Socialite Allison Sarofim is also getting involved in movie production.
Ms. Sarofim, who grew up in Houston, moved to New York seven years ago. Her father is the famous Egyptian-born financier, Fayez Sarofim, a.k.a. “the Sphinx.” Her mother, Louisa, sits on the board at the Menil Collection (art). Ms. Sarofim has acted, attended culinary school and worked at Le Bernardin. In recent years, she’s become known for her Halloween parties, which last year included a troupe of dancing midgets.
On Friday, April 25, her first produced film, Lake City, premiered at the Tribeca PAC theater. Ms. Sarofim also has a cameo playing the role of a hardscrabble hooker who gets beat up by the film’s drug-dealing villain played by … Dave Matthews!
After the screening, Ms. Sarofim hosted a bash at her West Village townhouse, of course. Among her guests: hotelier André Balazs, art dealer Larry Gagosian, director Brett Ratner, actress Marisa Tomei, designer Cynthia Rowley, Vogue editor Hamish Bowles, musician Bryan Ferry and pricelessly named Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis.
“Typically, I host private parties, and this had a different business element to it,” Ms. Sarofim told the Transom later on the phone. “But I can honestly say I was very comfortable. I think people from all those different worlds really liked socializing together.”
Ms. Sarofim took it as a good sign that the film’s stars, Sissy Spacek and Troy Garity, stayed till 2:30 a.m. “Larry Gagosian was so excited to meet Sissy Spacek because he’s a big fan,” she said.
She and the film’s writer-director team Hunter Hill and Perry Moore have started a production company, Sixty-Six, with three more projects in the pipeline.
But all you ghouls out there lucky enough to be in Ms. Sarofim’s Rolodex can breathe easy: Her legendary Halloween bashes will go on! “Those are productions,” she said. “And I really feel that this is a continuation of that.”
