By Valerie Milano & Darlene Gautier
Photos by THT
Beverly Hills, CA (The Hollywood Times) 1/6/19 – Globes weekend took over the headquarters of the entertainment industry on Saturday, and THT editors were there to capture the action. The Gold Meets Golden event was at the forefront of the action. Some of the world’s greatest athletes met up with Hollywood’s biggest actors for the bash to end all at The House on Sunset ahead of the actual awards. Those will be held tonight in Beverly Hills, and hosted by the unlikely pairing of Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg.
The guest list for Gold Meets Golden was truly overwhelming, even by industry standards. Nicole Kidman, Jessica Chastain, Amy Adams, Michelle Kwan, Greg Louganis, Mark Ronson, Chrissy Metz, Nadia Comănici, Matt Bomer, Adam Rippon, Bryan Fogel, and Patricia Clarkson were among the attendees.
The 6th annual event was sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company and Angel City Sports, (a top Paralypic organization in California), and produced by CW3PR’s Charley Cullen Walters, and Cinema Magazine’s Scott Orlin. The concept was born out of practicality—in 2012, athletes at the London Olympic Games were shocked to discover their favorite Hollywood celebrities shouting out to them.
Those athletes were invited to the Hollywood Awards season events, and an obvious relationship resulted. Yesterday, the new-ish tradition continued with a brunch, as world class Olympians and movie stars mingled. Los Angeles, of course, will be hosting the Olympics in 2028.
The event featured a frenetic and busy gold carpet, filled with celebrity athletes and actors. Inside the event, A $50,000 donation was given by The Points Guy, Brian Kelly, on behalf of the sponsors including United Airlines, Coca-Cola and others. New Olympic merchandise for the 2020 Tokyo games was unveiled, and a room filled with golden items was also featured, along with a display of rare golden Olympic torches.
THT senior Editor Valerie Milano mingled with Nadia Comănici and Chrissy Metz, and caught pictures of all the action while soaking in the glorious chaos of the celebration.
“We’re elated to celebrate the future and also to pay homage to Olympic and Hollywood history at this year’s Gold Meets Golden event refreshed by Coca-Cola and Smartwater,” said Dina Gerson, director, Olympic Marketing, Coca-Cola North America.
“Coca-Cola is proud of its 91-year relationship with the Olympic movement. From our company’s commitment to offer more choice through countless brand innovations as well as the debut of new sports in Tokyo 2020 – the future is golden. SmartWater is also thrilled to use this platform to celebrate philanthropic organizations that champion those who are inspired by their passions to forge their own path – like Angel City Sports, which provides opportunities to future adaptive athletes.”
Across the street, Film Independent also celebrated, causing a traffic nightmare during a celebratory Saturday.
And Showtime hosted a party at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, honoring the powerhouse network’s Golden Globe nominees. Jim Carrey is nominated for Kidding, and monarch of controversy Sacha Baron Cohen is nominated for Who is America. Patricia Arquette is recognized for Escape at Dannemora, Benedict Cumberbatch for Patrick Melrose, and the cast and producers of the series’ Kidding and Escape at Dannemora are also nominated.
The awards ceremony, airing tonight 8ET/5PT and held at the iconic Beverly Hilton, is the pinnacle of one of Hollywood’s most manic weekends; but it’s by no means the end. The after-parties will begin immediately afterwards, proving definitively that Hollywood is the last town on earth to let the holidays be the end of the party season.
