The LA Times Infiltrates Xenii, Finds Exactly What You Might Expect

Mark — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 16:07:13 EDT

Perhaps inspired by Paula Abdul's alleged agent-inflicted attack at one of its recent events, the LAT ventures out to floating party Xenii (a mere seven months after the NY Times dropped by, but who's counting?) to see what all the cool kids are up to these days. For those too unfashionable to have heard of Xenii, it's an exclusive, semisecretive, members-only, Entourage-meets-Warhol's-Factory, traveling after-hours gathering where guys pay dues for the privilege of hanging around with beautiful women and celebrities without being stungunned by their bodyguards. Still not getting it? Here's a sample of what a man's $650 to $4,500 monthly membership gets him, courtesy of the Times:

Susan Blackman, a publicist and self-proclaimed "tastemaker" was not impressed by the males on view on a recent Saturday while enjoying cocktails in the cordoned-off VIP area at the Hollywood Ren-Mar Studios.
"There are no hot guys here," the 28-year-old said.

She and a girlfriend then recognized actor Michael Bellisario from the TV show "JAG," in a mesh trucker baseball cap, and rushed to talk to him.

Bellisario, 26, started coming to Xenii parties last June. He said he did not need to pay for membership because [co-owner Rob] Perry "wants Hollywood here. I spread the word."

The Times says that the media attention from the Abdul-related violence has some "in the club scene" wondering if the ten-month old party might be dangerously close to buzz-depleting overexposure, but we think the concept has legs: Unattractive, unconnected men in Hollywood with too much money have long been searching for a prostiution-free way to try and fuck actresses and models without having to go through the time and expense of becoming movie producers.

Gatsbies and the Wannabes [LAT]

Gawker: Defamer, Xenii

The LA Times Infiltrates Xenii, Finds Exactly What You Might Expect