AFI Fest, ‘The Holdovers’ and This Week’s Best Events – The Hollywood Reporter

AFI Fest guest artistic director Greta Gerwig at the festival’s ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ screening earlier this month.

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including events for AFI Fest, The Holdovers, Quiz Lady and The Killer.

BCRF Awards Luncheon

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation held its annual Symposium and Awards Luncheon on Oct. 20, hosted by Alina Cho and honoring both Kendra Scott and Olufunmilayo (Funmi) I. Olopade, MD, FAACR.

Hello Sunshine’s Shine Away event

Reese Witherspoon and her Hello Sunshine media company hosted its inaugural Shine Away event on Saturday in Los Angeles, with participants including Jennifer Garner, Mindy Kaling, Tracee Ellis Ross, Fortune Feimster, Allyson Felix and The Home Edit’s Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin.

GO Gala

GO Campaign hosted its 17th annual GO Gala at Citizen News in Hollywood on Saturday, supported by GO Ambassador Robert Pattinson. Other attendees included Suki Waterhouse, Lupita Nyong’o, Robin Wright, Tony Curran, Sadie Stanley, Anne Archer and Greg Tarzan Davis.

A Sense of Home Gala

A Sense of Home, which aims to prevent homelessness by creating first-ever homes and a community for youth aging out of the foster care system, hosted its annual gala on Saturday and recognized Charlotte and Gary Gilbert, who hosted the first two galas and kept the organization moving forward during the pandemic, as well as Ruggable founder, Jevena Bell, who created the ASOH Scholarship. The evening was hosted at the home of Ambassador Nicole Avant and Ted Sarandos.  

Boys & Girls Club of Metro LA’s Annual Gala

BGCMLA’s annual Stronger Together gala took place Saturday in Los Angeles, honoring Super Bowl champion Andrew Whitworth and the Rams. The event also featured a comedy performance by Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, Kristen Schaal, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.

TWO x TWO for Aids and Art benefit

Jason Derulo performed at the TWO x TWO for AIDS and ART 2023 benefiting amfAR and Dallas Museum of Art on Saturday in Dallas, presented by Saks.

Annual Harvest Party at Rupert Murdoch’s Moraga Bel Air Estate and Vineyard

Rupert Murdoch celebrated with guests at annual Harvest Party at Moraga Bel Air on Sunday.

Light Up the Court Pickleball Tournament

Katy Perry hosted her inaugural Light Up the Court Pickleball Tournament in Santa Barbara for her charity Firework Foundation over the weekend.

The Holdovers special screening

Director Alexander Payne attended a special screening for his latest film on Monday at the Academy Museum.

Las Culturistas 92NY event

Las Culturistas hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers sat down for a conversation at 92NY moderated by Betty Gilpin on Monday.

Angel Ball

Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research raised over $2.8 million at the 25th Annual Angel Ball on Monday, hosted by co-founders Denise Rich and her daughters Daniella Rich Kilstock and Ilona Rich Schachter. This year, the event honored hospitality entrepreneur Richie Akiva, Founder and Mielle Organics CEO and Mielle Cares founder Monique Rodriguez, and The Elizabeth Elting Foundation founder and CEO Elizabeth Elting.

Black Love Letters event

John Legend and Ty Stiklorius of Get Lifted Books hosted the L.A. launch event for the publication of Black Love Letters on Monday. The evening featured readings from contributors Jamila Woods, Justus Pugh, Topaz Jones, Jayne Allen, VJ Jenkins, and Jan Menafee, along with remarks from Legend, Stiklorius, Cole Brown and Natalie Johnson.

The Paley Honors: A Gala Tribute To Hasbro’s Centennial

The Paley Center for Media paid tribute to Hasbro’s brand and its enduring impact at its “Paley Honors: A Gala Tribute to Hasbro’s Centennial” event on Monday in NYC, where CEO Chris Cocks accepted the award.

Nancy Grace’s birthday

Nancy Grace celebrated her birthday on the set of ID’s Crimefeed series on Monday, alongside her co-hosts Mara S. Campo and Derrick Levasseur. 

Belafonte Family Foundation gala

The Belafonte Family Foundation hosted its inaugural gala in NYC on Tuesday, hosted by Taye Diggs and supporting the foundation’s mission to create access, opportunities and progressive programs for historically underserved communities.

American Ballet Theatre fall gala

American Ballet Theatre made its seasonal return to Lincoln Center for its annual fall season at the David H. Koch Theater on Tuesday, where Katie Couric was honored for her dedication to creativity and the incredible generosity she’s extended to ABT. Guests included Annette Bening, Mick Jagger, Molly Ringwald, Tommy Dorfman and Zac Posen.

TIME100 Next

TIME held the third annual TIME100 Next Gala, celebrating TIME’s list of 100 rising stars who are defining the next generation of leadership in business, entertainment, sports and politics — including Tyler James Williams, Bella Ramsey, Maya Hawke, Rachel Zegler, Jalen Hurts, Lily Gladstone, Alex Newell, Mae Martin, Alexandra Cooper, Celine Song and Julio Torres — on Tuesday in NYC.

WWD Honors

On Tuesday in NYC, WWD recognized creative achievement and top brand performance in the fashion and beauty industry, with honorees including Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri and designer Dries Van Noten. Jennifer Lawrence, Madelyn Cline, Kathryn Newton, Lola Tung and Christopher Briney were among the stars in attendance.

The Killer special screening

David Fincher and his team attended a special screening on Tuesday in Los Angeles for their new Netflix film.

Student Academy Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored its student winners from colleges and universities around the world at the 50th Student Academy Awards ceremony on Tuesday. With welcome remarks by Patricia Cardoso, the night’s category presenters included The Super Mario Bros. Movie directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, SAA committee chair Peggy Rajski and past winners Brad Bailey, Sujin Kim, Ken Kwapis, Freddy Macdonald, Olivia Peace and Kevin Wilson Jr.

The Anne Frank Gift Shop screening

The Spielberg family’s Pico-Robertson area restaurant The Milky Way hosted a special dinner screening and conversation for writer and director Mickey Rapkin’s new live action short film The Anne Frank Gift Shop on Tuesday. The conversation was moderated by actress and comedian Michaela Watkins.

NAD Breakthrough Awards

The National Association of the Deaf held its 2023 Breakthrough Awards on Wednesday, hosted by Marlee Matlin and Alexis Kashar. The event honored Linda Bove, Tim Cook, producer Howard Gordon, Sian Heder, Christine Sun Kim, Troy Kotsur, Chella Man, John Maucere and Lauren Ridloff.

Invincible special screening

Prime Video hosted a special Halloween-themed reception and premiere screening for season two of Invincible on Wednesday at L.A.’s Brain Dead Studios.

AFI Fest

The annual L.A. film festival kicked off on Wednesday with the premiere of Leave the World Behind, followed by a screening of Fingernails and an introduction from Greta Gerwig — this year’s AFI guest artistic director — ahead of a screening of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.

Room to Grow gala

On Wednesday, Room to Grow celebrated its 25th anniversary of providing support to families raising babies born into low-income circumstances with its annual gala co-hosted by founding board member Uma Thurman. Attendees included Maya Hawke, Patina Miller, Julia Fox, Ms. Rachel and Rebecca Minkoff. 

The Give Back-ular Spectacular

The Give Back-ular Spectacular fundraising variety show took place at the Orpheum Theater on Wednesday, featuring a night of sketch comedy, musical performances and stand-up which raised close to $500,000 in emergency relief funds for artists, craftspeople, technicians, production assistants and support staff facing financial difficulty due to the strikes. Jason Alexander, Lawrence the Band, Jack Black, Rachel Bloom, LeVar Burton, Nicole Byer, Monét x Change, Bryan Cranston, Lil Dicky, Lindsay Dougherty, Simon Helberg, Janelle James, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, June Diane Raphael, Ray Romano, Andrea Savage, Paul Scheer, Dax Shepard, Penn & Teller, Lily Tomlin, Julian Velard and Jeremy Allen White all took part in the show.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves premiere

Creator Chad Feehan and directors Damian Marcano and Christina Alexandra Voros attended the L.A. premiere for their new Paramount+ series on Wednesday.

Quiz Lady premiere

Director Jessica Yu and screenwriter/producer Jen D’Angelo attended the Los Angeles premiere of their new comedy, starring Awkwafina and Sandra Oh, on Thursday.