Disco Isn't Dead
by Michael N. Westley
      (The Salt Lake City Tribune; 26 January 2003) -- A private celebration for the film "Party Monster" was outrageous -- a fitting tribute to the glitz, celebrity and debauchery depicted in the film.

Club lights and intermittent strobe flashes gave the illusion that pictures were being taken Wednesday night at The Shop, a store that occupies what was once the gymnasium of the old Park City High School. Waiters dressed in white carried plates of hors d'oeuvres, including a tray stacked with doughnuts. (A pivotal scene in "Party Monster," a horrifying depiction of the drug-filled club scene of New York City in the early '90s, takes place in a doughnut shop.) Actors were hired to wear club-era costumes, and entertainment consisted of drag queens and hunky young men. Cocktails flowed freely from the Absolute!-hosted bar.

The film created two sets of celebrities: the actors and the real people on whom the story was based. Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green, stars of "Party Monster," mingled with the likes of Superstar DJ Keoki (a character in the movie) and author James St. James. The movie is based on Disco Bloodbath, St. James' book about his life as a "club kid" in the early '90s. DJ Felix the Cat, a superstar in his own right, spun an energetic and varied set of thumping tunes.

St. James and Keoki seemed to enjoy the attention from people who had seen the film. "All I've been hearing all night is 'Hey, there's the real Keoki,' " the DJ said. St. James was flamboyant and charming, never far from the action. "It's fun to watch them pretending to be me," said St. James. "Which is not to minimize the tragedy; it's about recapturing the moment when we were in the bubble." When asked what he thought about the film adaptation of his book, he said: "It's true to the spirit of the time, not to the letter of the book."

Keoki, no stranger to the spotlight due to his successful DJ career, was a little overwhelmed with his celebrity status that evening. "I'm blown away, it's beyond a dream," said Keoki. "It has been a nightmare and a dream and now I'm celebrated for it."