TGATP Best of 2009 (Part 2)

Best Film Premieres

1. It’s Complicated – Movie screening done right.  Guests given popcorn and bevies upon entry to the theater then bussed to a beautiful and very exclusive (no crashers allowed entry!) dinner party at the Gramercy Park Rooftop
2. My One and Only – George Hamilton in the house for this whimsical and hilarious film followed by a full roast dinner at the Rouge Tomato
3. Esquire Celebrates Michael Moore – Hip and happening fete at the awesome Esquire Soho Mews Apartment.   First met the sexy and talented, Jamie McLean and a brief appearance by John Legend in the recording studio

Best Broadway Party

1. Hair Opening Night – Gorgeous dinner at Gotham Hall and then was out till 5am with “the Tribe”
2. Hamlet Opening Night – Great food and fun conversation with Michael Grandage, the Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse

Best PR Companies

1. Terrie Williams – A totally classy lady with a beautiful Spirit.  Embodies what PR is all about
2. LaForce Stevens – No snobby clippers.  Staff totally gets it
3. Peggy Siegal – Great staff and wonderful movie premieres and parties.  Excellent follow-up
4. Mammouth  – Ditto.  A great staff with good films and excellent follow-up
5. BMF/Luxe Life Media – Promoted Carerra Summer Escape, the best event of the summer and managed to handle job minus attitude or unnecessary drama
6. AMP3 PR – Easygoing staff.  Always a pleasure to work with
7. Lizzie Grubman – Consistently easy to work with.  Glamorous staff minus the snobby attitude
8. Waggener Edstrom – Excellent staff and great follow-up
9. BNC – Staff tons of fun and introduced us to Nintendo products at NY Fashion Week.  Excellent follow-up
10. Shadow PR – Friendly staff and nice events

Best DJ’s

1. (tie) DJ QuestLove and DJ Cassidy – Simply the best!  No way anyone can stand still with either of these guys at the decks.
2. Mark Ronson – Amazing DJ and Uber-talented Producer.  Only comes in second because I only heard him spin twice.  But gets major TGATP props as the man who created the sound for Amy Winehouse‘s “Back to Black” and his own album, Version.
3. DJ Mia Moretti – Brings down the house with her gal pal, Caitlin Moe on electric violin.
4. DJ Nick Cohen
5. DJ Kiss
6. DJ Sky Nellor

Best Caterers

1. Tastings
2. Olivier Cheng
3. Creative Edge

Best Venues

1. Stephen Weiss Studio – Two floors of elegance with a garden on the roof.
2. 632 Hudson – A breathtaking three-story Mediterranean villa in the middle of the Meatpacking District
3. Ramscale Studio – A Loft on the West Side Highway with stunning views of the Hudson
4. Gotham Hall – Perfect spot for gala dinners with affable wait and bartending staff

Most Creative Party Favor

1. Free Tattoos at YRB How You Rock It – Honestly, what better way to make a party unforgettable than to ink the guests?  Totally awesome gift!

Most Outrageous Response to the name “That Girl At The Party”

1. One gal mistakenly thought I said “Bad Girl At The Party” and that the site was a Girls Gone Wild type of thing, so she promptly insisted on posing for a shot with her butt out!

Party Annoyances

1. Mean and/or racists clippers at the door – While occurrences have been few for TGATP, there have been reports of outright racist behavior by clippers to confirmed guests at party entrances, which is just completely off, particularly in this age of  Obama.
2. Partycrashers – There will always inevitably be partycrashers and a sprinkling of upscale crashers  actually adds flavor to an event.  But there are currently a group of career crashers, who would crash a toe nail clipping if they thought it would mean some cocktails, hor d’ouerves and/or a goody bag!
3. Tray Diving – If the guests have to dive for the tray, either there is not enough food or there are too many guests!  Guests should not have to beg wait staff for the food and it is the utter height of tackiness to have the waiters sail past the guests with the trays above their heads!  2 trays up, 2 trays down would alleviate this dilemma.

Nicest Celebs

1. Estelle– No diva vibe.  Treats guests like her BFF and is always happy to see TGATP
2. Robin Thicke – Totally nice guy.  Once was on his way out but stopped and spend another hours making sure that every child and family got autographs and pics.
3. Orlando Bloom – Regular and cool guy.  Posed for two great shots and was affably amused when he learned the name of the site
4. Jason Reitman – Great Director and fun guy
5. John Legend – No pretense just another partygoer when he is in the house
6. Ann Dexter-Jones and her kids Mark and Charlotte Ronson – Ann is a real sweetheart as are two of her kids.
7. Matthew Modine – A class act. Intiially a creep when asked for a pic by TGATP.  But came back seconds later, re-intro’d himself and posed for the shot.
8. Simon and Alex from Real Housewives NYC – Always a pleasure to see them out
9. Veronica Webb – Just a real down gal
10. Diane Von Furstenberg – Lovely clothes, lovely lady
11. Mischa Barton – Sweet and unassuming
12. Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford, & Taylor Momsen – Young, hip, and totally unassuming
13. Whitney Port – Unlike LC, Whitney is a true Beauty inside and out

Meanie Celebs

1. Chevy Chase – Actually snapped his fingers in two young girls faces and told them to “Beat it!” at a fashion show then mean a second time at an event for the Coppola’s.  Maybe nicer now as he finally has a career again with new NBC TV show, “Community”
2. Jessica Lange – Great disappointment as I was a lifelong fan.  Inexplicably mean gal
3. Samantha Ronson – Believes own hype, not as nice as the rest of her family.
4. Lauren Conrad – Pretty girl ugly vibe.

Hotties on the scene/TGATP crushes (not necessarily in order of preference)

1. Norman Reedus – Great bod and something mad hot about his bad boy vibe.
2. Jamie McLean – Lyrics so hot they make ya just wanna strip on the spot.
3. Nigel Barker – Hotness meets real social consciousness. Nothing hotter!
4. Michael Franti – Ditto plus 6’6!
5. Jamie Burke – Muso + Model  = The ultimate TGATP toy boy.
6. Tyson Beckford – Those abs, that smile, those tatts, that brain!
7. Assorted MBTs – Loads of hotness in the waitstaff and bartending ranks as they are mostly culled from male modeling agencies.  Talk about service with a smile!

TGATP was awestruck to meet this year

1. George Hamilton – The Hollywood legend with the perfect tan.  Met him back when I worked on the set of Woody Allen‘s “Hollywood Endings” and he actually remembered me.  But got to chat with him at length this year.  Wish I could’ve met his amazing mom!
2. Buzz Aldrin – Wow!  Shook the hand of one of  the first men to step on the Moon!
3. Jim Lovell – Astronaut number 2.  Commander of  the ill-fated “Apollo 13”, who was played by Tom Hanks in the movie
4. Graydon Carter – Vanity Fair has been my fav mag for years and dying to write for them, like one of my heroes, Dorothy Parker
5. Annie Liebowitz – Along with Avedon and Parks, my photographic hero
6. Gloria Steinem – Every woman owes her one

Best Performance

1. Hair – So incredible I want to see it again and again
2. Jennifer Muller/The Works – Bench – So moving and thought-provoking it made me weep

Best Restaurant Opening

1. SD26 – Plenty of yummy food and open bar with the party even happening in the kitchen.  Rocked for 6 hours, well past the originally allotted time