From the 50/50 Red Carpet Trenches: Closed Set with Julie Bensman

In my myriad of Manhattan travels, it’s not unusual to catch a celeb sighting or two. More often than not, he/she looks like you/me; that is, hair unstyled, ensemble understated, and tired eyes hidden behind massive sunglasses. They go their ways, we go ours, and the world keeps moving as it always has. It’s not disappointing, per se, but merely a reminder that celebrities are (sometimes) normal people that have (sometimes) normal lives.

In contrast, there are moments when celeb sightings live up to everything you’ve imagined — the lights, the cameras, the glamour! — and one place these meetings often occur, appropriately enough, is on the red carpet. Last Monday was the New York premiere of 50/50, a wonderful film based on a true story starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, and Anjelica Huston. I was able to chat with two of the four whilst covering red carpet arrivals, which I don’t do too often. Why? See below.

6:45 PM: Arrive at the Ziegfeld, check in and take my place on carpet’s edge between reporters from Vogue and Style.com. The pecking order seems to go: camera crews, photographers and, finally, journalists with shaky hands holding audio recorders (cue moi).

7:00-7:59 PM: Crane neck trying to figure out who has just arrived.

7:59-8:00 PM: THERE’SSETH!ASKQUESTIONSASFASTASYOUCAN!!

8:00 PM: Screening begins.

Sigh. Here’s what I did manage to find out:

Bill Hader from SNL confirms there are (sadly) no current plans for a Stefon film.
Charlotte Kemp Muhl and Sean Lennon were leaving shortly to attend the Paris shows. Charlotte wore a beige, slightly torn slipdress from a West Village vintage shop with nude tights (someone call Kate Middleton!)
Joseph Gordon Levitt was wearing Balenciaga that night but when I asked which former character’s wardrobe he would choose to live in, he answered Hesher. Editor’s note: he is just as charming and handsome as you’d expect.
Seth Rogen and Will Reiser, the latter of whose life the film was based, rode to the premiere together. When I asked Seth how involved he’s been in planning his upcoming Napa wedding, Will answered for him: “He was licking envelopes on the way over.”