High atop Los Angeles on Thursday, Variety toasted up-and-comers in show business and music as part of its annual Power of Young Hollywood cover franchise. The class of 2024 included hitmaker Sabrina Carpenter, “SNL” breakout Marcello Hernández and “Stranger Things” supernova Sadie Sink.
The Santa Monica Proper hotel’s rooftop was transformed into a bubblegum confection of pink suede lounge areas, where champagne (for those of drinking age, of course) and Asian fusion hors d’oeuvre were circulated. Digital creators, TikTok stars, power agents and more chatted each other up while a DJ bumped Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar.
A former actor and star of “The Sex Life of the American Teenager,” filmmaker Megan Park showed to accept the Amazon MGM Studios Breakthrough award alongside her leading lady Maisy Stella. The pair delivered a Sundance hit with the comedy “My Old Ass,” about a young girl who collides with an older version of herself.
Park said the award was “my breakthrough in a different way, now that I’m doing writing and directing. It’s really nice to see more roles, more interesting opportunities, and just a really open-minded, vocal, young generation.”
Hernandez, known for jokes and sketches about his upbringing in a Latino household, brought his mom as his plus one. “When I first started doing comedy, she was always like, ‘If you ever do a red carpet, I have to go to the first one.’ I’m excited she got to be here and take pictures and wear the outfit she wanted to wear. It’s fun for us.”
The evening was kicked off by Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh, who dialed up the excitement by asking, “is everyone having a brat summer?” He referred to the Charli XCX phenomenon raging in memes and on Spotify playlists the world over. Setoodeh then handed emcee duties over to comedian Matt Friend.
Elsewhere at the fete, beauty YouTuber James Charles mingled with Addison Rae, “A Family Affair” star Joey King, Chandler Kinney, “Drag Race” player Kerri Colby and “The White Lotus” star Lukas Gage. A glossy photo booth sponsored by CashApp drew pouts and poses from actor Gavin Leatherwood, singer 4Batz, YouTuber Harry Jowsey and “Theater Camp” star Owen Thiele. Old Hollywood was represented in a cameo from Toby Maguire, keeping it low key in a black baseball cap, who was seen chatting up attendees near the DJ booth.
“Believe in yourself,” songbird Carpenter told the crowd in a brief acceptance speech, before breezing out by a tray of “Me Espresso” martinis, named for her hit song.