East Hampton was the place to be Thursday night for the screening of Pierce Brosnan’s new film, “The Greatest.” 007 himself had ticket holders swooning when he arrived with producer Beau St. Clair and officially kicked-off opening day at the historic Guild Hall. Longtime festival supporter and Hamptons local Alec Baldwin was also on hand and all smiles, as was our favorite piano man Billy Joel, Bob Balaban, Amanda Pennington and the film’s director, Shana Feste.

Earlier in the day Cheryl Hines was the guest of honor at the Women In Film Reception at The Hedges Inn. Cheryl and guests were welcomed by Hamptons Film Festival Executive Director Karen Arikian, Director of Programming David Nugent, and H.I.F.F. Chairman Stuart Suna. Cheryl was honored with the 2nd annual RoC Gold Standard in Filmmaking Award for a Feature Female Director. Her directorial debut, Serious Moonlight, staring Meg Ryan & Timothy Hutton, was screened prior to the reception at the UA East Hampton and met with rave reviews.

The day’s festivities ran well into the night as the celebration continued at Gurney’s Inn in Montauk. Following the screening of “The Greatest” at Guild Hall, Jitney’s full of movie goers and V.I.P.’s descended upon Gurney’s for their annual Opening Night Party. And, as always, the party did not disappoint.

Check back for more on the 17th Annual Hamptons Film Festival. Until then, if you’re looking to attend any of this year’s screenings, be sure to get your tickets early! This year is proving to be a sellout and tickets are going fast. You can visit hamptonsfilmfest.org for a full schedule of films and show times.

By To27 Contributor Lisa Wagner, BlogHamptons.com