Media-Whore D'Oevres



"Occasionally, the person who deserves an Oscar actually gets one, and that happened last night when Tilda Swinton copped Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton, in which she's surreally shimmery, brilliantly slimy, and scarily good. Off screen, Tilda's one of us—a spunky creative artist with a strong will and a radiant sense of quirk. In her speech, she said she'd give her trophy to her agent Brian Swardstrom, whom it physically resembles, and by time she greeted the press backstage last night, she said she'd already done so!" (Musto)

"Obama campaign manager David Plouffe accused the Clinton campaign Monday of 'shameful offensive fear-mongering' by circulating a photo as an attempted smear. Plouffe was reacting to a banner headline on the Drudge Report saying that aides to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) had e-mailed a photo calling attention to the African roots of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). 'The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat front-runner dressed as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya,' the Drudge Report said." (Politico)

"The Chateau Marmont has been playing host to the Diamond Information Center's week's worth of lunches and cocktail parties in celebration of its collaborations with Libertine, Alabama Chanin, Rodarte, 3.1 Phillip Lim, and Jovovich-Hawk. But Friday night, it all ended with a bang in Bungalow One, with a private dinner hosted by Julianne Moore that drew Ben Harper and Laura Dern, HBO's Colin Callendar and wife Elizabeth, Todd Eberle, Kai Milla, Keisha Whitaker, Sony Classic's president Tom Bernard, Tom Hooper, Russell Simmons, and Rodarte's Kate Mulleavy. Even Houston doyenne Lynn Wyatt made a surprise cameo ... When Peggy Siegal was introduced to Dita Von Teesem ... Siegal ... was transfixed by the performer's dress. 'I love it; you look like a sexy, slutty princess queen,' she said bluntly, to which Von Teese replied, with a smile, 'That's exactly what I was going for.'" (Fashionweekdaily)

"So when Vanity Fair and Dani Jansen cancelled, and Whitsell and DeLuca (and Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg cancelled their annual at-home pre-Oscar lunch) the town (meaning a healthy share of the big players/names/stars) had no place to go. Except to the Oscar ceremonies which many people never go to anyway unless they’re nominated.Oh, there were parties. Elizabeth and Colin Calendar (HBO) had a party. Producer Arnold Kopelson entertained at home. George Clooney gave a 'small' and very private party (NO press) at the Sunset Tower. Focus Features ('Atonement,' 'In Bruges') had a big party at the Chateau." (NYSocialDiary)

"Afghanistan's deadliest bombing to date is being held up as evidence that the Taliban is shifting towards Iraq-style extremism. Afghan insurgents are adopting more asymmetric tactics targeting the security forces and government officials, rather than civilians. However, the collateral damage caused by indiscriminate tactics is costing the Taliban support. More than 100 people were killed during an incident at a dog fighting event outside Kandahar city on Sunday, 17 February. Reports suggest a suicide bomber approached a district police chief at the event, started an argument with him and then detonated his explosives once a crowd had formed around him. The death toll of the Arghandab bombing superficially suggests it was intended to be a mass-casualty attack against civilians, a tactic used by extremists in Iraq to incite sectarian tensions, but not yet seen in Afghanistan." (Janes)

"With Vanity Fair sitting out this year's celebrations, the belle of the Oscars parties was a piano playing Elton John. The 60-year-old singer's 16th annual viewing dinner and after-party benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation topped other bashes Sunday, with 750 guests and a bevy of A-list stars who sipped cocktails and feasted on a four-course meal under the Pacific Design Center's red-draped tent ... After greeting each table, John pounded out the first of 11 songs, the first time in several years that he has played a full set with an entire band at his own party.John, who wore an ornate Yohji Yamamoto black suit, silver tie and black-framed eyeglasses, pointed at the crowd and banged on his piano. The crowd howled and clapped when he broke out hits such as 'Rocket Man' and 'Tiny Dancer.' Patricia Clarkson waved her arms in the air. Calista Flockhart swayed next to beau Harrison Ford. Petra Nemcova jumped on a few chairs and shimmied. Faye Dunaway bopped her head. Mary J. Blige sang a duet with John, as did Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, clad in a neon yellow-green suit, who jumped on John's piano and did the twist." (AP)