Partyhopper

From In Style's Glynis Costin in Los Angeles: Forest Whitaker is well loved. And not just by those who hand out awards. At an intimate dinner our West Coast bureau threw for the Oscar-nominated actor the other night, both longtime pals and new friends could not stop talking about what a great guy Forest is.

Forest Whitaker and John Travolta
Photo by John Sciulli/Wireimage

When John Travolta (who met Whitaker when the two filmed Phenomenon together) walked into the private back room we had reserved at the Beverly Hills Hotel's famed Polo Lounge, he made a beeline for Whitaker and gave him a giant bear hug that seemed to last a full minute. Everyone else also seemed to want a piece of Whitaker, who exudes a down-to-earth vibe and still seems in a bit of a shock that he is getting all this attention.

After winning over the Screen Actors Guild, the Golden Globes judges, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and many others (for his brilliant performance in The Last King of Scotland, in case you've been on Mars), Whitaker admitted that the last few months have been quite a ride. “I’m just taking it all in,” he said with his characteristic big smile.

Keisha Whitaker, Glynis and Forest Whitaker
Photo by Karen Levy

His adorable wife, Keisha, who wore a sparking minidress that showed off her mile-long legs, agreed. "This is the first chance we’ve even had to catch our breath,” she confessed.

I teased Forest by noting that, while I didn't mean to imply there was any pressure, he should know that our past In Style Oscar dinners have been for Adrien Brody (the year he won for The Pianist), for Charlize Theron (the year she won for Monster) and for Crash (which last year won Best Pic). We're on quite a streak, I must say!

Gina Torres, Keisha Whitaker and Kelly Preston
Photo by John Sciulli/Wireimage

Once we all sat down to dinner, Travolta and Whitaker got into several deep conversations, but most of us at the various tables talked about food—everything from where you can get the best mac-and-cheese to the Food Network (Laurence Fishburne’s gorgeous wife, actress Gina Torres, says she’s addicted and has every food show imaginable on her TiVo.) The cuisine chat started when we all congratulated Fishburne on his role as a wise and empathetic hotel chef in Bobby. “I wanted to see a whole movie about that character,” declared Travolta’s wife, actress Kelly Preston, who looked very glam in a slinky gold dress. ("South Beach Diet,” she explained when I asked her secret.)

Then Fishburne told us how he had met Gina (who can be seen on Fox’s The Standoff) on a blind date, set up by a mutual friend. “We didn’t stop talking until 4 a.m.,” he said. “Now that’s a date!” The couple, who  are expecting their first baby together, joked with In Style’s Cortney Pellettieri, who is also expecting, about how people love to share their opinions on baby names. They said they've come up with four that they tell people they're considering, including Cosmo and Aloisius, in part to get a reaction.

Xzibit and Laurence Fishburne
Photo by John Sciulli/Wireimage

Over at table number four, rapper Xzibit was holding forth on the history of rap and hip-hop for a rapt audience that included actor Emile Hirsch, who is in the upcoming The Air I Breathe with Whitaker, and director Spike Jonze, who is directing an adaptation of the children’s book Where the Wild Things Are. (Whitaker plays the Wild Thing.) They also debated whether David Beckham’s coming to play for the L.A. Galaxy soccer team would increase awareness of the sport in America and boost sales. The entire table, including In Style’s Ali Forman and Karen Levy, decided they’d all take a field trip to a game. (If you do, you have to promise to blog about it, guys!)

In Style, L.A.-style
Photo by John Sciulli/Wireimage

Meanwhile, legendary director Joel Schumacher, who helped launch the film careers of Julia Roberts (Flatliners), Demi Moore (St. Elmo's Fire), Kiefer Sutherland (Lost Boys, Flatliners), Colin Farrell (Tigerland) and Emmy Rossum (Phantom of the Opera), and who worked with Forest on Phone Booth, almost didn't make it past the hosts at the Polo Lounge—he arrived direct from the airport after a Mexican vacation,  wearing cargo shorts and flip-flops (though he did dress things up with a sporty blazer). But he was a welcome presence, catching up with producer Alexandra Milchan, just back from a family vacation in Israel with her husband, William Morris agent Scott Lambert. She and Schumacher traded travel tips about Romania—where each is producing a new film. "I only fly British Air," Joel said. "I won't get on a plane called Air Romania."

At another table, Collective manager Aaron Ray and his girlfriend, the cute actress Lacy Chabert  (remember her from Party of Five?), talked a lot about the South and how Southerners love to dress up—even for football games. (This means: coat and tie for the guys; cocktail dress, pearls and heels for the girls.) She is from Purvis, Mississippi; he is from Palm Beach, Florida. Their tablemate, In Style correspondent Elizabeth Jenkins, is a Houston native who went to school in Nashville.

The table
Photo by John Sciulli/Wireimage

By the time the coffee came, it was almost 11:00—late for a weeknight dinner in L.A. But nobody minded. We all bet that our little gathering had been more fun than other Polo Lounge diners had that night, including Russell Crowe, Jennifer Garner, Nicole Richie, Ron Howard, and Henry Winkler. (Not all together, of course.) At the valet station, we also spotted Chris Rock, who ran up to Forest and said a quick hello before dashing for his car.

You gotta love the Beverly Hills Hotel.

-- James Patrick Herman