No 'Moore' at A-List Election Party

No 'Moore' at A-List Election Party
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
By Roger Friedman

Harvey Weinstein and Georgette Mosbacher's non-partisan election-watching party came off without a hitch last night.

Well, maybe one hitch. When the Kerry supporters, the preponderance of guests there, got the gloomy feeling that they were going to be on the losing end of the night, the party — held at The Palm in Manhattan — drained like a bathtub that had suddenly lost its stopper.

But for two or three hours, the slimmed-down Weinstein and the ever-buxom Mosbacher welcomed a cross-section of New York media types, including the redoubtable Charlie Rose, rap-music impresario Russell Simmons, Oxygen Network's Geraldine Laybourne, "Rocky Horror Picture Show" star Tim Curry, New York Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman, actress/playwright Anna Deveare Smith, activist Bianca Jagger, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer, James Lipton, HarperCollins editor in chief Dave Hirshey, record-biz lawyer Alan Grubman and his realtor wife Deborah Grubman.

Also present were all the gossip columnists Mosbacher and Weinstein could lay their hands on: Richard Johnson, George Rush, the New York Times' Joyce Wadler, Lloyd Grove and former New York Observer hand Frank DiGiacomo.

Kate Castelbajac, looking like a movie star herself, dropped by while boyfriend Ron Silver made the rounds doing television interviews.

Barbara Walters held court in a dark corner all night. Would-be Secretary of the Treasury Steven Schwartzman and his wife Christine accepted congratulations from friends, as did writer Lally Weymouth, daughter of the Washington Post's late publisher Katherine Graham.

Even without the star power of the 2000 election party — which featured Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck — Harvey and Georgette's excellent adventure sizzled for a few moments when Tina Brown and Harry Evans walked in.

Several people complimented Weinstein on "Finding Neverland," one of the mogul's two entries in the race for best picture Oscar this year.

And no, there was nary a sign of Michael Moore, even though Harvey went through so much Sturm und Drang to produce "Fahrenheit 9/11."

When I called Moore's office in the late afternoon, I got the same runaround from the usual 12-year-old who's answered the phone since last summer.

Question: "Is Michael in N.Y.? Is he going to the Miramax party tonight?"

Answer: "I don't know. I don't know."

Question (posed because the receptionist initially answered by saying just "Hello"): "Is this even Michael Moore's office?"

Answer: "It depends on who you are."

By then I couldn't remember, so I conceded the call. It's the last time I will attempt contact with Moore's office.

The irony, of course, is that he complains in his films about people not knowing the answers to questions posed to them.

Meanwhile, the parties swirled: A glum group of New York politicians, Kerry donors and former staffers drowned their sorrows at JLX Cafe, the former Jean Luc, which has been reconceived into a smart bistro. The New York Democratic Committee set up shop at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, while Comedy Central filled up The Park restaurant with fans of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart."

Michael Moore