Vanity Fair

Jessica Chastain arrived in Cannes over the weekend and she has already made a splash on the party circuit. She wore Shamballa earrings as she attended a Chanel and Vanity Fair dinner last night, alongside stars James Franco, Milla Jovovich, and Paz Vega. James stopped by the dinner after hosting a party in honor of his ex-girlfriend Ahna O'Reilly on a yacht earlier in the day. Ahna costars alongside James in his directorial debut, As I Lay Dying, which is premiering tonight at the festival.

As for Jessica, she is in the South of France to promote the 50th anniversary of Cleopatra. She will host a special screening of the newly restored project tomorrow and will also wear the famous emerald and diamond necklace Richard Burton gave to Elizabeth Taylor during the production of the film. Jessica stopped over in Cannes after wrapping up filming for her latest project, Miss Julie, in Ireland. Jessica posted photos of her visit to Ireland on her Facebook page, noting that it was "tough to say goodbye" to the Emerald Isle.

Brad Pitt covers the June issue of Vanity Fair, which will be out on newsstands and digitally across the country on May 7. Inside the issue, various executives from Paramount, the studio behind his June 21 release, World War Z, talk about their much-publicized production difficulties. Among their troubles were a budget that spiraled to $200 million and having to make the tough decision to reshoot 40 minutes of the film.

Brad doesn't appear to be quoted directly in the piece, but screenwriter Damon Lindelof conveyed the actor's enthusiasm for making World War Z. Damon said, "[Brad] took me through how excited he was when he read the book, what was exciting for him, the geopolitical aspect of it. . . . But when we started working on the script, a lot of that stuff had to fall away for the story to come together. We started shooting the thing before we locked down how it was going to end up, and it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to. My sense of it was he was taking responsibility." Get the full backstory on the making of World War Z on Vanity Fair's site.

Sienna Miller wore a Topshop dress and held hands with her future sister-in-law, Matilda Sturridge, when the two attended Vanity Fair's Tribeca Film Festival party in NYC last night. Sienna's night out with Matilda comes after a day out with Tom Sturridge in Manhattan earlier this week. The couple squeezed in a bit of alone time following a weekend with their daughter, Marlowe.

Sienna and Matilda were joined at the event by Evan Rachel Wood, who cradled her baby bump in a black flowing dress. Evan vented about attending the star-studded bash while being with child since she couldn't partake in any of the booze-related festivities. She tweeted, "I love that I am going to a cocktail party tonight, but I can't have any cocktails. It's like a birthday with no cake." Also on hand at the fashionable fete was model Karolina Kurkova, TFF fixture Robert De Niro, and Whoopi Goldberg.

Each year, Vanity Fair hosts its exclusive post-Oscars bash, and each year, it gets celebs to mark the occasion by taking silly candids in a photo booth. We have a look at some snaps from the 2013 bash here, including Channing Tatum and his pregnant wife Jenna Dewan's PDA. Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman welcomed her new best supporting actress Academy Award into the family, and Amy Poehler made it a girls' night with Rashida Jones. We have a look at the best pictures from inside the VF party — head over to the magazine's own site to see all the Vanity Fair photo booth pictures, including one awesome image of Jennifer Aniston making the "rock on" sign in a very crowded booth with Justin Theroux, Chelsea Handler, André Balazs, Dave Grohl, and his wife, Jordyn Blum.

Josh Hartnett got in on the pre-Oscars parties when he dropped by the Vanity Fair and Fiat party benefiting the United Nations International Labour Organization in LA last night. The star-studded event, which was hosted by Ron Howard and composer Hans Zimmer, also included Lake Bell, Alyssa Milano, and Adrien Brody as guests. Josh had a busy evening, as he also visited the Hollywood Domino and Bovet 1822 event in West Hollywood. Alyssa — who wore Gucci to last night's event — will likely have a lot more Academy Awards-related events to attend this weekend, since her husband, David Bugliari, reps Bradley Cooper, who is nominated for best actor. Bradley has a lot of events on his plate this week, including Wednesday night's Vanity Fair dinner for Silver Linings Playbook, which he attended alongside costar Jennifer Lawrence and director David O. Russell. Don't forget to join us for our LIVE Oscars viewing party and red carpet coverage on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 p.m. EST/2:30 p.m. PST.

Anne Hathaway shared laughs and drinks with her Les Misérables costars at a special pre-Oscars bash in LA last night. She donned a Theyskens' Theory minidress as she celebrated with a Dior-wearing Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, and Isla Fisher, who attended the shindig with her husband, Sacha Baron Cohen. The Les Misérables fete supported the Los Angeles Fund For Public Education, and drew other celebrities like Adrien Brody and Judy Greer. The celebration wasn't to be confused with the separate Vanity Fair party for Silver Linings Playbook, which also benefited education in LA and was held on the same night.

The pre-Oscars parties are just getting started, and the casts of both films will have plenty of chances to celebrate before Oscar night on Sunday, Feb. 24. Don't forget to fill out our Oscar ballot for a chance to win $1,000 and an iPad.