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A Defamer operative much better connected than we are (of course, your average set PA has more juice than we do) snagged invites to both the Oscar pre-parties thrown by ICM's Ed Limato and CAA's Bryan "George Clooney's Oscar Date" Lourd. It seems that Limato's shindig skewed a little old, while Lourd's, as per usual, attracted Hollywood's biggest names with its grade-A-quality baby-eating buffet. Reports our partygoer:

OK, you asked for info from someone who was at the Limato party, so that would be me, along with about 500 or so others, mostly studio execs and hangers-on, mostly old. Don Rickles, Joan Collins (looking scary as hell), Barbara Walters, Donatella Versace, Michael Caine, etc. Felicity Huffman and Bill Macy were there as well (she's an ICM client) and were chatting it up big time with Don Rickles and his wife. Denzel Washington was around, as was Alexander Payne, Jon Lovitz, and Emmy Rossum. The tent where dinner was served was gorgeous and opulent, with furniture groupings, a gigantic central bar with a Phantom of the Opera-sized chandelier over it, and bouquets of yellow roses on white/silver tablecloths. The food was fantastic - from Along Came Mary, and featured lamb, steak, chicken, fish, pastas, grilled vegetables, salads, etc. and a groaning dessert table featuring her famous chocolate brownie pudding. Everyone was eating - even the skinny everyones.

But where were all the young people? That would be at our next stop, CAA agent Bryan Lourd's. Chatting it up in the entry hall were Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, and Tom Ford. Warren Beatty and Jeff Katzenberg were talking in the living room. Cuddling in front of the fire in one of the ultra modern sitting rooms was Michele Williams and Heath Ledger, as Mick Jagger strolled by with a woman who looked to be about 7 feet tall. Jake Gyllenhaal. Scarlet Johansson. Matthew McConaghey and Penelope Cruz. Ang Lee. Madonne. And, of course, George Clooney. Every woman who came in got a gardenia wrist corsage, so the air smelled of gardenias and cigarette smoke. I saw a lot of people who had stopped by the Limato party and apparently came to Bryan's to REALLY party. I left about 12:30, and it was still going strong, with throngs of paparazzi out front documenting it all. In fact, as we drove up to the party earlier in the evening, a photographer shone a flashlight in our car to see if we were someone worth photographing. We weren't.