Everyone on the carpet is beautiful and adored, but lemme tell you, it's hell on the other side of the velvet rope.
This year I accompanied red carpet vet reporter Maggie Downs as her star wrangler. We set up with enough room to move around in, but as soon as the stars started walking, it was each person for herself. Ideally I would lean over the rope, grab the star's handler and request time for a few questions with Maggie. The nice knot on my head from the CNN camera proved that wasn't such an easy task. And there was no bonus in being 3/4 of the way down the carpet and next to CNN. The stars would get restless by that point, and after doing CNN would be ready to go inside.
But chaos can be fun, and we were happy to soak up the glam. From dolphin lady (Carol Connors) to Travolta, beautiful French future Oscar winners (Marion Cotillard), the stupendous Juno cast and Hairspray hoopla, it was a good crazy time.
How to follow it up? A party at The Parker, of course. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend checking it out. Again, I was kept on the other side of the VIP rope. How to fix? Grab the arm of an up-and-coming screenwriter (my choice: Brian LaBelle of The Art of Travel -- check it out Wed. & Thur.).
Inside I made awkward conversation with Jamie Foxx, failed to sneak into a discussion with Joe Wright, watched quiet guy Emile Hirsch put up with fans (I'd bugged him enough at the Beverly Hills party), and stood in confusion with my friends as Zac Efron chatted up Sean Penn. Any scandals? I'll never tell. Well, maybe at the next party...