by Larry Richman
October 20, 2006 12:17 AM

What an amazing first day this was here at the Hamptons Film Festival. I attended four films in a row, including a comedy shorts program and two foreign films, one a U.S. Premiere and the other an East Coast Premiere. I attended two parties, one at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard and the other at the beachfront home of Judy Licht. No doubt you'll be seeing pictures of that one at all the major paparazzi sites and reading about it in the gossip columns. Many of the Festival Board Members were there, a number of whom are wealthy socialites and their equally wealthy husbands, multibillionaire entertainment industry executives, matrons and patrons of the arts, and, of course, movie stars. Filmmakers, actors, producers, publicists -- all made their way down the narrow winding rustic road to the palatial abode. If you've ever heard of "Hamptons parties," well, this was one of the biggest and best. It was also quite the hot ticket, and invitations were few and far between.

This is just a quick update, since it's late and I need to turn in momentarily. I will, as soon as time allows, fill in some of the details surrounding all the above events. I'll also post pictures of some of the folks I met, including John Waters, New Line Cinema co-Chairman and co-CEO Michael Lynne, and legendary actor Harris Yulin, just to name a few. I was also particularly pleased to have chance to chat at length with Brad Gann, writer of "Invincible" and director of "Black Irish," which is having its World Premiere here tomorrow night.

Most importantly, of course, you can expect my comments on the films -- after all, that's really why I'm here.