Emperor of the Sun
Valentino and His Entourage Land in L.A. for One More Premiere
There's a scene in the Valentino documentary The Last Emperor in which the designer tells Elizabeth Hurley that when he does anything, he must give it his all. That probably explains a lot of things about the Val-iant one, from his approach to tanning to the way he has tirelessly promoted this film: In the past few months he's traveled to Venice, Toronto, Miami, Aspen, Chicago, and New York. On Wednesday night, the doc had its West Coast premiere at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art before a crowd that included Tom Ford, Anne Hathaway, and Rita Wilson, and the movie's leading man was greeted, well, like an emperor. "Mr. Valentino is entering the room," a museum spokesperson bellowed when the designer entered for what would be the first of several standing ovations.
"I was working with two of the biggest movie stars on the planet," said director Matt Tyrnauer, who went on to compare traveling with Valentino, his partner Giancarlo Giammetti, and their entourage to group therapy. "Intercontinental group therapy." After the screening, the museum's Costume Council presented the designer with the Living Legend award during a dinner at the new Montage hotel. "I like the documentary—now," Valentino said. "I did not like it before." Then, wrapping up a speech that had his VIP admirers cheering on their feet, he added: "I love America. It's made me famous. But I'm ready to go back to Europe now."
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