Crowds part for Kidman at InStyle’s far-out party
According to Section 2, Article 4, Subsection B of the Toronto International Film Festival Accord, it is hereby specified that the annual InStyle party here will always happen at the Windsor Arms Hotel.
So, it was Saturday, where — in a festival that’s largely veered downtown in recent years and continues as ever to shape-shift — one of its oldest of traditions went on, just as it has since the turn of the century (back to when no one spoke of hashtags and Kim Kardashian was only still best known for being Paris Hilton’s closet organizer). To Yorkville — yes! — for a shindig that was Golden Globes-like in terms of its civilian-to-celebrity ratio that wound up bringing out everyone from Elle Fanning to Mr. Gyllenhaal.
And given the sport’s high profile this TIFF, there was even an actual tennis legend — Billie Jean King!
The world-changing icon — dressed in a jacket that looked like it could be either magenta, or more of a sangria-hue, depending on the light — is being depicted in the TIFF flick Battle of the Sexes and was even acting as my own life coach amidst all the revelry. When I stopped to ask her for one bit of live-and-livewell advice, King told me, “Never stop learning. But learning how to learn is as important as learning.” Game, set, namaste. According to Section 4, Article 3, Subsection A of the TIFF Accord, it is hereby specified that at the annual InStyle party — held every year along with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — crowds will inevitably part, Red Sea-style, when Nicole Kidman makes an entrance. This was certainly the case when the movie star’s movie star showed up briefly at the soiree, giving the full Kidman in a long, beautiful Valentino dress.
It was boldface names galore here: Sarah Silverman and Alan Cumming looking chummier than Trump and the Kremlin! Emma Stone and Margot Robbie yoked together like Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority sisters! James Franco giving bear-hugs. Ruth Wilson in a tank top. Jessica Chastain being fabulous. Mr. Fifty Shades of Grey, Jamie Dornan, showing just the slightest soupçon of chest hair.
When I crossed paths with Evan Rachel Wood, she told me she’d literally come from the set of Westworld — her HBO series — and that the Season 2 they’re shooting now is crazy. “I’m on the show . . . and even I keep going, WHAT??” she told me. Elisabeth Moss, making the rounds nearby, gamely accepted compliments about her own recent turn in The Handmaid’s Tale. She’s up against Wood for an Emmy next week in the Best Actress category, as it happens. (Did you know that Moss’s debut came as Sandra Bullock’s 6-year-old daughter in the 1990 Jackie Collins miniseries Lucky Chances? Well, she did! Feel free to add to that your own party repartee.)
As usual, this party was the most old-school lavish, with a formalgarden feel constructed in the courtyard of the hotel, complete with 22-ft bronze statement centrepiece spilling over with mega-flowers. The food was a smorgasbord, complete with “live sushi station,” beef Wellington a-go-go and a dessert assortment including truffles, petits fours and crêpes Suzette.
There to personally host this year: InStyle’s super-fun editor-in-chief Laura Brown. Other guests at this Renault-Nissan-sponsored event? The conga-line included everyone from Armie Hammer and Brie Larson to Willem Dafoe, Josh Lucas, Octavia Spencer and Maisie Williams. Okay, and ... Kidman certainly was making the most of it over the weekend. She also appeared at Entertainment Weekly’s annual Must List party — held in the lobby of the Thompson Toronto where she hung out in an epic foursome that also included Helen Mirren, Emma Thompson and Kristin Scott Thomas. She also showed up for an intimate seated dinner, hosted by Grey Goose, on the second level of Soho House for her TIFF film, The Killing of the Sacred Deer. Squeezed into one of the circular booths, she enjoyed the planned menu for the evening, including roast chicken and sea bream. Her co-star Colin Farrell (looking super-svelte and possibly more handsome than he ever has) opted to order “off the menu,” asking for one of Soho’s Dirty Burgers. Shinan Govani’s transportation for the Toronto International Film Festival provided by Lincoln Canada and its 2017 Continental.