Emma Thompson, Bryan Cranston and Other Party Minglers LOS ANGELES - "I'm going to go tell Bryan Cranston that I worship the ground he walks on," Emma Thompson said Friday at a luncheon for the American Film Institute. She made a beeline for Mr. Cranston, there as the star of "Breaking Bad," and began complimenting. That means so much coming from you, Mr. Cranston murmured, as others (Tom Hanks among them) lined up to pay tribute. The days leading up to the Golden Globes are a surfeit of parties, benefits, awards ceremonies and other glittery events, where A-listers mingle with A-plus-listers (and the occasional Oscar blogger). "She was just appreciating the work," Michael B. Jordan said after being deep in conversation with Sandra Bullock at the luncheon at the Four Seasons. She's a beautiful girl. So that was kind of cool to have someone that you look up to" say that. The AFI luncheon, which honors both TV and film, is a notably relaxed event: no speeches, no suspense about winners, just mutual admiration. Before the meal began, Mr. Jordan gathered in a talent clutch with Paul Dano and Ben Foster; afterward, Oscar Isaac, star of "Inside Llewyn Davis," got chatted up by Bruce Dern. "I finally saw your movie," Mr. Dern said. I never see you act! You're so spontaneous. They posed for a photo with their AFI certificates. On Thursday evening, a party thrown by W magazine at the Chateau Marmont, with the editor Stefano Tonchi and the writer Lynn Hirschberg serving as hosts, drew the usual mix of Hollywood fabulousness. There was Kate Hudson in a camel silk jumpsuit and Amy Adams with a friend, poring over the magazine's movie issue, in which she's featured. The designer Jeremy Scott posed for photos, and Steve McQueen, the director of "12 Years a Slave," danced out on the balcony. "You gotta shake a leg every now and then," he said. Melonie Diaz, a star of "Fruitvale Station" along with Mr. Jordan, circulated with a friend. "What do we do here?" she said. I am not this cool. (Ms. Diaz, a New York native and indie mainstay, is officially the Bagger's girl crush of the season. We think she is that cool.) At the AFI luncheon, guests were still talking about the award shows a few days before, especially the Meryl Streep-Emma Thompson comedy act at the National Board of Review. Accepting her award there, for her performance in "Saving Mr. Banks," Ms. Thompson took off her heels - as a feminist statement, she said - and at the AFI luncheon, she was decked out in glittery gold flat sandals. "Christopher Hitchens wrote an article about why women aren't funny," she said. The short answer is, because we're wearing bloody high heels! You can't be funny when your feet hurt. At the National Board of Review, Ms. Streep feted Ms. Thompson, her friend, with a poem and a sharp speech that touched on the mottled history of Walt Disney. Ms. Thompson made menopause jokes and sexual innuendo. The audience ate it up. The two actresses could be a comedy duo and host award shows, a la Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at the Golden Globes, we suggested. Ms. Thompson nodded. "Meryl's the one who says fantastically inflammatory things, and then I come on and make stupid jokes about them, and take an article of clothing off," she said. It'll work, I can feel it.