Blythe Danner, Maria Bello, Ali Larter and Emily Ratajkowski were among those who attended Max Mara’s “Face of the Future Award” cocktail party on Tuesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. Per tradition, the event was held the evening before Women in Film’s annual Crystal+Lucy Awards ceremony where “Game of Thrones” star Natalie Dormer will officially receive this year’s honor.
“Natalie has talent and style and grace,” said Max Mara global ambassador Nicola Maramotti, who cohosted the fete with Vanity Fair’s Krista Smith. “When you talk to her, she knows exactly where she wants to go.”
Fresh faces such as an all-grown-up Maude Apatow, Isabelle Fuhrman and Ireland Baldwin milled about the packed party, perhaps angling for a future “future award,” while veterans like Danner were happy to be in the company of women as passionate as they are talented.
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“I have such a warm spot for Max Mara and Women in Film,” Danner said. “My daughter Gwyneth [Paltrow] was bestowed the Crystal Award some years ago and I was given the Lucy Award for my work in television. That was the same year that my husband [the late] Bruce Paltrow, was given a wonderful scholarship in his name.”
Danner specifically flew into Los Angeles for the events, which promote gender equality in the entertainment industry. “I think you’re going to see a lot more important roles for women — and we may have a woman president, so we should all be very excited,” she said. “In my lifetime, I didn’t think I’d see it.”
Eventually, woman of the hour Dormer arrived, fielding congratulatory comments from guests every few feet. “It feels like I’m at a turning point,” said the actress, who will soon begin filming “In Darkness,” a psychological thriller she co-wrote with her director fiancé Anthony Byrne and costarring Ratajowski, also at the party. “She’s been in this business a long time and she’s worked her ass off. She deserves it,” said Fuhrman, a fellow “Hunger Games” alum.
While the party was filled with Max Mara-clad starlets, Maramotti stopped short of saying they were scouting the room for next year’s honoree. “Tonight is a big moment to celebrate the craft of Natalie,” she said. “It’s not really the moment where we want to choose the [next] actresses, but it could be one of them.”