We’re still a little bit drunk and a little bit hungover (drunk from last night’s party and hungover from the night before), but that’s pretty much the standard at CineVegas—a festival known almost as much for its megaparties as its motion pictures. With multiple bashes and after-parties every night of the week, it’s no coincidence that the tagline for this year’s festival is “You’ll sleep when it’s over.”
The onslaught kicked off last Thursday with the premiere of The Grand. Costars Ray Romano and Jason Alexander attended the pool party at the Golden Nugget and were greeted by a scuba diver in the outdoor shark tank who held a sign that read, “The Golden Nugget Welcomes CineVegas.” Despite the presence of celebrities and an assortment of girls straight from Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club, the event was surprisingly low-key. At times it appeared the number of uninvited people pressed up against the glass of the casino walkway, peering out at the party, was greater than the number of people actually at the party.
Romano and Alexander were free to walk about and even play blackjack without getting mobbed by fans. It was far less wild than you might expect, but then again, when your celebrity guest is Ray Romano, you don’t necessarily expect to catch him snorting cocaine off a stripper’s hip bones.
While not exactly a party, Saturday afternoon’s filmmaker luncheon provided plenty of mingling time for those who journeyed from West to East Flamingo for the Canoe Appetizer, surf and turf and Dennis Hopper appearance at Hawaiian-fusion restaurant Roy’s. Later in the evening, the lively Shoreline Entertainment cabana at the otherwise silent Palms Pool saw comedians Cort McCown and Jeff Garlin drop in after completing their 10:30 p.m. Playboy Comedy show. (Alas, though singer Morrissey had completed his own sold-out show that evening at The Pearl, he remained absent from the festivities.)
The Conde Nast Traveler Lounge in the Palms’ Key West Ballroom was the scene of Sunday afternoon’s industry happy hour, where such attendees as The Living Wake star Mike O’Connell partook of champagne flutes of Ciroc vodka’s Ciroc Chic cocktail and rested up, as the Sunday night event at Tao Beach began with a slight hike. After riding the elevator a short way, the rest of the ascent to the rooftop party took place on a lengthy set of stairs.
Bikini-clad models stood at each turn to offer encouragement to weary climbers. But athletic partygoers finally emerged to find flame-topped pillars and a mingling crowd lit by the undulating blue light of the pool.
Guests included movie critics from the Film Threat website and an assortment of indie filmmakers who talked shop and traded business cards throughout the evening. While rumor had it that a few young ladies took a topless swim in the pool, the excitement really picked up when the party moved downstairs in the early a.m. hours. At that point, shoulder-to-shoulder guests danced the remainder of the night away. Even world-famous chef Mario Batali was spotted shaking his ass on the dance floor.
Not to be outdone by the likes of Film Threat, the Weekly threw its own shindig atop the Stratosphere Monday evening. One hundred-seven floors up, guests including Ron Jeremy took in the view and downed the festival’s prevalent Vitamin Water, fresh seafood and martini glasses filled with pasta. At midnight the festivities moved downstairs and back in time to the ’70s, when Polly Esther’s packed Saturday Night Fever dance floor witnessed the fancy footwork of everyone from the festival’s artistic director, Trevor Groth, and Great World of Sound star Pat Healy to a pair of dueling break dancers and the ubiquitous Jeremy.