There’s no party quite like a GQ party. Who else could bring together Andrew Garfield, Robby Hoffman, Future, and Angel Reese under one roof? But that’s exactly what we did on Thursday night at Los Angeles’s famed Chateau Marmont for our 31st Men of the Year party, presented by Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
Following a dinner honoring our trio of cover stars—Matt Damon, Chris Rock, and Garfield—the real fun began when all three of them, along with nearly every other celebrity in town, descended on the Chateau’s garden to mix it up to the sounds of DJ Yung Tada (plus a late-night set from GQ Breakouts electro-pop duo Fcukers).
I caught Damon at the entrance to the party looking to continue our conversation from his cover story, but our reunion was cut short when Inde Navarette pulled up to say hi and exchange contacts. If the 25-year-old Obsession newcomer was starstruck by the 56-year-old Hollywood hero, the feeling seemed mutual.
Future and Travis Scott rolled up nearly at the same time; Travis, who performed the end-credits track for The Odyssey, told me he was ready to hit the Oscars campaign trail.
In every corner was a cluster of stars from different Hollywood galaxies. Abbott Elementary’s Tyler James Williams and Chris Perfetti made the rounds together, looking nothing like the harried teachers they play on TV. GQ Breakout Owen Thiele and his longtime friend Cazzie David (who gave Owen his first acting gig on her web series years ago) ignored our red carpet instructions to bless us with photogenic poses they’d pre-planned long in advance. When I asked broadcaster Taylor Rooks for an on-the-fly NBA Cup prediction, she gushed about the Celtics and the Lakers. And there was something fun about seeing Anderson .Paak and Diplo chop it up, too.
The friendly embrace shared by Austin Abrams and Skyler Gisondo, noted Good Dudes, is the unscripted team-up the internet goes nuts for. The Resident Evil and Primetime actors later shared that they’d just been on the phone together while getting ready for the party, neither realizing they’d be seeing each other shortly. When I brought up James Gunn and his recent departure from DC Studios, Gisondo called it a “bummer”—he just wrapped the “Jimmy Olsen vs. Gorilla Grodd” series, he said, and hopes that it’ll still come out (and that Gunn continues to write and direct even if he’s not in executive mode anymore).
