In the beginning, there were the words. And the words were good.
That's no doubt why, at the "Brokeback Mountain" premiere after-party, E. Annie Proulx, author of the original short story, and screenwriters-producers Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana were the hottest stars at the Tuesday night fundraiser for the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.
It turns out that McMurtry read Proulx's concise masterpiece only after Ossana forced him.
"I read it one night in 1997 and was floored by it," Ossana recalled. "I was awake with insomnia and read it in the middle of the night. The next morning I reread it and was even more affected .... We called Annie and optioned it with our own money, and here we are, eight years later."
Making a movie from Proulx's words was a "once-in-a-lifetime experience" for McMurtry. And Proulx sounded equally blissed out with the end results of McMurtry, Ossana, director Ang Lee and all the actors' hard work.
"When Larry first talked about making my story into a film, I was dismayed, horrified, and I was sure that it was impossible," Proulx admitted. "But I was wrong."
Watching Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger's portrayals of Jack and Ennis brought her characters back to life.
"I thought they had been finally exorcised, but they came right back to life in my head when I watched the film. I was filled with these men whom I had tried so hard to get rid of. They break your heart, they just break your heart."
Lohan & Co. after-party
Super-stylist Rachel Zoe dressed Lindsay Lohan for her busy Tuesday night-on-the-town. First the newly brunet actress vamped it up at the "Brokeback Mountain" premiere in Westwood in a brown Balenciaga halter top, slim black slacks and a navy Chanel jacket.
At the after-party at Napa Valley Grille, Lohan sat at a table and looked pretty, with sooty dark eyes and pale lips, nibbling dinner, occasionally sneaking a peek at Jake Gyllenhaal. But despite rumors of a secret romance between the two, Jake stayed with his sister Maggie and her beau, Peter Sarsgaard, while people congratulated him on his "Brokeback" performance.
Around 11:30, Lohan made a beeline for Courteney Cox and David Arquette's private cocktail party at Guy's in West Hollywood to celebrate their new TBS show, "Daisy Does America." Lohan joined the posh party packed with the usual nightlifers -- Jack Osbourne, David Spade, Vincent Gallo, Matthew Perry, Brandon Davis and "Walk the Line" star Joaquin Phoenix, who all watched Gyllenhaal's on-again-now-off-again squeeze Kirsten Dunst dancing up a storm most of the night.
