Hunting for the 'La La Land' crew at the Golden Globes parties - Los Angeles Times
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Hunting for the ‘La La Land’ crew at the Golden Globes parties

Kendall Jenner, left, and sister Kylie Jenner attend parties after the Golden Globes on Sunday.
(Jesse Grant / Getty Images for NBCUniversal)
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“La La Land” had a record-breaking night at the Golden Globes on Sunday, taking home seven awards — more than any film in the telecast’s history. But the studio that produced Damien Chazelle’s musical, Lionsgate, didn’t host a post-show party at the Beverly Hilton. That’s where all of the big, celeb-filled Globes bashes take place — six of them, all told, spread across ballrooms, restaurants, parking lots and rooftops at the hotel. Unclear where to find Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, we canvassed parties held by Amazon, the Weinstein Co./Netflix, HBO, Warner Bros./InStyle and NBC/Universal and Fox in an attempt to celebrate with the evening’s big winners.

8:30 p.m.: Word on the street is that the musical crew is headed to HBO’s poolside gathering, so that’s where we’re off to first. After a quick circle of the room, however — and a sampling of the gnocchi — Gosling and Co. are nowhere to be found. Of course, there are plenty of the cable network staples on hand: Gwendoline Christie, Riz Ahmed and Sarah Jessica Parker.

SJP spots her “Sex and the City” beau John Corbett and they quickly get to talking. Parker even asks a fan to hold off on her request for a photo because she wants to enjoy her catch-up with Carrie’s onetime lover. “Can you wait one second? I see this guy every few years.”

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9 p.m.: The NBC bash seems like the next logical move, as Jimmy Fallon is bound to be celebrating his hosting gig. Indeed, the “Tonight Show” host is immediately welcomed by a cheering throng the moment he walks into the party. A crowd of high-powered executives follows quickly behind, offering kudos as well: NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt, “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels and Ron Meyer, vice chairman of NBCUniversal.

We approach the host (surrounded by bodyguards trying to push away selfie-seekers) to ask about his numerous jokes about President-elect Donald Trump. He says he doesn’t think he was that hard on the politician: “Eh, one or two jokes,” he says, shrugging off the jabs.

So it wouldn’t be awkward to have Trump back on the show again? “No, we went evenly on everyone,” Fallon says, seeming surprised by the question.

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9:30 p.m.: We follow the signs toward the InStyle affair — there’s a big grid in the lobby with arrows pointing in various directions — and immediately make a stop at the flats machine. That’s right, there’s a L’Oreal machine offering free flat shoes to anyone whose feet are ailing after a long night teetering in stilettos.

After a quick look around, we decide this is the starriest bash of the night so far — and the one that welcomes guests who weren’t nominated for a Globe. Models and paparazzi-staples abound: Hilary Duff, Emily Ratajkowski, Heidi Klum and even “The Bachelor” jeweler Neil Lane.

Already on the way out? Caleb McLaughlin, 15, one of the stars of “Stranger Things.” As the DJ cranks up an unfortunate version of R. Kelly’s “Ignition Remix,” McLaughlin heads for the door — his parental unit following close behind. The vibe inside the party wasn’t exactly kid-friendly, anyway: Every so often, a cloud of smoke would rise above those making their way to the dance floor. A number of guests were vaping.

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9:45 p.m.: Asked for his take on the awards show, ”Rogue One’s” Riz Ahmed — who had made his way over to InStyle from HBO by now — said he was a fan of Meryl Streep’s political speech. “I think it’s really important in these times that artists fulfill their role as agitators and that people speak truth to power,” said Ahmed, who was nominated for his role in “The Night Of.” “To me, it was a very moving speech and it’s typical of an actress who always makes it about other people. It’s never about her.”

10:30 p.m.: KARDASHIAN ALERT! No, it’s not Kim — she’s going for that whole low-key thing in 2017, remember? It’s Kendall and Kylie Jenner, who are jamming out to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” on the dance floor. They hand their purses to a hulking bodyguard who is standing nearby, keeping onlookers at bay. Kylie, dressed in a glittering, skintight silver gown, makes sure to note that she is in fact wearing one of her famous Kylie Lip Kits: “Candy” liner, filled in with Chapstick.

11 p.m.: Also in silver? Ruth Negga, who reveals that her Louis Vuitton stunner took a seamstress 120 hours to make.

Negga, who earned her first nomination for her work in Jeff Nichols’ “Loving,” said wearing the metallic number was one highlight of her first Globes. The other? “Meryl Streep!”

Clearly, Streep’s galvanizing Globes speech struck a nerve with several actors throughout the night, even after eyes got misty inside the Beverly Hilton ballroom. “Game of Thrones’” Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who was posing for photos with nearby guests, tells us he admired her for using the opportunity of accepting her achievement honor to speak from the heart: “She did not waste her moment.”

11:59 p.m.: We swing through the remaining parties, but the “La La Land” posse is nowhere to be found. At the Weinstein Co. bash, all the Moroccan Oil samples are already gone — and everybody knows the main draw of these things is the freebies. The Moet vending machine is also tapped out, and the only thing to eat is KFC. Seriously — fried chicken sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil are being handed out in those big buckets. Over at Fox, we hear that Donald Glover and his “Atlanta” crew left over an hour ago, leaving only chocolate-filled donuts in their wake.

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Lots of junk food + no celebrities = time for us to leave. Maybe all the cool kids from “La La Land” are off-site at the no-press-allowed events hosted by WME and CAA? As goes the film’s iconic reprise: City of stars — there’s so much that I can’t see.

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