New York may be the city that never sleeps, but come awards show season, it's L.A. that pulls the all-nighters. On the Saturday before the Golden Globes, the party started early at Morton's and continued at the Chateau Marmont. And for some, ended upstairs in a VIP suite.

"What do I have to be nervous about?" asked Hustle & Flow's Terrence Howard, at the party hosted by Lions Gate Films, Showtime, and The Wall Street Journal at the famed West Hollywood eatery. "They already decided who's winning. I'm just happy that I made it to the finals." Fellow nominee Matt Dillon looked equally carefree whiling away the hours in a booth with his agent and five lovely ladies.

Underneath a palm frond nearby, nightlife photographer Patrick McMullan pulled aside dad-ager Joe Simpson to confide that Nick and Jessica are on the cover of his latest book, Kiss Kiss. "I think they'll get back together," said the sharpshooter. "They were really in love." But Simpson merely shrugged. "Anything's possible," he allowed, before confiding that his oldest had just moved into her new house and was "laying low."

Several rungs up Hollywood's who's who list, meanwhile, were the guests at André Balazs' legendary Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip, where HBO Films executives Colin Callender, Chris Albrecht, and Carolyn Strauss hosted the definitive pre-Golden Globes gala. Catherine Deneuve sat in a corner banquette with June Newton (who was revisiting the site where her photographer husband, Helmut, passed away two years earlier); a pixie-haired Natalie Portman huddled near the back bar alongside Jeremy Piven; and Helen Mirren posed happily with two "pimps" from Snoop Dogg's crew. "They couldn't be nicer," said the British actress. "They're not really pimps, are they?" Oh honey, you'd be surprised. Mirren wasn't the only star charmed by King Bert and the Bishop Don Magic Juan. The duo mugged for the cameras with the likes of Bill Maher, Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, and model Erin Wasson. "It's crazy that it's such a mixed bag here," said Juliette Lewis, sauntering out with Piper Perabo.

"I've never been to this party before, but so far, I love it," said Rose McGowan inside the patio's makeshift tent. "I paid everyone $5 to say that," laughed Callendar as he hit the dance floor with his wife, Elizabeth. Not everyone was buying it, though. "L.A. sucks in all respects compared to New York," said Chloë Sevigny, just as someone ran by yelling, "After-party in Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' room!"

—Sarah Cristobal