Charles Finch and Chanel’s annual pre-Oscars dinner at Madeo on Saturday night drew its “regulars” Kristen Stewart, Pharrell Williams, Mick Jagger and Lily Collins, as well as nominees Nicole Kidman and Ruth Negga, plus past winners Adrien Brody and Michael Keaton.
As guests descended the stairs into the basement-level Italian restaurant, they were greeted by a mariachi band, a beloved tradition on Oscar eve. No one in the crowd was overheard mentioning the Meryl Streep–Karl Lagerfeld brouhaha, as they had other party topics to discuss.
“I’m having a ball,” Collins told Nicolas Berggruen and Jeff Bezos, of filming Amazon’s “The Last Tycoon.” The two men, tycoons in their own right, seemed smitten with the ingénue, who’s had a breakout year so far with a Golden Globe nomination for “Rules Don’t Apply” and strong notices for the Sundance film “To the Bone.”
Collins was excited to hit Vanity Fair’s Oscar party on Sunday night, despite her 5 a.m. call time on Monday. “I told the makeup team to just make me look really good the next morning,” she said. “You do your makeup, put on your wig, and you’re good to go,” she said of going to her set.
“Jeff Bezos is over there,” a woman told Jagger, who seemed content to stay at the back of the restaurant and chat with Williams.
Elsewhere, Kelly Sawyer was pleased with her Chanel outfit. “I’m sort of loving this look. I feel like a sophisticated cheerleader.”
Negga, who chose to avoid the crowd of onlookers and enter through the restaurant’s back door, channeled classic Coco in a cream tweed dress.
Kidman and her party date Naomi Watts quickly found their table and settled onto the banquette while the rest of the crowd stood, sardine-like, around the bar, snacking on pigs in the blanket and mini pizzas.
At 8:30 p.m., Finch started clanging the dinner bell but no one heeded, or heard, it. It was lucky for latecomers, “Fifty Shades” star Jamie Dornan and Janelle Monáe, who happened to be seated at the same table.
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