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sister as Robin Wright, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger and Sir Norman Foster watch in awe. Remember, Evan sang in Julie Taymor's Across the Universe. By 2 a.m. Ms. Wood is drenched and jumps into Cipriani's Olympic-size pool to cool off in her borrowed gown. She has the dress cleaned the next day and sends it back good as new. Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011 Fox Searchlight premieres Alexander Payne's Hawaiian-set The Descendants. George stars as a father of two who learns about his wife's infidelity. You have to love the role-reversal casting. Nobody cheats on George—which is why his performance is so poignant. Clooney and Payne met at the Toronto Film Festival two years ago and were shooting in Oahu months later. Payne edited the film at Clooney's Italian villa on Lake Como, where the entire cast, including Charlie Rose who has a cameo playing Charlie Rose, end up for a holiday reunion the weekend before this year’s festival. Activities include George and Grant challenging Charlie and Marisa Tomei to a strenuous game of hoops on the private basketball court. Late-night partying ends with Mr. Rose skinny-dipping in Lake Como—a tradition started by that wild and crazy guy Walter Cronkite years ago. The Weinstein Company screens in Venice and Telluride their silent film The Artist, directed by Michel Hazanavicius and starring French movie idol Jean Dujardin. The film was premiered in May at the Cannes Film festival. Early Oscar buzz for films and male lead performances could be The Descendants, The Artist and Shame. This momentum has to sustain itself on the long road to Eddie Murphy's opening dialogue on Oscar night in February. Next to Evan el Wc fa | am lunching and munching on pasta and pizza with Valentino, Giancarlo Giammetti, Bruce Hoeksema, Charlene de Ganay and Carlos Souza aka “the family.” Paul Giamatti, whose family changed their spelling, tells me he is actually related to Valentino's business partner Giancarlo Giammetti, which is a visual stretch of the imagination. Valentino has brought his yacht T.M. Blue One carrying six pugs to Venice to attend Madonna's premiere of W.E., the compelling romance between King Edward VIII and the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson. Madonna has shown an early cut on DVD to Valentino in his grand Paris apartment last spring. Valentino loves the film and says Andrea Riseborough, who was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, is as compelling as Wallis. Similarities between Madonna and Wallis: Americans hounded by the press, moved to London to marry Englishman, were fashion icons always re-inventing themselves and were possessed with a faint sense of being misunderstood. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_012741