A RAINY night in Hollywood could do nothing to dampen the spirits of expat Brits – and those who like them – gathering at the historic Egyptian Theatre on Wednesday night for the Brits in LA Seventh Annual Toscars ceremony.
Attendees clustered in the courtyard for pre-ceremony schmoozing, drinks and nibbles – courtesy of event sponsors Angel City Brewery, Patron Tequila, Moreno Champagne, OneHope Wine, Ashton Afters, Coco Cola, Mulberry Love and Ultimat Vodka– and among the faces we spotted mingling and bingling were adult film legend Ron Jeremy, veteran character actor Clement von Franckenstein, global superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold, rising British actress Tehmina Sunny and tireless social media maven and multi-hyphenate Darren Darnborough with his delectable main squeeze, Mary Tran.
And as if the rain and plentiful booze weren’t enough to get us all in a thoroughly British mood, there was a gorgeous Union-Jack painted Jaguar F-type planted imperiously in the middle of the party, courtesy of the event’s sponsors for us all to ogle and enjoy.
The ceremony itself kicked off with a musical number and some banter from celebrity host Alex Newell (of Glee fame), before getting down to the serious business of watching the ten short movie parodies in contention for the coveted Golden Fist award. The unforgettable titles were: Cavity, The Fox of Wolf Street, Dallas Biters Club, Shaving Mr. Hanks, British Hustle, Knobraska, 12 Days a Stripper, Pheelaweena, Terminate Her and Captain Philips and The Horn of Africa. All the movies had a maximum budget of $250 and had to be shot in just a few days following the announcement of the Best Picture nominees from that OTHER award show taking place on Sunday.
The big winners on the night were the Dallas Biters Club, for which director Laura Harbron picked up a couple of awards – and Terminate Her, which got the nod for Best Picture. Special mention must also go to Clement von Franckenstein for his turn as Woody in Knobraska – which (at least for us) was the standout performance of the night. Everything about this black and white parody of Alexander Payne’s road-trip movie, from the performances to the cinematography and director Chris Devlin’s understated, realistic style, elevated it head and shoulders above its competitors.
Many attendees decamped to nearby Sadie’s for a boisterous after-party, but with a deadline looming we headed back through the driving rain to Santa Monica. Without exception all the movies on view at the Toscars were clever, funny and extremely inventive and it goes to show – yet again – just what a talented bunch of expat Brits – and Anglophiles – there are in Tinseltown, many of whom are Brits in LA members.
– Nick Stark
