Events of the Week: ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ ‘Doctor Strange’ and More

As Hollywood events return to full force in New York and Los Angeles amid the coronavirus pandemic, here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings, including red carpets for Top Gun: Maverick, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Girls5Eva and The Staircase.

Girls5Eva season two premiere

Peacock hosted a season two celebration with stars Sara Bareilles, Paula Pell, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps and producer Tina Fey on Sunday at NYC’s Roxy Hotel.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness world premiere 

Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Xochitl Gomez and director Sam Raimi debuted the highly anticipated sequel at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday.

The Staircase premiere

Also on Monday night, Colin Firth gathered with co-stars Sophie Turner, Rosemarie DeWitt, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Michael Stuhlbarg for the premiere of HBO Max series The Staircase, held at MoMa.

The Big Conn premiere

The Apple docuseries following attorney Eric C. Conn, who defrauded the government over half a billion dollars in the largest Social Security fraud case in history, premiered at the Pacific Design Center on Tuesday.

We Feed People NYC premiere screening 

National Geographic Documentary Films’ We Feed People, directed by Ron Howard, screened at SVA Theatre on Tuesday in front of a crowd that included Hilary and Chelsea Clinton, Stephen Colbert, Drew Barrymore, Richard Gere, Steve Buscemi and Liev Schreiber.

Tankhouse premiere

Christopher Lloyd’s latest project Tankhouse debuted at The London Hotel in West Hollywood on Tuesday.

Top Gun: Maverick world premiere

In true Tom Cruise fashion, Top Gun: Maverick premiered with a San Diego spectacle on Wednesday aboard retired aircraft carrier USS Midway, which Cruise arrived at via a helicopter he piloted himself. He was joined aboard the vessel by co-stars Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez and Lewis Pullman.

The Pentaverate red carpet

Mike Myers debuted his new Netflix series at L.A.’s Liaison on Wednesday alongside Ken Jeong, Keegan-Michael Key and Debi Mazar.

Tehran season two premiere

Also on Wednesday, Apple TV+ celebrated the season two global premiere of Tehran at The Robin Williams Center in NYC with stars Niv Sultan, Glenn Close, Shaun Toub, Shervin Alenabi, Behi Djanati Ataï, Arash Marandi, Elnaaz Norouzi and Shila Ommi.

Berggruen Prize Gala

The annual Berggruen Prize Gala took place on Wednesday at the Berggruen Hearst Estate in Beverly Hills, celebrating honoree and renowned moral philosopher Peter Singer with a guest list that included Governor Gavin Newsom, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Miranda Kerr, Evan Spiegel, Maye Musk, Maggie Q, Wolfgang Puck, Wendy Murdoch and musician Beck.

Easterseals Disability Film Challenge

Sony Pictures Studios hosted this year’s Easterseals Disability Film Challenge awards ceremony on Thursday, which capped off the weeklong contest for filmmakers – with and without disabilities – to collaborate on stories that showcase disability in its many forms, inviting aspiring storytellers to creatively write, produce, and complete short films. Presenters and guests included challenge creator Nic Novicki, Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Sound of Metal‘s Paul Raci, As We See It‘s Rick Glassman, Sue Ann Pien and Albert Rutecki, Winning Time‘s Max Borenstein, This Is Us‘ Blake Stadnik and Special‘s Ryan O’Connell.

Power Collective L.A. event 

On Thursday, the inaugural women’s networking event Power Collective was held at iHeartRadio Theater L.A. in Burbank, bringing together female professionals across the entertainment, tech and finance industries. Speakers included Hello Sunshine COO Liz Jenkins, actress Reem Edan, author Dana Schwartz and ColorCreative Management president Talitha Watkins.

Leeza Gibbons’ ‘Leeza’ 25th-anniversary reunion
Leeza Gibbons gathered the gang from her Leeza talk show for a 25th-anniversary reunion event on Sunday. Taking over Sorry Not Sorry on Pico Boulevard, approximately 100 talk show staffers took a walk down memory lane to celebrate their 7-year run. “Suddenly it was the mid-’90s again,” Gibbons tells THR of what it was like being together once more. “And as I scanned the room, every face I saw was a teammate, a family member, a friend from some of the best years of my life. The Leeza show wasn’t just our job, it was home and this felt like a homecoming.” Coming home were former Jeopardy producer Mike Richards (who started as an intern on her show), Jeff Collins (who started as Gibbons’ assistant) and John Redmann (a onetime Leeza producer). TV mogul Ryan Seacrest, who recurred on Leeza, sent in a recorded message.

Lily Collins’ Living Proof partnership party
The star of Emily in Paris celebrated the launch of her latest pact by heading over to Vespertine in Los Angeles for a cocktail soiree on Tuesday. Collins serves as the new face of Living Proof hair products.