Parties You Will Never Get Into

Last Jan. 27, 2008, the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, amid the qualms of some people that the event will not push through due to the long-running writers’ strike and the cancellation of the Golden Globe Awards. After the successful awards ceremony, the Hollywood stars were all set to party all night long.

The official SAG Awards after party was hosted by People magazine and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), which has hosted the post-awards gala for the past 12 years. The event was organized to honor the philanthropic works of the members of the Screen Actors Guild, as well as to present its annual donation to the SAG foundation.

The party was held at the parking lot of the Shrine Expo Center, where a mounted tent was converted into an elegant and stylish party venue produced by well-known San Francisco event designer Stanlee Gatti. The ceiling was adorned with plants while the walls were draped with graceful curtains. Thousands of white roses were also contained in giant gold vases that were lined up by the walls.

Stars who sparkled and added glitz and glamour to the night included Kate Hudson, Christina Applegate, Kate Beckinsale, Kyra Sedgwick, Rainn Wilson, Tina Fey, Diane Lane, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Forest Whitaker and Brenda Strong. Also present were No Country for Old Men stars Javier Bardem, who won best male actor in a supporting role, and Tess Harper; Grey’s Anatomy stars Ellen Pompeo, Sara Ramirez, and Chris Ivery with his wife Rebecca Gayheart; Hairspray stars Amanda Bynes and Nikki Blonsky; and Ugly Betty stars America Ferrera, Ana Ortiz, Michael Urie, and Rebecca Romjin. Guests partied to the music of singer Michael McDonald.

HBO also hosted a SAG post-awards bash at Spago. Guests who attended the party included Entourage stars Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven, Carla Gugin, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Perry Reeves, and Kevin Connolly; and The Sopranos stars Robert Iler, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and James Gandolfini, who grabbed the best male actor in a drama series.