Debra Martin Chase and Tika Sumpter. (Nicholas Hunt / PatrickMcMullan.com)

The Cinema Society with Circa and Alice & Olivia hosted a special screening of Whitney Houston’s final movie, Sparkle, last night at the Tribeca Grand Hotel. This was a bittersweet moment for all of the cast and crew, particularly for two-time Emmy-nominated film producer, Debra Martin Chase, who also co-produced The Princess Diaries with the late singer over a decade ago.

“This was a twelve-year journey for Whitney and I to get this movie made,” former lawyer Ms. Chase told us. “It was her idea do the remake [of the 1976 film of the same name], and we spent the last twelve years trying to get it done. We had the most fun we’ve ever had making a movie. I know people always say that, but we really had a ball making this movie.”

Actress Tika Sumpter, from Gossip Girl, was sparkling head-to-toe in a golden dress. She also reminisced about working with Whitney Houston.

“I’ll be able to tell my future children about all the experiences I’ve had [working with Whitney]. I grew up listening to Whitney, being like, 'Who is this gorgeous black girl who has this ridiculous voice?' Amazing. And I got to work with her.”

While The Observer was thrilled at being able to sit three seats away from recording artist Jordin Sparks, Ms. Sumpter appeared equally chuffed to be in the presence of an Olympic swimmer and gold-medal winner, Cullen Jones.

“I want a photo with the Olympic swimmer!” Ms. Sumpter called out to a photographer as everyone spilled into the movie theatre. She also openly admitted to have being intimated by Ms. Houston to begin with.

“On the first day, Whitney walked in and sat at the table. I was sitting next to her and my leg was shaking underneath,” Ms. Sumpter gushed, demonstrating how her long legs had trembled uncontrollably. “She taught me that you’re never too big to be humble. She made it easy for everybody. She made us feel like a family from the very beginning.”

“She was very classy, and silly as shit,” interjected actor, Derek Luke, his eyes glistening with tears.

Ms. Houston’s lines in the script seemed to gain a whole new meaning as they echoed in the movie theater later on. She was cast as Emma, the mother to three daughters, Sister, Delores and Sparkle played by Carmen Ejogo, Ms. Sumpter and Ms. Sparks respectively. The loving exchanges between Ms. Houston and the rest of the cast were not the result of good acting, but clearly born of very sincere and deep affection.

“It’s Sparkle’s story that really makes it special,” Ms. Chase enthused. “It’s both an inspirational tale and a cautionary tale. It’s a tale about having the courage to work to fulfill your dreams, but also about the choices you make in life to take you down the road.”

Robert Pattinson haz a sad at the New York premiere of Cosmopolis. (Paul Bruinooge/PatrickMcMullan.com)

“It’s not the sex you think I’ve had—it's the sex I want. That’s what you smell on me,” Robert Pattinson growls to a co-star in his new film Cosmopolis. In another scene, a doctor performs an exam on Mr. Pattinson in a moving limousine. “Your prostrate is asymmetrical,” the doctor informs the heartthrob.

Though these (real!) lines of dialogue are absurd, they are nothing compared to the farcical spectacle The Observer witnessed outside the Peggy Siegal Company premiere at MOMA last night.

The newly single Mr. Pattinson ventured out wearing an elegant blue Gucci suit. As the retired vampire inched down the red carpet, the swarm of journalists covering the event whipped off their flats en masse and quickly slipped into sparkly, 3-inch heels. This was his first appearance since news broke that his girlfriend, Kristen Stewart, had cheated on him with the married director Rupert Sanders.

Indeed, Mr. Pattinson has been having a very difficult few weeks. Beyond the very public breakup, he hasn’t even been able to go out and buy a burger! Co-star Emily Hampshire and “instant bestie” told us about his hardship.

“We were talking about Umami Burger and he was like, 'That’s the best burger in the world, but I haven’t been able to go out and get one. I’ve had to have it sent to me and it gets cold,'” Ms. Hampshire lamented. “He copes with it so well, he doesn’t complain. I mean, if I couldn’t have a Umami Burger I’d be complaining."

When we asked director, David Cronenberg, what he thought about the recent scandal surrounding Ms. Stewart and Mr. Pattinson, he claimed to have no opinion.

“Nothing. I don’t think anything about it. When we’re working on a movie, we’re in a bubble. We’re like [Mr. Pattinson's] character in the movie. We’re insulated against the outside world,” he told us. We asked if he had been concerned that Mr. Pattinson wouldn’t do press for the movie, post-breakup, Mr. Cronenberg replied with a glow of paternal pride: “No, because he’s a pro.”

The beautiful Sarah Gadon only had lovely things to say about her co-star’s affliction, too‪

“Rob seems alright… He surrounds himself by great people,” Ms. Gadon told The Observer. She pointed out how different Mr. Pattinson is from the character he portrays. “He is someone who is entirely egoless as a person, but he is playing someone who has a massive ego. So it was really interesting to watch him switch back and forth between those two,” she said.

Prior to filming, the actors had never rehearsed together so we asked Ms. Gadon if she thought this methodology was helpful.

“For sure, because we were supposed to have an awkward relationship,” Ms. Gadon explained. “What I think is really interesting is that we are two people who spend the whole film trying to find each other, and we spend the whole film unable to speak the same language.”

We asked Mr. Cronenberg to describe how he adapted Don DeLillo’s novel into a movie.

“I read the book once and I thought it could be a movie,” Mr. Cronenberg stated plainly. "And then I read it again while writing the screenplay."

Cosmopolis is an unusual movie in that the main star, Mr. Pattinson, is in every scene—a casting challenge, the director noted: “You have to ask yourself, does he have the charisma to hold the movie together, because he’s in every scene.”

Clearly, Mr. Pattinson has more than enough charisma: he transformed most of the female population standing on West 53rd Street last night into senseless, sex-crazed hyenas.

And Gawker's third annual "silent disco," held at the New York Public Library, offered us a rare occasion to go back inside, with the musical accompaniment of DJs Dapwell of Das Racist, DJ Kalkutta, and Yeasayer being broadcast into the bulky headphones provided.

The vast library hall was decked in gold. Gold masquerade masks, bows, ribbons and Big Apple Shandy cocktails littered the tables. All the girls working the party also seemed to have gold-blonde hair.

Like a magpie, we were drawn to the shiniest individuals at the party. One guest appeared to be jamming on the dance floor with a golden walking stick, the strangest accessory to have lying around the house. Naturally, we demanded an explanation.

“I broke my ankle,” Tom Imateacher told us. “So it’s half function, half fashion.” An awkward silence promptly ensued and we made a mental note not to offend any more incapacitated guests at the party.

The Observer edged away and found one artsy type, Najva Sol, wearing a long, golden cape, which she had made herself.

“I had gold booty shorts and I thought I couldn’t just walk out like this,” Ms. Sol told us, demonstrating with a theatrical swish that the handy cape could cover her entire torso like a flasher's trench coat. “I’m like gold-encrusted meets Aladdin meets King Midas.”

The Observer was then accosted by one dark horse, dressed in black, who told us his name was Jacques Garvin and that he worked as a corporate anthropologist by day, whatever that means.

“I am basically a walking pull-quote,” he announced. "I only come up with quotable lines.” A man of few words, he then vanished as quickly as he had appeared, like Batman with a jew fro.

Mr. Garvin wasn’t the only one with an alternate identity. Meet nail artist Taryn Multack aka Miss Ladyfinger.

“I started my blog last year in May. I was trying to brainstorm catchy names for a nail blog and was watching the episode of Friends when Rachel attempts to make an English truffle. She accidentally includes a layer of ladyfingers. I was immediately inspired.”

A group of fashion bloggers were groove gliding on the dance floor. One known as Sketchy Blonde had a huge, elegant bun high on her head, adorned with a golden bow.

Amid the crowd of media types, The Observer found one attorney who appeared to be a little lost.

“I’m basically the only mature one.  I’m an attorney,” whispered Amanda Kissel. “Hey! He’s wearing the same gold pants as me!” She wandered off to harangue the bloke cramping her style.

The Observer then discussed the benefits of silent disco with Rex Sorgatz, founder of Kinda Sorta Media and Party Pervert.

“I like being at a party where you can watch pretty girls dancing and have a conversation. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Rina Raphael, features editor on The Today Show, had a slightly different take on silent disco.

“It’s like you’ve muted your television and you can see what people really look like dancing,” Ms. Raphael said. She went so far as to suggest that silent disco frees your soul.

“It unleashes unexpected independence,” another partygoer, Samantha Ortega, mused. “People come out of their shells.”

While this may be true, it was a curious feeling to remove your headphones and witness a sea of drunk, sequined figures grinding to their own beat, singing out of tune to different, often unrecognisable, songs.

Dapwell, of hip-hop group Das Racist, who described his look as a “carefree Indian manboy,” revealed a soulful, sensitive side, commiserating with the bouncers who were excluded from the joys of silent disco.

“I like the type of music you can play to head-phoned crowds that wouldn't really fly otherwise, although I was upset the bouncers and security couldn't get a taste of the action this way," he said, concluding, "Overall, sexy stuff.”

David Burke and Eden Grinshpan at the GenR Summer Soiree. (Desiree Navarro/Getty Images)

“These are inspired by the McDonald’s McFlurries,” cooed a server as he offered celebrity chef David Burke a cone filled with a blend of strawberries, ice cream and whipped cream. The Observer also politely took a cone, examining it with mild anxiety.

After all, this summer soiree was being catered by Mr. Burke to raise money for the International Rescue Committee and to feature the New Roots campaign, which supports community gardens for refugees in America, so that they can grow, harvest and market food from their native cultures. If McDonald’s was inspiring the food, we were in a pickle.

Mr. Burke quickly corrected the good man: “Of course not.” He attacked his cone with a spoon.

“I felt like Queen Elizabeth earlier, giving a speech from the balcony,” Mr. Burke confided as a faraway smile rippled across his face. He was clearly picturing himself doing the iconic royal wave.

As this was an event to celebrate and support gardening, one might expect that one of the spokesmen would be a keen gardener. Sorry to disappoint: there was not one green thumb in the building, ladies and gentlemen.

“There’s a shrubbery garden in my building,” attempted Mr. Burke. “I’d like to grow apples and peaches.”

Eric Fleet, co-founder of the eco-friendly clothing store Threads for Thought can only claim to own one lonely orchid plant. “I’d love to grow fall apples or have a vineyard," he told us. Forgetting the refugees for a moment, these busy New Yorkers need a patch of green.

“I’m a mild gardener,” diplomatically declared actress Morena Baccarin, who stars in Showtime's Homeland alongside Claire Danes. Mild? What does that mean? “I grow succulents,” she replied. You mean cactuses, which can survive years without being watered, we prodded? “Yes. Precisely."

Karen Begley, director of corporate partnerships at that other salmon-colored newspaper, The Financial Times, joked: “I bribed and pimped to get people to come here tonight.”

The advertising moguls from BBDO, one of the evening's sponsors, formed a little clique, clutching their rum cocktail. Senior director Jennifer Durante said with a slurp: “David Burke always delivers. Oh god, look at the mess we’re making with the ice cream cones.” McDonald’s inspired or not, the cones were being consumed at alarming rates.

The evening's prize for the most effortless class must go to Eden Grinshpan, host of the Cooking Channel’s Eden Eats, who swanned about in a flowing beige skirt and lacy black top. She told us about the New Roots gardens: “The idea is for refugees living in the U.S. to recreate their customs through food. Every plot of land belongs to a different culture and each culture has its own gardening techniques.”

With Mr. Burke, we broach the subject of Voltaire, celebrated Enlightenment thinker and enthusiastic grower of cabbages. At the end of his most famous satire, Candide, the title hero, after countless trials and tribulations, after fruitlessly searching for the meaning of life in this irrational, cruel world, settles down on the Ottoman coast, and works on a small farm with his close companions to keep “free of three great evils: boredom, vice and necessity.” Candide, on the very last page, finally concludes, “Let us cultivate our garden.” Is gardening a solution to the hardships of life, a real moral and philosophical imperative?

“There is something about being close to the soil, helping to feed yourself, returning to your natural role as man,” muses Burke. “There is certainly a joy in working the earth.”