Here are some thoughts on Oscar week i’ve had tonight …

My mom and I agreed the Gagosian opening was delightful, and rare to see such an ecclectic crowd in Los Angeles from the way up to the way down. We saw friends, celebrities and other party circuit regulars:

• Gallery owner Larry Gagosian
• Artist/photographer and honoree of the evening, Andreas Gursky
• Academy Awards host & actor Steve Martin
• Vanity Fair biographer Bob-Colacello
• Prince Farhad-Farman-Farmanian
• Puppies! Puppies! Puppies!! I love art! Where else can you bring dogs?! Not only did a disabled man come with a gorgeous golden retriever but there were also 2 or 3 girls holding little dogs
• Caradoc and his sister Sonse, an art-dealer from Paris
• Jeff Katzenberg (CEO of Dreamworks and court side seat holder at the Laker’s game is also hosting the The Night Before Party this year, known as “THE” party of the season, which benefits the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation – which runs and pays for a retirement home in the valley for SAG actors who dont have the funds to retire properly)
• Tracy Bjelland (SupperClub membership director) hobknobbing with director George Hickenlooper who has just wrapped production on a bio-pic on Jack Abramoff – an L.A. native and former lobbyist, currently incarcerated for defrauding American Indian tribes and corruption of public officials. The film stars Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff and is called Casino Jack (2010). The film also stars Kelly Preston and Jon Lovitz and is scheduled to come out later this year, close to coinciding date of Jack’s release – December 1, 2010.
• Lauren Brokaw with friend Rachel Chapnik
• Publicist Nicky Wyman
• Stacey Bendet (deisnger for Alice+Olivia)
• Sam Orlofsky - of the Gagosian gallery
• Emily Smith AND Paula Froelich posing for pictures together!! (Emily was at New York Post and then took over Paula’s job at Page Six when Paula left last year to go freelance)
• Designer Manuele Malenotti (designs for Belstaff)
• Lawrence Bender (producer of  Inglourious Basterds and recently announced the start of his 3rd Kill Bill – will be ready in 2014)
• Society photographer Patrick McMullen snapping away photos of everyone!
• Andre Balazs (owner of the Chateau Marmont and The Standard in Hollywood)
• Eugenia Silva (Spanish model and brand ambassador for Giorgio Armani and Chopard)
• Brian Grazer observed Andreas Gursky’s satellite arial photos of Earth with his wife and New York society grande dame Louise Grunwald – his daughter Sage is also a photographer
• Harvey Wesintein (hosting a company party for Weinstein Saturday at the SOHO house)
• Designer Madga Berliner
• Barbara Davis and grandson Brandon Davis
• Fellow artists John Baldessari (conceptual artist) and Ed Ruscha (Pop art artist)
• Elizabeth Von Gutman who works for the Advertising Agency: The Saturday Group
• John Waters (director) chatting with Adrien Brody
• Lisa Love (West Coast editor of Vogue) with an adorable little girl in a striped dress I am guessing was her daughter?
• Rodarte’s Kate Mulleavy
• Gela Nash-Taylor & John Taylor (Duran Duran) and the parents of little hipster and Cobrasnake muse Atlanta de Cadanet Taylor
• L.A. native and famous author of many a L.A. tale – Bret Easton Ellis (Less than Zero, The Informers)
• Former Dior Homme designer and photographer (and our Beverly Hills neighbor) Hedi Slimane
• Benedikt & Lauren Taschen (of the Taschen book stores)
• Diane von Furstenberg (starred at my wrap dress  no doubt trying to determine if it was hers) with Tatiana Von Furstenberg and Alexander von Furstenberg
• VeraWang who last night hosted a dinner with Vogue for her new store opening on Melrose (Reese and Rene were there)
• Jamie Tisch, Steve Tisch
• Jared Najjar (owner of Prism gallery on Sunset) with friends Nes Saban,  PC Valmorbida (Austrailian artist and it boy who held an openeing at Jared’s gallery last fall) and Stavros Niarchos, Jr (whose father is the late Greek shipping tycon)
• Michael & Eva Chow who hosted the after party/dinner at their restaurant Mr. Chow down the street on Camden Drive
• Drew Bird came with an outrageous baby blue feathered hat ~ Drew Bird is the designer behind Hatmosphere who put on the guerrilla moving fashion show on Rodeo Drive last month
• Julia Stoschek (a member of the acquisition committee of the Media Division of the New York Museum of Modern Art)
• Shala Monroque (editor for Dasha Zhukova’s Pop Magazine)
• Designer Dennis Basso who will be featured on the QVC Oscar red carpet special tomorrow live from the Four Seasons
• Tamara Mellon, co-founder of Jimmy Choo
• Director /producer Bob Shaye
• Other guests? Vivi Nevo, John Baldessari, Jean Pigozzi, Katherine Ross, Dani Janssen, Catherine Opie, Wendy Stark,  Nadja Swarovski, Mark Grotjahn, Nicky Haslam, Eugenio Lopez, Edoardo Ponti, Robbie Robertson, Kate Sumner, Bill Viola, Julie Minskoff, etc.

The Gagosian gallery just finished a massive expansion and now has three major rooms, a deck on the roof and some smaller nooks and crannies. The architect is world famous Richard Meier (Getty, Museum of Televison and Radio). Tonight was not only the opening Larry Gagosian‘s new and improved space but also the opening of his newest exhibit featurng the work of German photographer Andreas Gursky, who holds the record for most expensive phototgraph ever sold at auction in 2007 for over 3 million dollars at Sotheby’s. The most famous of his photos are composites and colored-in collages of large scale scenes, including a drug store, the Chicago stock exchange and a Madonna concert! Other famous work are his series of aerial shoots of Earth designed to bring perspective to the viewer of space and distance. I saw the Beiring Straight and the Hawaiian islands in on of the satelitte photos where my grandmother and uncles lived – who were in major distress earlier this week with Tsunami warmings resulting from Chile’s earthquake.

Outside the party I noticed an obscene amount of white Audi clean diesel SUVs along side the usual throng of armored black SUVs. But there were a lot  more tonight due to their being no valet which confused me at first but then I thought how charming it was that people could then stroll down Camden Drive past Christies (wait for it – Christies is busy tonight hosting an auction and party with Vanity Fair and BMW for The Art of Elysium at Palihouse tonight) and past Teuscher to Mr. Chow (daughter China is an L.A. native) where the after party was held …

As were leaving, we literally fell on top of yet another Oscar party at Louis Vuitton on Rodeo, just one block east.

I got a bbm from mon amie at the Mayor’s house. She had spotted white clean diesel Audis reading TDI on the side too!! Did you see one too?! I then realized it’s a gi-normous marketing campaign – I love a good marketing campaign but always feel a little had if I dont hear it from a first-hand source and am duped by it on the street.

Down the street in Hancock park, lanes were closed heading East for four blocks in all directions of the mayor’s house on Irving, as he was hosting the ritiziest party of the eve …  My friend at Villagrigosa’s party – which was sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter and Bing – tells me there was a protest ensuing across the street on Irving – city workers – some laid off – protestes the lavish affair.

What do think? I can’t decide. At first I heard there was so much traffic control and loads of cops on bikes, and the tv news vans were camped out front and it all just seemed like too much. Mayor Bloomberg can do this without the scrutiny but I am not sure Villarogsa is quite at the point where he cant flutter around with celebrities and act like a socialite.

Theatrically speaking, it’s all very Gotham City/Bruce Wayne to have a Mayor who throws the best parties in town but politically speaking I give it a thumbs down.

Mayor Villaragosa told Ch 7 news he is supporting an industry that creates great income for the city. Protesters say it’s a slap in the face. Jeremy Renner (nominated for the Hurt Locker) who was there told Ch7 it’s a huge concern but so are all the people dying for our country and its all a matter of perspective.

*Jeremy Renner is currently a topic of interest for canoldeing with Jessica Simpson at Guy O’seary‘s house last night a party Guy hosted for the film, The Hurt Locker – which has nothing to do with the party he will house for Demi Moore and Madonna on Saturday night, 24 hours before the Academy Awards.

My little adorable friend Lauren and I bbm-ed about Art of Elysium at the Pali house, Dior at the Chateau, etc, etc. Deciding on Sushi we called it a night and came home to blog. Tomorrow we will be at QVC party at the Four Seasons which is actually going to air live on QVC at the same time! So tune in and maybe you can watch us try out Cindy Crawford face toner or the new brand to QVC, Lilly & Van apparel (Lilly is the god daughter of Lilly Pulitzer and Van is the grandson of Douglas Fairbanks Jr.)

Oscar week is a crazy phenomina when all sorts of cool, unusual things happen – like Susan Sarandon hosting a ping pong tournament (at the Mondrian) but by far the most hocking thing that happened today is former governor Sarah Palin and daughter Willow showing up at my childhood classmate, Melissa Lemer ‘s Silver Spoon gift suite and getting free earphones. Sarah Palin also appeared on Jay Leno March 3:

Other parties today?

• 3rd Annual Women In Film Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party Private Residence
• 3rd Annual Essence Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon

Other parties yesterday?

• GLOBAL GREEN USA’s 7th Annual Pre-Oscar Party
• Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences Presents An Evening with “Modern Family”
• MANIFESTEQUALITY OPENING NIGHT PARTY

How could you not LOVE L.A.!? How?

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