George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and Frances McDormand also were among the A-listers who turned out for the invitation-only bash — one of Hollywood’s glitziest gatherings of Oscar weekend.
A who’s-who of Oscar nominees and top Hollywood executives came out to support the Motion Picture & Television Fund at its 16th annual ‘Night Before’ party, which raised $5 million in support of the MPTF.
One of the key events of Oscar weekend, the Night Before party, held on the Fox Studios lot and co-sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter, drew Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, as well as film studio heads Ron Meyer of Universal, Tom Rothman of Sony, Stacey Snider of Fox, Jim Gianopulos of Paramount, Alan Horn of Disney, Kevin Tsujihara and Toby Emmerich of Warner Bros. and Gary Barber of MGM. Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt and AMC/SundanceTV chief Charlie Collier also were in attendance.
Steven Spielberg, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and event maestro Jeffrey Katzenberg held court as a VIP pre-party event that drew Greta Gerwig, an Oscar nominee for Lady Bird, Laura Dern and Gal Gadot.
Oscar nominees in attendance included Get Out director Jordan Peele, animated short producer Kobe Bryant, Shape of Water director and star Guillermo del Toro and Sally Hawkins, I, Tonya co-stars Margot Robbie and Allison Janney, The Big Sick writers Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, Dunkirk director Christopher Nolan, Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri stars Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell, Darkest Hour star Gary Oldman, Greatest Showman songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and many more.
Inside the bash, guests enjoyed specialty foods by Carmelized Productions by Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo along with Lavazza’s signature espresso.
Past Oscar winners in attendance included Halle Berry, Adrien Brody, Michael Douglas, Viola Davis, Jamie Foxx, Helen Mirren and Mira Sorvino. Also spotted were Olympic skating champions Mirai Nagasu, who recently made history with her triple axel in PyeongChang, and the ice-dancing team of Alex Shibutani and Maia Shibutani.
Funds raised during the “Night Before” party are used to support MPTF, which assists industry members in Hollywood of all ages by providing social services, counseling and financial assistance. This year’s event raised $5 million, totaling just over $80 million in the event’s 16-year history.
The Hollywood Reporter returned as one of the presenting sponsors of the event alongside Delta Air Lines, Ford Motor Company, L’Oréal, Target and YouTube. This marked THR’s fifth year as the sole media sponsor of the party.
Katzenberg serves as chairman of the MPTF Foundation, with Ken Scherer as CEO.
“I am so grateful for the generosity of the presenting sponsors and donors for making the ‘Night Before’ an amazing evening every year,” Katzenberg said in a statement. “It is not only the largest fundraiser each year for the MPTF, having raised over $80 million over the 16 years, but it is also the perfect way to bring the industry together in the spirit of a community that truly takes care of its own. This spirit translates into thousands of industry workers at all levels and at all ages being helped whenever a momentary crisis or need happens in their lives. This safety net of services is needed now more than ever before and we all must play our part to ensure the MPTF remains vital.”
The long list of other stars at the party includes Angela Bassett, Kate Beckinsale, Chadwick Boseman, Connie Britton, Ty Burrell, Erika Christensen, Laverne Cox, Darren Criss, Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Loretta Devine, Rosemarie DeWitt, Daveed Diggs, Nina Dobrev, Mark Duplass, Billy Eichner, Ansel Elgort, Jay Ellis, Jon Favreau, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Nathan Fillion, David Foster, Josh Gad, Tony Goldwyn, Heather Graham, Danai Gurira, Tiffany Haddish, Tony Hale, Jon Hamm, Tom Holland, Oscar Isaac, Samuel L. Jackson, January Jones, Ashley Judd, Mindy Kaling, Michael Keaton, Keegan-Michael Key, Heidi Klum, Zoe Kravitz, Nick Kroll, Judith Light, Tatiana Maslany, Eric McCormack, Elisabeth Moss, Christopher Noth, Bob Odenkirk, Aaron Paul, Tyler Perry, Retta, Britt Robertson, Ray Romano, Andy Serkis, Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Snow, Patrick Stewart, Eric Stonestreet, Star Warsbreakout Kelly Marie Tran, Sofia Vergara, history-making Emmy winner Lena Waithe, Christopher Walken and Bradley Whitford.
Check out photos from the event below.
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