Top 5 Bay Area Oscar Parties

“We’re all kids when it comes to the Oscars,” said Barndiva co-owner Jil Hales, prepping for her 10th annual Academy Awards bash in Healdsburg.

Like a kid, she wants to show off event poster art inspired by “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” reflecting a restaurant staffed with loyal Wes Anderson fans.

And like a kid, she’s already weighing winners and losers: Marion Cotillard (“Two Days, One Night”) is always wonderful, she said, but there’s “not a chance” she’ll win.

“I hope Patricia Arquette (‘Boyhood’) gets it for supporting,” Hales said, adding, “What’s going to be interesting is whether they snub ‘Timbuktu’ for best foreign language film.”

Likewise, Rialto Cinemas owner Ky Boyd, who once again hosts an Academy Awards benefit event in Sebastopol, has many Oscar opinions — so many, he has to break down his best-picture picks into “professional” and “personal.”

“Professionally, I think it is anybody’s guess who is in front,” he said. He was leaning toward “Boyhood” before “Birdman” racked up awards at the Screen Actors Guild and Producers Guild award shows. “Whoever wins, it will likely be one of closest races since preferential voting began (in 2009).”

But “personally, I’d love to see ‘Theory of Everything’ win,” he said. “It’s my favorite film of the year.”

If it’s any consolation, when Wynn Resort in Las Vegas first released its Best Picture betting odds, “Boyhood” was the front-runner at 2-to-5 odds.

Before they roll out the red carpet and polish those golden bald guys for Sunday’s 87th annual Academy Awards show, here’s a quick teleprompter run-through of our Top 5 Oscar Parties in the Bay Area:

Red Carpet Wine Walk and Academy Awards Live Screening: Look for costume contests, movie trivia and a grand prize for most winners picked, in this benefit for Food for Thought at the Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol. Wine walk starts at 3:30 p.m., with La Follette, MacPhail Family Wines, Marimar Estate, and Wind Gap pouring at the Barlow center (6770 McKinley Street #120, Sebastopol).

Doors open for the Academy Awards live screening at 4:30 p.m. $45 for wine walk and screening/$25 screening only. 6868 McKinley Street, Sebastopol. www.rialtocinemas.com.

The Grand Studio Barndiva — A Night at the Oscars: Running with a “Grand Budapest Hotel” theme, Jil Hales and the gang at Barndiva move the party into the adjacent Studio Barndiva for a five-course spread and movie-inspired cocktails. (They still get requests for “The Clooney” from Oscar parties past). Nosh on bone-marrow tater tots, filet of beef au poivre and banana brulee.

Bar opens at 5 p.m. $68 prix fixe/$40 wine pairing. 231 Center Street, Healdsburg. www.barndiva.com.

California Film Institute Oscars Awards Night: Bay Area comedian and actor Michael Pritchard hosts this annual benefit for the CFI Education program at the Rafael Film Center in San Rafael. Includes raffle, silent auction, hors d’oeuvres, dinner, dessert, Coppola wines and Lagunitas beer. 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

$75. 1118 4th St., San Rafael. rafaelfilm.cafilm.org/awards-night.

“A Century of Radiance” Academy Awards Night Gala: Easily the poshest Oscars fete in the Bay Area, this 35th annual Academy of Friends benefit ranges from $250-$750 a head at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria. Includes “unlimited champagne and wine tasting,” followed by live entertainment, including “excerpts” from the Disney Broadway show “Newsies” and DJ dancing.

5 p.m. 101 Henry Adams St., San Francisco. www.academyoffriends.org.

Up the Oscars Benefit Bash: If you’ve always felt the Oscars is kind of lame and more worth jeering than cheering, it’s definitely worth a drive to San Francisco for the fantastically irreverent Up the Oscars Benefit Bash at the Roxie Theater. Here’s the night’s agenda: “Brace yourself for another meeting of malcontents gathered to vent right back at the Holly-white Boys Club bent on publicly patting itself for another year of mediocrity.”

Doors open at 3:45 p.m. for the “Red Carpet Parade of Shame.” 3117 16th St., San Francisco. www.roxie.com.

Bay Area freelancer John Beck writes about entertainment for The Press Democrat. You can reach him at 280-8014 orjohn@beckmediaproductions.com.

 


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