At least Brett Ratner recognized Michael Bay at the Rush Hour 3 party. Photo courtesy of Tara Ink.

By Kris Conesa

One of the few things actors, directors and freeloading celebrity journalists have in common is their love of free food. No matter what the situation, even the most ravenous of Hollywood types can be tamed into becoming a cuddly teddy bear, provided the way to his heart is peppered with gourmet delicacies. A sterling example of this phenomenon was made perfectly clear to me at the Rush Hour 3 premiere party at The Forge last week. As I began my celebrity sleuthing, I was momentarily distracted by the unmistakable aroma of sautéed bananas, fresh strawberries and delectable, decadent chocolate. Like a moth to a flame, The 411 made his way toward the back of the line, where a few guests had been waiting for their custom-made dessert crêpes to be assembled. Not more than a minute or so passed when a tall, gray-haired, blue-eyed man entered the room and immediately joined the line. With conviction and a growling stomach he declared, “I’m hungry. Where’s the food?” “Well, there’s a whole restaurant right next door, dude,” I replied. “Yeah, I know but you need reservations,” said the mystery man. “Why don’t you just tell them you are someone important? I’m sure they’ll seat you then. You could tell them you’re Brett Ratner’s assistant or something.” The man gave a small chuckle and replied, “I think I’ll just stick to dessert.” About two seconds passed when one of my friends, whom I had brought with me, walked up to me, gave me a nudge and, attempting to contain his excitement, whispered in my ear, “Dude, that’s Michael Bay!”

A little embarrassed and with egg (chocolate) on my face, I turned to the man who had been keeping me company in the line and shrugged. “Um, so thanks for not fucking up Transformers, man. Oh, and enjoy the crêpes.”

Thankfully, Mr. Bay wasn’t the only bigwig in the house and I was able to mingle with some of the more recognizable guests. James Caan, for example, was looking ever so cool as he strutted down the red carpet. Lennox Lewis was also there. The heavyweight champ was very easy to point out because every time we spotted him he was letting some lady feel his biceps. Singer Craig David and NASCAR driver Chapman Ducote also took turns mingling with the likes of Shareef Malnik and other South Beach notables.

The guest of honor, aka the Billion-Dollar Director, Brett Ratner, strolled in around midnight and disappeared inside shortly afterward in the company of his friends and family.

 

Burning the Midnight Oil

Rosie O’Donnell stopped by the recently opened DeVito South Beach on Friday night and enjoyed a three-hour lobster meal with Burn Notice star Sharon Gless. Meanwhile, on Saturday night, the rest of the Burn Notice cast made its way to what’s quickly becoming one of the hottest parties on South Beach, Retro at O Asian Grill. Jeffrey Donovan and Gabrielle Anwar, along with some friends, sat center stage and were seen jamming out till the wee hours of the morning. The best part of the evening, however, was when Donovan’s vivacious blond companion gave a somewhat unwilling Anwar a very sexy lap dance that garnered the attention of everyone by their table. Around 3:30 in the morning, Anwar was seen outside leaning against the wall looking very inebriated. However, there was no time to sober up and fly right, as a few moments later, Donovan exited the premises, hailed a cab and yelled out, “We’re going to Mokaï, yeah!”

 

Jenneration Gap

Saturday nights at Cameo are typically mad, but add a birthday party for Brody Jenner and you get near chaos. Thousands of barely legal females lined up outside the Cameo theater for a chance to lay eyes on or just lay on the reality television star. While throngs of fans awaited a glimpse of the little stud muffin, Jenner did in fact let loose and was seen drinking Cristal straight from the bottle and hanging out with that musical mastermind Scott Storch, not to mention a virtual harem of women. Also in the house was Janet Jackson.

 

Spotted

*High-class hotelier André Balazs, owner of the Raleigh and Standard hotels, having an intimate dinner with Shakira and friends at Casa Tua last Thursday. Shakira’s fiancé, Antonio de la Rúa, the son of a former Argentine president, was also there.

*Still in town working on a new album, Janet Jackson stopping in at Cameo on Saturday night and at Snatch on Monday night.

*Always wearing his sunglasses at night, Scott Storch gettin’ his sexy on till the early morning hours on Saturday at Cameo.

*Dennis Rodman starting some beef at Prime One Twelve over the weekend. Word is he finished it too.

*Andy Garcia playing the piano and bongos for some lucky fans as the guest of honor at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne Rum Bar opening on Saturday night, to benefit the Diabetes Research Institute.

*Tara Solomon, DJ Tracy Young, Navi Rawat of Numbers and Fabian Basabe, among others, at Vix last Thursday celebrating Nick D’Annunzio’s birthday. Not only did Nick not get arrested this year, the birthday boy even wore a “Just Say No” T-shirt and endured being handcuffed by two busty ladies in mock police garb. Now that trumps the fans with his face on them from last year’s party.
*Recording artists Trina, K Foxx and Jackie-O, among others, attending the 2nd Annual Ozone Magazine Awards Monday in Miami.

*Takin’ it back to the old school, the Sugarhill Gang performing its quintessential megahit Rapper’s Delight on Friday night at Mansion.

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