“Look,” exclaimed a PR agent to a circle of colleagues and journalists. “It’s Jean-Marc Vallée, the director.” Turns out she was gesturing toward Denis Villeneuve, the real director of Sicario, as he arrived at Soho House early Friday evening for the pre-party leading up to a screening of his new film. Sitting in the otherwise-empty VIP corner of the room, Lady Monika Bacardi surveyed the crowd while her handsome partner chatted at great length on his cellphone (against Soho House rules!).
Villeneuve opted to head for the opposite side of the room, where a group of Lionsgate executives – including studio co-chair Rob Friedman – were gathering around a grand piano, posing for photos and discussing upcoming trips to Paris and San Sebastian.
More stars arrived through the back door just as the evening was beginning to wear on, including Emily Blunt, whose turn as a gritty FBI agent in Sicario is already generating Oscar buzz, her husband John Krasinski and her heavy-lidded co-star Benicio del Toro. The crowd went wild as photographers and well-wishers mobbed the stars in the VIP corner, and security guards looked vaguely alarmed.
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