Santa Barbara Film Festival honcho and birthday boy Roger Durling hosted a “hail, hail, the gang’s all here” dinner last night at La Marmotte, the top-rated French restaurant that’s been operating since the ’90s. Happy birthday, Roger, and thanks for a joyous (i.e., frequently hilarious) evening.

Those “les plats principaux” prices are…interesting? Quote from our table: “These Marmotte guys do not fuck around.” Hat tip to La Marmotte owner Mark Reggiannini.

(Top row, l. to r.) Betsy Martindale, Wight Martindale (excellent 1% name! better than Milburn Drysdale of The Beverly Hillbillies!), IndieWire‘s Anne Thompson, Netflix talent relations and award season strategist Kelly Dalton, Amazon award-season hotshot Justin Balsamo, Hollywood Reporter exec awards editor Scott Feinberg.

(Bottom row, l. to r.) Daniel Launspach, me, Durling, Miramax vp publicity Julie Fontaine.

Friendly note to La Marmotte waiters when asked to snap group portraits: Call out “one, two, three…cheese!” before snapping. If you don’t do that everyone has to assume the freeze-smile position. I’m like Frank Sinatra was when making a movie — best (i.e. freshest and most alive) in the first take, and then the energy drops with successive takes.

Those who contend that Jeffrey is a three-syllable name…I’ve dealt with these people all my life: