being "part of the paparazzi."
10:02 Natalie Maines and her husband, Adrian Pasdar arrives. Natalie does interviews alone while Adrian stands off to the side. When she gets to me I tell her she must bring her husband over. I ask Adrian what he thought of the show and he said he didn't watch because he was giving the kids a bath while Natalie got ready. He tells me she looks beautiful but loves her with no makeup in her sweats. Awwww.
10:01 Beyonce arrives in her third dress of the night, a silver Elle Saab. She nearly falls over while talking to the Today show. She catches herself though. She says she was disappointed with Eddie losing but knows he will have his chance one day. I ask if there is a fourth dress and she says nope next it’s her pajamas.
10:00 Patrick Dempsey and his wife Jillian arrive and let me tell you she looks amazing considering she just had twins!!! I asked if there were any tears leaving the twins behind and they joke "Tears of joy to get out of the house tonight!"
9:59 Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep arrive minutes apart. They both avoid the press.
9:58 Kirsten Dunst arrives and when asked by a publicist if she wants to do interviews tells him "I'm going to go inside and start drinking."
9:57 Madonna arrives with husband Guy Ritchie. Fans go nuts outside. She tries to avoid media but Al, ET's Kevin Frazier and I grab her together. She is wearing Dolce and Gabbana black dress. She loved that An Inconvenient Truth won. Madonna then blows off the rest of the media.
9:55 The prince who claims he may be the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby arrives. Still claims he might be the daddy and hoping for the paternity test...tells me the whole hearing for the body was a circus.
9:54 Naomi Watts, who we just learned is definitely pregnant, literally snakes behind people to avoid the press. You can see a little bit of a belly under her yellow Escada dress.
9:53 Gwyneth Paltrow arrives and tells me she loved Jack Nicholson’s bald head. She will take him anyway she can.
9:52 Gwen Stefani arrives and blows off the media but does answer me when I ask if she is looking forward to American Idol with a "Yes I am."
9:40 - Sasha Baron "Borat" Cohen arrives and the fans on the street go nuts. He signs autographs for a while as the fans yell, “Borat! Borat!” He leaves about half way down the line and the crowd screams and boos. Al Roker remarks "no good deed goes unpunished". Sasha and his fiancé, Isla Fisher, get to the entrance and as cameras captured every second Sasha remarks about the fans, "I can't sign them all there are too many of them." It seems there is a problem with their tickets. Sasha says "let me just make one call" and gets on his cell phone. A publicist for the event comes over and let's them in. Sasha ignores the press and says, "We are just doing photos." How can you blow off Al Roker?
9:33 - Minnie Driver arrives in a pretty teal Randolph Duke gown with her friend Debra as her date. She tells me they were sitting in their pajamas sipping wine watching the show before they came here. She has to be at work at 5:15 AM tomorrow.
9:32 - Al Roker is standing next to me for the “Today” show and we discuss how these not-so-well-known celebrities get into this party. His answer "they come early." I'm still not satisfied.
9:31 - Buzz Aldrin arrives sporting quite the tux. His wife carries a purse shaped as the U.S. Flag complete with red, white and blue crystals.
9:28 - Jay Leno and his wife leave the party.
9:25 - Rose McGowan arrives wearing white dress with rhinestones. Her breasts are spilling out of the dress and most of the press ignores her. This is supposed to be THE hardest party to get into. So how does Rose fit in?
9:24 - Just minutes after the telecast ends, Kirk Douglas and his wife leave followed by Bette Midler. Bette walks out the wrong way and is scolded by security, who send her out the other exit.
9:15 - Angie Harmon and her husband Jason Sehorn arrive. He's hot and she looks beautiful in a very detailed sequin gown. Jason tells me his first response to her in the dress was "wow." She says she would not even let him see it in the bag. She wanted it to be a surprise because she knew it was a special dress.
9:10 - Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes arrive to cheers outside on the street from fans. They walk by the press. No interviews but of course they head straight to the still photographers so Katie can show off her Armani gown. She looks stunning and they pose together and then Tom walks out to let her pose alone. He leans over to listen to the monitor as Forest Whitaker gives his speech as she poses. They head toward the door but then it appears some of the photographers missed getting Katie alone. So, Tom brings her back over and steps to the side and watches with a big smile on his face.
8:51 - First celebrity to arrive is Rachel Griffiths from “Brothers & Sisters.” I'm told that the only person of note to arrive pre-show was Oprah Winfrey with Mary J Blige. She came in around 5 PM which means the press have been out here for four hours doing nothing but watching the monitor of the telecast. The In ‘N Out Burger truck across the street helps but four hours? That's brutal.
8:40 - Some dude on a headset tells everyone Madonna is coming. Turns out to be a false alarm.
8:30 - After a quick change to warmer clothes and flats and a stop at Starbucks, I finally arrive at the Vanity Fair party. After freezing my toes and tush off last year I left the dress at home. Figures it’s not half as cold this year. At least my feet don't hurt. Bring on the celebrities.
