Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber arrive at the Sunset Tower in L.A. for the Vanity Fair Oscars party on February 27, 2011 (Image: George Pimentel)
Toronto’s top celebrity shutterbug, George Pimentel, spent last week—Oscar week—stargazing in Tinseltown. His tour included the Academy Awards’ most VIP red carpet at the Vanity Fair Party. Here, George dishes on Justin Bieber’s new lady, Scarlett Johansson’s superior beauty and why (as we suspected) Natalie Portman is as smug and snotty as they come.
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- “This is why I do the VF party. You get the pictures that you just don’t get on the Oscar red carpet. When he came in, we all freaked out because they were holding hands, which is a first. They strategized and decided to finally give up the photo.”
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- “I yelled out, ‘Kiss her, kiss her.’ He almost did; he leaned over, and then he realized it probably wasn’t a good idea.”
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- “Any time Madonna shows up to an event we all go crazy. For me, she was definitely the highlight of this party. Everyone always asks, ‘What does she really look like?’ and honestly, she looks great. Really. This night was all about promoting her daughter, so Madonna kind of stepped back. She’s very proud. Her daughter is shy, though. She doesn’t have that Madonna exhibitionist quality.”
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- “I was kind of disappointed that Gwyneth changed. That first silver dress was so much better. I’m not into the whole flesh-coloured thing. I don’t think she pulled it off, but it’s Gwyneth, and she doesn’t really take a bad picture. She is still the princess of Hollywood, and photos of her always sell well and get good placement.”
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- “Colin was walking the carpet with his wife, and then Anne came along, and they decided to do a shot together. Colin was the big winner of the night. And Anne—I don’t think she’ll be asked to host again. And after seeing her, I don’t know if she can pull off Catwoman. We were all expecting James Franco to show up. I don’t know why he snubbed the party.”
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![“Love her. She is so cute. The whole weekend, she was all over L.A. and just very sunny and fun. It was a great touch to wear her those Converse [shoes] to the after party. She’s not taking it so seriously, which is so nice to see.”](http://www.torontolife.com/daily/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/109428079GP581_2011_Vanity_-96x96.jpg "Hailee Steinfeld")
- “Love her. She is so cute. The whole weekend, she was all over L.A. and just very sunny and fun. It was a great touch to wear her those Converse [shoes] to the after party. She’s not taking it so seriously, which is so nice to see.”
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- “Steven is back out there now doing the red carpets because of American Idol. He’s such a rock and roll guy, but he’s also a very affectionate father. He was hugging her and kissing her all night. Liv’s no angel, either. Let’s just say that girl parties.”
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- “They’re friends with Graydon Carter, so they attend every year. The American media never know who they are, so I always make a big deal of yelling out their names. Sometimes I say their names in a British sort of accent so they don’t know it’s me. Once I start shooting them everyone joins in.”
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- “Ugh. My nemesis. There’s always one star who is just difficult. In the history of the VF Oscar party, it is a tradition to pose with your Oscar. Everyone does it, but she refused. She just walked past and turned for one second. Let’s just say she is not the most-liked person among photographers. We actually booed her.”
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- “She doesn’t show up to everything, so it’s special when she does. She’s a true star and just so beautiful. She’s happy to do the posing, and her amazing figure always looks great in the dress. Since her divorce, she’s been coming out more often.”
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“At the end of the night she was waiting for her valet. I asked if I could get one more of her in black and white. She agreed, and when I showed it to her, she said it was great and asked if I could send it to her.”
“So no now you have ScarJo’s e-mail address?” we asked.
“Yes,” replied George.
The Toronto International Film Festival happened to coincide with the birthday of one of its most frequent guests: Colin Firth. He celebrated the milestone in the stylish digs provided by Soho House Club with Michael Ondaatje, Geoffrey Rush and a few other A-listers.
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