Caitlin Cronenberg: Gerard Butler Auctioned Off At Artists For Peace And Justice Party

http://www.flare.com/blog/post/44591--caitlin-cronenberg-gerard-butler-auctioned-off-at-artists-for-peace-and-justice-party

Caitlin Cronenberg: Gerard Butler Auctioned Off At Artists For Peace And Justice Party


I will tell you what makes any party a success in my mind: Mini grilled-cheese sandwhiches. Those things are amazing. They are tiny and you get to dip them in ketchup, and sometimes they even come with a little tiny pickle! Last night’s Artists for Peace and Justice party did not disappoint. Not only did they have mini grilled cheeses but they had an A-list crowd, fancy looking drinks and it was all in the name of charity! Perfection.

Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis—our illustrious host for the evening—was in fine form with his band of slickly dressed gentlemen raising money in support of Haiti. With more than $400,000 raised already, it was obvious that he’d done this before. At last year’s event, 90210’s AnnaLynne McCord auctioned the dress right off her back for Haiti. While everyone kept their clothes on this year, at points it looked like the beginning of a bachelor auction, with Paul Haggis selling a date with either Gerard Butler or George Stroumboulopoulos. Personally, I would have bid on the ravishing Natasha Koifman, president of NKPR, who teams up with APJ every year to make the event a swinging success.

It doesn’t seem to matter how big the venue is—this party always sells out and packs the joint. Tonight Ame was stuffed as full as a prosciutto wrapped fig. (I ate 18 or so.) At one point I was looking at photos of my cat on my phone and I heard somebody say “excuse me” as they tried to get around me. I was initially annoyed at this distraction, but when I looked over my shoulder I realized it was none other than Jason Reitman, heading for the door. As he looked me in the eye and said “I don’t mean to be rude,” I was shocked and slightly appalled that he didn’t recognize me, as we have had a number of TIFF encounters in the past. Suddenly I was having a TIFF flashback to two Festivals ago, when I may or may not have lambasted Mr. Reitman for telling my parents, a year earlier, about the tattoo inside my lip. When I came to, he was gone. So I had no choice but to chase after him, high heels be damned! Or, I left and got into a cab to go home. Either way.

If you would like to donate to Artists for Peace and Justice you can go to apjnow.org

If you’d like to learn how to make an excellent grilled cheese, you must go here

If you want to make them mini, you just use smaller bread.