Russell Crowe and The Starter Wife

Posted on May 31, 2005

Rush & Malloy dish about yet another star-studded book party for Gigi Levangie Grazer's novel The Starter Wife (Simon and Schuster). This party was at the Beverly Hills Hotel and featured Oscar-winning bad boy Russell Crowe as a guest.

So, what's the connection? Gigi's husband, Brian Grazer, is the producer of Crowe's upcoming boxing flick, Cinderella Man. So he showed up, although it's not really his kind of book. He told Oprah that his favorite author is Studs Terkel. But back to the party....

Crowe and his wife, Danielle, joined Lara Flynn Boyle, Rita Wilson, Thora Birch and other examples of the Hollywood types Gigi thinly veils in her book. "I can either punish people or I can reward them," the author told us. "If they're mean to me, I can do little mean things to them! However, this particularly nice fellow who is a very well-known Hollywood guy, I made him into a character and I gave him a particularly large member - it's sort of a gift! And that's the best part about being a writer."

P.S. Guests were treated to what had to be the quintessential L.A. goodie bag. Among the gifts: Ugg boots, $100 off Botox treatment, and a free 20-minute reading by Kenn Woodard about what steps you can take toward holistic happiness.

Now that's what we call a book party.