Orlando Bloom, Helena Christensen and More Flock to Premieres and the Tribeca Film Festival
Mark Ruffalo makes his directorial début with Sympathy for Delicious and stars in the movie as well. At a Monday screening at New York’s Landmark Sunshine Cinemas, the actor gave this advice on directing oneself: “Don’t ever do it, that’s all I can say.”
Orlando Bloom, who plays a rock star in the film, had nothing but compliments for Ruffalo’s directing chops.
“As a director, there was a shorthand between two actors. I just understood exactly what he wanted, and he just expressed himself so clearly and it made the whole process so much more fun,” the new father said.
Bloom’s wife, supermodel Miranda Kerr, slipped into the screening unnoticed and later partied by his side at the after-party at the Mondrian Soho’s lovely Garden Room.
The DeLeón Tequila–hosted party proved to be a draw, with celebrities arriving late into the evening. Saturday Night Live’s Paul Brittain and Nasim Pedrad popped in after work, and Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, Fisher Stevens, and Kings of Leon’s Nathan Followill all arrived so late that photographers had already gone home, thinking the party was winding down.
But the biggest surprise of the evening was when Glee star Darren Criss showed up. The L.A.-based hit show is filming its season finale in New York, and jaded East Coasters were clearly starstruck. The handsome Criss sat serenely at a table, dining and chatting amiably with friends, while females swooned all throughout the party. We actually heard squeals!
We had our fingers crossed, but sadly, Criss didn’t grab a microphone and launch into song.
We didn’t see any Glee stars at Vanity Fair’s Tribeca Film Festival party on Wednesday, but the New York State Supreme Courthouse in lower Manhattan was chock-full of boldface names. Michael Douglas, Christopher Walken, Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg, Rupert and Wendi Murdoch, and Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld mingled on the building’s portico in the mild evening air.
VF editor Graydon Carter, who co-hosted with Ron Perelman and Robert De Niro, noted that this is the 10th year of the annual Tribeca fete.
“We’ve been very lucky—every year we’ve had weather like this. Look at the sky—it’s beautiful. It’s supposed to rain tonight; it’s exquisite,” he said.
Martha Stewart realized that of the three hosts, only one—De Niro— had appeared on her show.
“Once!” she said, laughing. “He’s fantastic! I love him.” Martha was diplomatic when we asked if she thinks Carter would be a good cook. “Graydon is very talented,” she said.
Helena Christensen made the rounds at the party, and she explained why she hasn’t been in New York much recently. “I’ve been traveling and doing my photography and modeling jobs for the last two months,” she said. “I’ve been to Australia, I’ve been to Nepal. So yeah, I haven’t been here much. But you know, I’m just super grateful that I get to work on so many different projects.”
Odd couple Bethann Hardison and Pharrell Williams were hanging out together at the party. What was that about?
“She’s like a mentor,” Williams told us. “Whenever I see her I’m just, like, blown away by her history and her knowledge and incredible instincts. So it’s been great for me to get to know her.”
Hardison said of her pal, “When someone’s intellectual and they’re an artist, that makes for very interesting things. And that’s him.”
Photos: (top) Orlando Bloom, (bottom) Helena Christensen