If you don't know the name Kirsten Smith, you certainly know her work.
When she logs onto a Zoom call from her home in Los Feliz, evidence of that work is visible on the wall behind her in the form of international posters for the movies she has written, including Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You, and The House Bunny. (Turns out in France, The House Bunny was released as Super Blonde.)
Smith, who goes by the nickname "Kiwi," is also one of Hollywood's preeminent party throwers, and her Spanish-style abode on the eastside of Los Angeles has become a place for artists to congregate. During awards season and throughout the year, Smith becomes a sort of welcome wagon for filmmakers and actors from in and out of town.
"It's a celebration where we can just pull a lot of interesting people together," Smith, who has a mass of curls atop her head, says. Since she moved into her current place about 15 years ago, she estimates she has thrown around 75 fêtes of all sizes, from a Saltburn-themed Halloween party for director Emerald Fennell to an 18th birthday for Tavi Gevinson.
Smith operates as a superfan. As a compulsive cinephile, she wants to use her home—which can fit around 100 people—to show the industry at its most friendly. "I really don't ever want to use the word 'networking,' because I really don’t love that word," she says. "Somebody said it to me, like, 'Oh, Kiwi's parties are a great place to network.' I'm like, 'Ew. You're not invited anymore.'"
While Smith is known for her wildly popular blockbusters, when it comes to viewing (and celebrating), her passion lies in smaller, international films. One of the first film-related parties she threw was for French actor Adèle Exarchopoulos, because she was obsessed with her performance in Blue Is the Warmest Color. Along with her friend, the producer Sarah Schechter, Smith approached Exarchopoulos during an event at the French consulate.
"We befriended her with this mission," Smith remembers, "and then we were like, 'Can we throw a party for you?'"
This past summer, she and Anora director Sean Baker co-hosted a party for Italian screen siren Vera Gemma and last awards season, she hosted parties in honor of actor Vicky Krieps, who was promoting the Austrian film Corsage, and the stars of Finnish rom-com Fallen Leaves. That last one was a karaoke party, an homage to a crucial scene in Aki Kaurismäki's movie. "We turned my living room into a karaoke salon," she says. "People were just having the greatest time."
Smith herself didn't sing, but does extend her hospitality to musicians who happen to be in town, an extension of her innate fandom. These gatherings have nothing to do with movies—just her love of the bands. Early on, she welcomed Future Islands. More recently, she had a gathering for breakout folk rocker MJ Lenderman. That one ran late.
"My bartender friend was like, 'Wait, what time does this start?'" she says. "I'm like, 'Well, it starts around 11:30 and then I think we'll wrap by 3.' He was like, 'You kidding?'"
Birthdays are also one of Smith's specialities. She threw one to celebrate the 95th of former Oscar nominee June Squibb, who starred last year in the action comedy Thelma. Scarlett Johansson, who directs Squibb in the upcoming Eleanor the Great, was one of the many Squibb devotees who sent in video messages. Jack McBrayer of 30 Rock sent Smith a thank you note after calling her a "phenomenal hostess."
"I mean, what a great thing to be able to host people in your home that you never would get to [meet otherwise]," Smith says. "I'm just blessed to be able to say, come on, let's have a little hangout."
Smith credits her love of hosting to growing up an only child who was a "weird loner," and now loves to bring people together. She also enjoys showing off of her home with its admittedly "funky" style—case in point, the posters. "I like when people come in and are like, 'Oh, that's really cool,'" she adds. "That makes me feel proud because I don't have children so I have, like, my decor. And my dogs. That's it." She holds up one of her two Chihuahuas for the camera.
For Smith, who is an Academy member, awards season doesn't end at the Dolby Theatre on Oscar night. Instead of jockeying for a ticket, she throws a watch party at home. It's a cap to her reputation as the cozy doyenne of the Los Angeles film scene. "I'm sort of known for, 'If you don't get invited to a very fancy viewing party, then please come to my house to watch the Oscars,'" she says.
