CHANEL and Charles Finch's 16th Pre-Oscar Dinner Unites the Film and Fashion Worlds

Yahoo

02-03-2025

"Tonight — it is about the great movies that happened here and the great people that are here tonight," said British businessman, film producer and publisher Charles Finch, who greeted the glitzy crowd assembled at the Beverly Hills Hotel's Polo Lounge on Saturday, March 1 for the 16th annual Pre-Oscar Dinner.
Among the stylish dinner guests were Oscar contenders like The Brutalist star Adrien Brody, with Georgina Chapman, co-star Felicity Jones, director and co-writer Brady Corbet with co-writer Mona Fastvold (read more about their writing process here). The Apprentice star (and Los Angeles cover star) Sebastian Stan came, with Annabelle Wallis — as did another fashionable LA Mag cover star, Sing Sing's Colman Domingo.
The Substance's Demi Moore brought daughter Scout Willis (who performed at Monday's Cure Addiction Now event), and the film's director Coralie Fargeat also joined. Other Oscar-nominated guests included I'm Still Here star Fernanda Torres, Dune: Part II's director-producer Denis Villeneuve and Conclave's Ralph Fiennes — who was early to arrive, to the delight of fans.
Other film world greats came to support — such as repeat guest Michael Keaton, Al Pacino, Jeff Goldblum, Lupita Nyong'o, Riley Keough, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Lily-Rose Depp, Danielle Deadwyler, Leonardo DiCaprio, Maria Bakalova, Dakota and Elle Fanning, Natasha Lyonne, Olivia Munn and John Mulaney, Patrick Dempsey and Willem Dafoe.
Directors like The Piano Lesson's Malcolm Washington, Olivia Wilde, Judd Apatow, Gia Coppola and Ava DuVernay were in the house. Kim Kardashian made a statement in a CHANEL dress with a ponytail referencing early CHANEL looks, while other famed fashion stars like Derek Blasberg mingled. Guests like Rita Ora, Lisa Love, Mick Jagger, Miguel, Diane Warren and Questlove represented the music world, while film execs and publishing owners in attendance included Bela Bajaria, Nicole Avant, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez and Jay Penske.
"We have nominees, we have amazing filmmakers," Finch continued, to the group who'd enjoyed drinks and passed bites (like Polo Lounge's tuna tartare and pigs in a blanket) during a cocktail hour outside. "This party started really 30-35 years ago ... it was this night where we welcomed independent filmmakers [and] could and have free food, thanks to Michael Chow at the time."
Long before that — since it's inception in 1910 — the House of CHANEL became inextricably linked with the world of cinema on account of founder Gabrielle Chanel, who worked with filmmakers and artists, from whom she also drew inspiration. She loved bringing creatives together for parties in her Paris apartment — and the intimate 150-person CHANEL Pre-Oscar Dinner was established in the same spirit, held for the first time in 2009 and hosted by Madeo restaurant for 10 years. Finch and CHANEL also co-host an annual Pre-BAFTA dinner in London.
CHANEL has also long supported initiatives to honor film artists and provide public access. Currently, as part of an ongoing partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, CHANEL is supporting the Academy Museum's Family Matinee screenings — which they're making free to the public for the month of March to bolster cinema and gathering in the L.A. community.
The camaraderie is needed now more than ever — which Finch referenced in his address to the crowd before they headed inside for dinner. "We are guests in your country," he said, "and without America, and the time that it's given me and the opportunities it's given me ... I would not be quite as broke as I am!" he joked. "We respect and love your people. America has always been in the center of my heart — it gave me opportunities. I came here with $300 dollars ... And I still have that $300!"
Then Finch turned more serious: "It is a difficult time, as you know. I'm prohibited from making long clinical speeches. My family has been around for a thousand years, as they will attest. We have been a military family, often, and we're prepared again to be isolated if we must be. But we will not tolerate any sort of tyranny — and that is just the nature of our country."
However, tonight was about celebrating cinema — and Finch praised the year's remarkable nominees. "Nothing has changed — my passion for cinema remains the same," he concluded. "This year is an extraordinary year, [with] extraordinary films. Everybody must see them. And so, we must embrace that — embrace those of you that win something."
"[But] it's not about winning," he followed, and drew more laughs when he added: "It's actually about, 'Yes, I was nominated.'"