Lady Gaga Gets Wild at 'Fame' Masquerade Ball in New York

The invitations requested "masquerade" attire, so attendees of Lady Gaga's Fame fragrance launch stormed the Guggenheim Museum in a splendorous parade of Eyes Wide Shut-worthy looks last night. Gaga is probably the only modern pop star who can demand that her fans give something of themselves in order to elevate her own fantasy. As an ambience enhancer, it worked tremendously for this event: an army of shirtless, suspendered men lined the passageway to the dark, cavernous room inside, where you were swept inside a frenzied masked ball. An asymmetrical dome was situated in the middle. We later learned that these were the chambers from which Lady Gaga would emerge, redolent of her infamous Grammy egg exercise.
At 9 p.m., famed cinematographer Steven Klein took the stage and announced the unveiling of his "Fame" film (watch it below). 

What followed was staggering: a high-octane, Ridley Scott-produced short that showed Gaga as mountainous creature, scaled by tiny men one minute, toting a gun in an ink-filled bathtub the next, and leading a futuristic army throughout. She shoots the gun and the inky "Fame" fragrance explodes from a million orifices, including Gaga's own eyes and mouth. A more violent version (not showed last night) supposedly will show her massacring the men. David Fincher's director of photography, Jeff Cronenweth, shot it all, which made it a stylish sister to the equally atramentous, latex-laden opening sequence of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. More adventurous than any standalone Lady Gaga music video (and therefore, almost any, ever), "Fame" supposedly cost seven figures to make. Obviously, its finale drew a huge round of applause.