Annie Proulx revels in 'Mountain' magic

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.

But it turns out that McMurtry only read Proulx's concise masterpiece after Ossana forced him.

"I read it one night in 1997 and was floored by it," Ossana recalls. "It was one of the most powerful stories I'd ever read in my life. 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. I was staying at Larry's house in Texas and I handed it to him to read. He said, "I don't read short fiction" and I said, "Humor me." He read it and said it was the finest story he'd ever read in The New Yorker. I said, "So what do you think about doing the screenplay?" And he said, "Sure." It was the first time I haven't had to argue with him. We called Annie and optioned it with our own money and here we are, eight years later."

McMurtry, whose books made into TV and feature films include "Lonesome Dove," "Hud," "The Last Picture Show" and "Terms of Endearment," recalls his first thoughts when he read Proulx's heartbreaking story of two closeted gay cowboys set in the '60s: "I've written 41 books, many set in the West and when I read this story, I couldn't imagine why I hadn't written it. I knew it was out there. It had always been there. But I didn't write it and Annie did."

Photo: E. Annie Proulx, Ang Lee and producer Michael Costigan at the Los Angeles Premiere of "Brokeback Mountain."
(Eric Charbonneau / WireImage)

Super-stylist Rachel Zoe dressed Lindsay Lohan for her busy Tuesday night-on-the-town. First the newly brunette 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 and her entourage sat at a table with a good view of "Brokeback" star Jake Gyllenhaal's table. La Lohan looked pretty with sooty dark eyes and pale lips, nibbling a few bites of dinner, occasionally sneaking a faux-eyelashed peek at Gyllenhaal. But despite rumors of a secret romance between the two, Jake stayed with his sis Maggie and her beau Peter Sarsgaard while people congratulated him on his astonishing "Brokeback" performance.

But around 11:30, Lohan got tired of waiting and 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."

Photo: Lindsay Lohan goes to the dark side on her night out.
(Photo: Lester Cohen / WireImage)

Okay, girls. Get ready to drop and stack!

No, it's not a hot new Hollywood workout. Seems drop earrings and stack bracelets are simply all the rage on the red carpets.

Celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Richie and LeAnn Rimes have been spotted recently doing the Drop-and-Stack. At the New York premiere of "Transamerica," best actress buzz-bomb Felicity Huffman showed off her subtle Martin Katz platinum and four-carat diamond drop earrings ($145,000) and three stacked Martin Katz platinum and diamond bracelets ($22,000).

All of which accented the "Housewives" star's sexy strapless navy blue Marchesa frock. No siree, nothing "Desperate" about this look.

Photo: Felicity Huffman is no cross-dresser at the New York premiere of "Transamerica"
(Jim Spellman / WireImage)

Can Claire Danes' shatteringly subtle and poignant performance in Steve Martin's "Shopgirl" get any attention this awards season?

Disney sure hopes so. The studio is mounting a best actress Oscar campaign for the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress ("My So-Called Life"). You may not have heard much about Danes what with all the noise over Charlize Theron's legal battles, Naomi Watts' monkey shines, Felicity Huffman's switch-hitting, Reese Witherspoon's Cash flow, Julianne Moore's jingle writing or Maria Bello's sexy stair climbing. But that may change.

Danes is currently filming "The Flock" in New Mexico with Richard Gere and is reportedly excited about the campaign. Expect to hear a lot more from Danes since she'll no doubt be back in L.A. to promote her newest film, "The Family Stone," which premieres on Dec. 6 at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood.

Disney will also be pushing for a best adapted screenplay Oscar for Martin, who adapted the script from his novel about modern Hollywood romance. And it's worth remembering that Martin won a WGA award for his adaptation of "Roxanne" based on Edmond Rostand's play "Cyrano de Bergerac."

Hey, does anyone remember that "Shopgirl" was the script Winona Ryder was reportedly "researching" in 2001 when she "borrowed" all those designer duds from Saks Fifth Avenue, which served as the location for the film in 2003? Yeah, we'd forgotten too. Bet Ryder wishes everyone would.

Photo: Claire Danes looks golden at the London Film Festival screening of "Shopgirl" on Oct. 28, 2005.
(Tim Whitby / WireImage)

Just when you thought it was safe to turn your TV back on...

Here comes the horrifying news that Tinseltown's terrible twosome, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, will do a fourth season of their "The Simple Life" reality show for E! Entertainment Television. No one will be safe from these battling babes' bitter rivalry in the upcoming 10 half-hour episodes that will air in spring 2006.

What will the resuscitation of "Life" do to the 2006 awards season? We predict that Paris and Nicole will continue to try to out-couture each other on as many carpets as they can. It's a good bet that the stylish showdown will start at the Golden Globes and continue through all the post parties those headline-hungry hotties can wrangle invites to.

E! has also snagged syndication rights to all 36 previous "Simple" episodes, which will begin rerunning on the network in January. Gosh, what a great chance to look back on the good old days when the feuding femme fatales were the bestest of bosom buddies.

Next year's shows will reportedly feature Hilton and Richie in the roles of homemakers, with each girl competing with the other to see who can best balance demanding tasks as cleaning and child-rearing for different families.

It apparently matters not whether, like those newly separated "Newlyweds" Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, the two girls are actually married in real life. Paris is so over her ex-fiancé, Paris Latsis and his replacement, that other rich Greek guy, may be on the outs too. And while Nicole is still engaged to DJ AM, she's been vocal about not wanting her wedding, honeymoon and/or romantic life used on the show.

But you know how loudly money talks. Fox, which aired the show for its first three seasons reportedly didn't have room on the 2006 sked to accommodate the show (or the stars' egos). But rumor is that E! Entertainment Television's purchase of "Life" for around $800,000 per episode, which makes it the most expensive show in the network's history.

That kind of moola may just make little Nic rethink airing her personal laundry. Hey, it's not like there's gonna be a hidden video camera in the girls' bedrooms. Wait! You don't think.... Nah. They'd have to sell that show to the Playboy Channel.

Photo: DJ AM and Nicole Richie hug it out at her Barnes & Noble book signing for "The Truth About Diamonds" at The Grove in Los Angeles.
(Jeff Vespa / WireImage)

Billion Dollar Babes, Los Angeles' biggest designer sample sale, is where Hollywood's hippest young actresses — those who are in the know but not yet on designers' payrolls — go to find fabulous fancy frocks for the awards season.

The quarterly BDB sale starts Friday with a VIP preview from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Platinum members can get in at noon that day. Gold members usually file in around 3 p.m.

It's not too late to join the Not-So-Rich and Famous as they go shopping for the latest from Catherine Malandrino. Michelle Mason, Pegah Anvarian, Theory, Ted Baker, Agent Provocateur, Suka, Teenage Millionaire, Rosasen, Petro Zillia, Eisbar, Paul Smith and Oliver Peoples eyewear.

There's still room for more shoppers at BDB, especially if they happen to be Hollywood hunks. BDB is offering an expanded menswear selection in the sale's new location at Quixote Studios (1011 N. Fuller Ave., Hollywood).

BDB is also a major networking bonanza. "The Chronicles of Narnia" director Andrew Adamson ("Shrek," "Shrek 2") and his wife Nikki are among those who will be there. Partly because they're good pals with BDB founder and fellow New Zealander Shelli-Anne Couch, and partly because Adamson needs warm chic bundlies for his upcoming "Narnia" European press junket.

By the way, we hear there's absolutely no reason for Adamson to be the slightest bit shaky about his first live-action feature, even though the entire Mouse House is banking on "Narnia" to bring in big box office and major awards.

Better refill your anti-depressant prescriptions.

The 2006 awards season promises to be awash with serious socially relevant message movies. And these dark themes are already leaving screening audiences feeling hopeless, helpless and numb.

Kinda hard to be Christmas cheery after watching racism, rape and murder in "Crash," corrupt politicians and unethical AIDS drug suppliers in "The Constant Gardener," terrorists and revenge-seekers in "Munich" and terrorist recruiting clerics, corrupt Arab kings, U.S. politicians and greedy oil companies in "Syriana."

But then there's "Mrs. Henderson Presents," a delightful, deliciously charming movie based on the true story of a feisty, wealthy widow (Judi Dench) who buys a ramshackle London theater and hires the fiercely stubborn Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins) to run it.

With Mrs. Henderson's considerable money and political pull and Van Damm's stage expertise and moxie, they put on a wildly successful revue at the Windmill Theatre that mimics the shockingly bare theatrics at Paris' Moulin Rouge.

But it's not all bare boobs and buttocks. When Hitler begins his blitz of London, Henderson and her troupe show fighting spirit. Windmill was the only theatre in London that stayed open during the worst bombings from September 1940 to May 1941.

Word is The Weinstein Co. plans to fight the good fight with Oscar campaigns for Dench (best actress) and Hoskins (best supporting actor). They will also be submitting the film in other categories such as best costume and best production design as well as for the best ensemble cast category at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Judging from the applause, chuckles and sniffles at a recent Beverly Hills screening, "Mrs. Henderson" may not be such a longshot. After all, nobody does imperious upper-crusty with a meltingly sweet filling like Dame Judi. And move over, Harvey Keitel and Ewan McGregor. Hoskins' full frontal nude is worth the price of admission. And Dench's reaction to it? Priceless.

"Mrs. Henderson" premieres in Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 5, at the Cecchi Gori Fine Arts Theatre on Wilshire Boulevard, with a star-studded reception afterward at the Four Seasons Hotel. Dench, Hoskins and two of their costars Kelly Reilly and Will Young are confirmed to attend fully clothed.

Photo: Bob Hoskins and Judi Dench light up the screen in "Mrs. Henderson Presents."
(The Weinstein Co.)

Ah, the glitter, glamour and greed of awards season.

Last year's Golden Globes skirmish between top jewelers Chopard and Harry Winston got so vicious that Hilary Swank and Charlize Theron returned their borrowed Winston designs a day before the awards after receiving hefty paychecks to sport Chopard's creations.

Those skirmishes over red carpet jewelry placement could seriously escalate now that De Beers — the controversial South African King of Bling — has stepped into the fashion fray.

De Beers has a new chic boutique on Rodeo Drive, and the company has an interesting plan to snag headlines and seduce stars.