Variety On the Town

Spidey Lands in Gotham

Tobey Maguire has been flying through the air more than Spidey this past week while promoting Spiderman 3. The thesp, along with costar Kirsten Dunst, has flown to Tokyo, London, Spain, Rome, Moscow and Paris finally landing in Gotham on Monday night for the U.S. premiere at the Kaufman Astoria 14 in Queens as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. Peter Parker was joined on the red carpet by co-stars Bryce Dallas Howard, James Franco and Topher Grace as well as guests Susan Sarandon, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Bill Paxton. Click here to find out more about Spiderman 3 events taking place this week in New York.

- posted by Mia Sulpor

Douglas' Love of The Game

Michael Douglas may have looked confident as he hit the golf course at the 9th Annual Michael Douglas & Friends Celebrity Golf event on Sunday with wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, but the actor has admitted to often getting a case of stage fright before teeing off. "I've been in front of cameras all my life, but that first tee, standing over that ball that's not even moving, it's scarier than doing a movie," he told Golf Digest. While this particular tournament was held at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Douglas, who credits good pal Jack Nicholson for introducing him to the game, has played all over the world. "I'm a member of a club in Santa Barbara and L.A. one in Majorca, another outside London, and New York City and then a couple in Bermuda," he has said. "I'm a golf-member whore."

- posted by Mia Sulpor

Bono Reaches New Heights

Just when exactly did Bono start looking like Robin Williams? And, someone please tell us, when did he start wearing platform shoes? “They might be therapeutic shoes for his back, he’s got a really bad back,” said one source we asked after Bono dined recently with David Bowie, Lou Reed and wife Laurie Anderson at Gotham’s W Hotel Union Square to celebrate Reed’s Arents Award, Syracuse University’s highest alumni honor. But Bono was absolutely rocking the four-inchers onstage as he delivered a few words. "Lou asked me earlier what that strange sound was," said Bono. "I told him that’s people ‘Lou-ing,’ not booing." The Pride of Dublin continued, comparing Reed to James Joyce. "Lou Reed is to New York City what James Joyce was to Dublin. Joyce turned the streets of Dublin into the Dirty Boulevard." And while Reed appeared to shed a few tears when he heard a recording of a poem recited by his late mentor, teacher and poet Delmore Schwartz, his cool remained in tact. "He could be the coolest SU grad I know," said fellow alumni Martin Bandier. "He was cool back then and he’s cool now.” Oh, and as for Bono looking like Williams? Who knows? But it’s funny how you never see them together in the same room. (J. Clarke Jr.)

Lauds for Lee and Lauer

“Today” co-anchor Matt Lauer and BET topper Barbara Lee were honored for their achievement in television by the Museum of the Moving Image Thursday night at the St. Regis Hotel in Gotham.

Lee was introduced by Star Jones and BET Entertainment prexy Reginald Hudlin. Lee, basking in the approving glow of Viacom CEO Phillippe Daumann, was presented by museum chair Herb Schlosser with a signed first-edition copy of Langston Hughes’ autobiography, “The Big Sea.” In a nod to her co-honoree, Lee said she watches NBC’s “Today” every morning. “I used to turn on CBS … Phillippe, I don’t have to lie anymore, do I? I usually do turn them on at 7:30 just to make sure they’re still on the air,” she quipped.

Supporting Lauer were NBC U chieftain Jeff Zucker, NBC News prexy Steve Capus, senior veep Phil Griffin and co-anchor Meredith Vieira. All were looking forward to an increasingly bleary Friday morning as the dinner dragged on. Lauer said he was reluctant to accept the award, given the implication that you haven’t got a lot of life left, or, as Bryant Gumbel told him, “you’re playing the back nine.” Nevertheless, he said, he agreed to be honored, and he told the story of his first day at NBC, 15 years ago. That day, he said, he flooded the men’s bathroom on the 3rd floor of 30 Rock, soaking Tom Brokaw’s penny loafers. (M. Learmonth)

Ratner's Photo Finish

Brett Ratner brought LA to New York on Thursday night. The helmer was at HBO's Gotham headquarters to celebrate the preem of "Helmut by June," a documentary he exec produced. The doc, about the late Helmut Newton’s life as a photographer, was shot and directed by his wife June Newton. The small cocktail reception prior to the screening was the full of the usual sophisticated HBO doc crowd until Ratner's gaggle of young gal pals showed transforming the 14th floor of HBO into LA's club Hyde. Tall, young things surronded Ratner- a scene Newton surely would have approved of. HBO Docu's Sheila Nevins explained how the division of the network got involved with the energetic Hollywood-based helmer. "When I  got a call saying that Brett Ratner wanted to make a documentary, I thought 'oh no. Its not going to be right for HBO,'" Nevins said."'It's going to be too glam for us.' It turns out Brett in addition to being a really great guy is a great person, which I didn't know happened out there (a.k.a Hollywood)." (A. Morfoot)

Kennedy Kicks It Old Skool

At Wednesday’s L.A. premiere for Jamie Kennedy’s second urban headliner “Kickin’ It Old Skool,” the comedian expounded on his love affair for all things hip hop. "It goes back to the first time I heard rap music and wore breakers. It made me feel so cool when I was growing up around Philly,” said Kennedy, “I think it’s just a nerdy guy’s outside perspective looking in and saying ‘this is how I would do it.’” But can Kennedy bust a break dance move? “I did the worm. But it’s hard to do the worm because you crush your worm.” (A. D’Alessandro)

Rudd Dabbles in Drama

Comedic star, Paul Rudd, celebrated the release of his latest drama, “Diggers,” in Gotham on Monday night at Clearview Chelsea West Cinemas. Unlike thesp’s past blowout preems, Rudd joined fellow actors Josh Hamilton, Ken Marino and helmer Katherine Dieckmann at a small after-party at Lure Fishbar in Soho. The gathering was so casual that when a rope, blocking off the VIP section, was knocked down it was never replaced, allowing guests to mingle with the cast and crew.

“It’s kind of weird,” Rudd said of pic’s simultaneous release in theaters and HDNet. “I don’t know if I understand why they do it but one thing that is cool is that this is a small movie and more people will get to see it this way. Added Hamilton, “Apparently it’s a good idea. No one consulted me about it but I am sure they know what they are doing.” (A. Morfoot)

Clinton, The Edge - Prove They 'Can Do'

The world of politics, music and movies collided Monday night at the Chelsea Piers in Gotham where U2's The Edge was honored at the annual 'Can-Do' Awards Gala. The evening benefited the Food Bank for New York City which provides 250,000 meals a day for New Yorkers in need. Proving that Bono isn't the only member of U2 trying to make the world a better place, The Edge happily took to the podium to accept his award in front of close to 700 guests which included fellow honoree, Jimmy Fallon and honorary dinner chair Bill Clinton.  Unfortunately, the guitarist had some technical difficulty when it came to his speech: "I actually thought I’d be really smart and write my speech on my Blackberry. I’m into technology, I’m The Edge," he said. "But I forgot to charge the battery. So I’ll just have to wing it."

Rosie Sounds Off

Rosie O'Donnell used her post as host of the annual Matrix Awards in Gotham on Monday to take one more stab at Donald Trump. During the luncheon, which recognizes women who have established themselves in communications fields, O'Donnell had a few fighting words for Trump. "I have been dieting for two weeks ever since Trump called me fat," O'Donnell told the audience. "I was shocked and stunned (when he said that). It had been my goal for many years to give a bald, billionaire a boner." O’Donnell also took a few jabs at presenters Rupert Murdoch and Danny Meyer, who were on hand to award Cindy Adams and Pamela Fiori with their respective kudos. "This is celebration of women who changed the world and no one can understand why (Murdoch and Meyer) are here... While (Murdoch) seems to have a lot of power he couldn't keep Sanjaya on 'American Idol.'"  The kudofest also honored Meredith Vieira, Arianna Huffington, Joan Didion, Lisa Caputo, Susan Lyne and Thelma Golden while Hillary Rodham Clinton, Martha Stewart, Barbara Walters, Nora Ephron, Joy Behar and Deavere Smith were among the event's other presenters. (A. Morfoot)

Brando's Bold Moves

For most of his career, Marlon Brando often headlined in films that weren’t short of revolutionary. So exactly what was his criteria for choosing roles? "He had none," exclaimed his agent Jay Kanter at the Tuesday night premiere of TCM’s doc “Brando” at the Egyptian theater, "Marlon didn’t like to work at all. He only liked to work when he needed the money." At least that explains some of Brando's offbeat late career choices: the hippie guru in 1968’s "Candy" and the character Jor-el in 1978’s "Superman," a part for which he was paid $2 million for 12 days. When Brando did work, it was "with directors he felt comfortable with," clarified Kanter. However, what was good for the thesp, wasn’t always good for the director. Many of the interviewees in "Brando" recount how the actor was often a director’s nightmare – from his early days on the New York stage to his latter ones on the Philippines set of “Apocalypse Now." "Everybody tried to control Brando," said James Caan prior to the doc screening. "He didn’t want to be controlled." Yet there was a method to the method man’s madness. "As fellow actors, he didn’t give us advice, rather anecdotes. He’d say if you really want a good take, be bad in all the others," recalled Penelope Ann Miller about her work with Brando on "The Freshman." "Essentially he was saying trust your instincts and be true to them." (A. D’Alessandro)

Garner steps out for Oscar

Oscar de la Renta may have been home sick with the flu but that didn't stop several of Hollywood's leading ladies from throwing on an Oscar frock and heading to the opening of the designer's first West Coast boutique on Thursday night. The evening’s host, Jennifer Garner, wore a black embroidered silk faille trapeze dress from the designer's Pre Fall 2007 collection, while mingling with guests such as Angie Harmon and Cindy Crawford. Besides desigining for the stars, Oscar's gowns have been worn by women who can claim the White House as their address. Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush have all cast their vote for the designer. The first lady even wore his red design on the front of her Christmas card and the same gown caused quite a stir at the Kennedy Center Honors dinner in December when four women, including Laura Bush, arrived wearing it!

- posted by Mia Sulpor

'Hot Fuzz' causes buzz in Gotham

Brit helmer Edgar Wright made a stateside stop to promote his Blighty smash "Hot Fuzz," along with stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, in Gotham last week. Though the pic's U.S. preem was held at upscale Lincoln Center as part of the highfalutin "Film Comment Selects" screening series, that didn't mean the trio lost their veddy British sense of humor. And outrageous helmers/fans Kevin Smith and Eli Roth were also on the scene to make sure things didn't stay too staid. At a Q&A following the screening, Pegg and Frost cracked that they were faced with the possibility of "contracting avian bird flu" during their scenes as rural cops who must corral a snippy swan as part of their mundane duties. Also on hand at the preem were the pic's Jim Broadbent and Timothy Dalton, and Focus Features topper James Schamus. Pic, from Universal and Focus' Rogue label, has been a hit abroad already, raking in $40.8 million in the U.K. alone. Film's creative team, which was behind the cult zombie satire "Shaun of the Dead," is now hoping the action spoof will be hot here, too, when it opens this weekend. (I. Mohr)

Waiting for the King

CNN had planned a week-long series of events to commemorate Larry King's 50th year in broadcasting. Then a media-obsessed killer got in the way. A week of soft-focus King appreciations were shelved, and it appeared the main event, a red carpet gala in the Pool Room at the Four Seaons might become another victim of the news cycle. But the party went on. Party maven Peggy Siegel rolled up the red carpet and packed it away for what became a lower-key affair. Among the friends-of-Larry was a mix of august celebrity and media vets from Donald and Melania Trump to Andy Rooney, Barbara Walters to Jerry Stiller, and a host of CNN personalities including Lou Dobbs and new morning anchor Kiran Chetry. Due to the arrival of a package at NBC from the campus killer on Wednesday night, the party was otherwise light on journalists. King himself had to duck out early to host his show at 9pm. Now CNN is trying to sort out when to reschedule the planned week of anniversary programming that was scrapped in the wake of the Virginia Tech killings. King had taped a segment with Oprah Winfrey, originally scheduled for Monday, and planned visits from Bill Clinton and Katie Couric, who was to turn the tables and do the interviewing. Bill Maher and friends also suprised King in studio for a gentle roast. At present, the net is looking at the week of April 30 to go all-Larry. But that, too, is in flux as the net waits to see how the Virginia Tech story plays out. (M. Learmonth)

Vachon's Visit to L.A.

Former Wall Streeter turned NY lit darling Dana Vachon made his very first trip to Los Angeles not only celebrate the launch of his debut novel, "Mergers and Acquisitions," but his first film deal (Anonymous Content optioned his book). So far, he's quite taken with L.A. and his new producer Steve Golin. "I was expecting a sequined jacket and a day-glow pocket square," Vachon said, recalling his first meeting with the Anonymous topper. Alas, party host Golin was a no-show — stuck in an editing room — but Vachon had plenty of company at Bar Marmont. The intimate-but-packed soiree included Oliver Stone, Kyle MacLachlan, Bret Easton Ellis, Ann Magnuson, producers Eric Feig and Sebastian Dungan, and, of course, Anonymous staffers galore: Michael Sugar, Joy Gorman, Matt DeRoss and the very pregnant Shawn Simon, who's producing Vachon's pic along with Golin and DeRoss. (S. Swart)

The Other Cohen Brothers

No, the photo on the left is not yet another character played by Sacha Baron Cohen, it's actually a whole other Cohen. Borat's brother, composer, Erran Baron Cohen, attended Tuesday night's ASCAP awards held at the Kodak Theater. The evening paid special tribute to composer, Marc Shaiman, who was presented with the Henry Mancini Award. Besides the Cohen brothers, the kudos fest honoring the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, brought out Billy Crystal, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Rob Reiner.

- posted by Mia Sulpor

Jagger, Young - rock and remember

Some of the most respected musicians in the world came out to pay their respects to Atlantic Records co-founder and music icon Ahmet Ertegun, Tuesday night at Gotham's Rose Theater. Mick Jagger, Neil Young, Bette Midler, Stevie Nicks and Stephen Stills were among the cool cats who came out to pay tribute to Ertegun, who died in December at the age of 83 when he suffered from a head injury he incurred after falling at a Rolling Stones concert at New York's Beacon Theater. The music mogul helped make Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin stars and signed the Rolling Stones in the early 70s. Young has said of Ertegun: "He was a regular guy. He happened to also be one of the most powerful guys in the music business. But he had no use for wielding the power. The only time he ever used his power was with other executives. He didn't use it on the musicians. And it's suitable that his last conscious moments were at a concert. Because that's the way he lived. He went to a show. And the encore was heaven."

posted by Mia Sulpor

Evans, Ratner Show Love for 'Helmut'

The rich and famous were the subjects photographer Helmut Newton loved to shoot, so it made sense that's who arrived at a private screening of the new documentary "Helmut" at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills on Monday night. Robert Evans, Courtney Love, Brett Ratner and Aaron Eckhart were among the crowd who came to see the film by Helmut's wife and collaborator, June Newton. Although best known for his black and white nude photos of women, Newton also photographed many famous faces like Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Caroline of Monaco and Catherine Deneuve. He once explained: "I like photographing the people I love, the people I admire, the famous, and especially the infamous."

- posted by Mia Sulpor

Having A Ball

Alec Baldwin and Cynthia Nixon proved they're good sports as they put on bowling attire and tried their best for a strike at Second Stage Theater's 20th Annual All-Star Bowling Classic in Gotham on Monday night. The theater company, which began in 1979, boasts an impressive alumni roster, which includes Annette Benning, Nathan Lane, Laurence Fishburne as well as Nixon who preformed in the 1985 production of "Lemon Sky" and the 1987 production of "Moonchildren."

GLAAD's Lauds and Laughs

The GLAAD Media Awards at the Kodak Theater on Saturday night may have started off on serious note as T.R. Knight took the stage proclaiming “I’m angry, very angry at the inequality we face everyday and hopefully I can turn my anger into action, starting with being here tonight."

But things soon loosened up when Garry Marshall gave a history lesson, noting, “When ‘The Odd Couple’ first aired, they kept saying ‘We’re going to cancel the show because it’s about gay people,’ now they cancel the show if there’s no gay characters.”  Tennis great Martina Navratilova also lightened the mood by poking fun at America’s favorite “Idol” after a film tribute of her career highs and hair lows, “That video, those hairstyles. Sanjaya has nothing on me. At least I can play tennis,” the Stephen F. Kolzak winner gasped. Jake Gyllenhaal also had the aud laughing when he presented the Vanguard Award to Jennifer Aniston noting:  "People say actors are brave for taking certain roles. I say, 'No!' What's truly brave is picking out an outfit to wear in front of this crowd." (L. Repstad)

Ripa Takes Flight

Kelly Ripa took hosting duties to a new level when she flew in to the TV Land Awards on Saturday at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, dressed as The Flying Nun. In preperation for the show, Ripa formed her own blog where she shares her deep thoughts on topics such as who had the most beautiful braces on TV:

"Marcia Brady’s, without a doubt. Tootie’s were cute, and they were a nice, glittery distraction from the glaring absence of her roller skates in season 2. But what could be nicer than a set of braces that you only have to wear for a day? Because that’s how long Marcia had hers. Most braces involve at least two years of painful tooth shifting, unflattering railroad smile, and stubbornly lodged bits of bagel – followed by a series of retainers accidentally discarded on cafeteria trays. But not Marcia’s braces. All hers required were a single episode of emotional adjustment – and then they were never seen or spoken of again. She didn’t even need night gear. That’s what I call beautiful braces."

Also on hand was Carol Burnett who bestowed the Legacy of Laughter Award on Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. on behalf of their mother, Lucille Ball.

- posted by Mia Sulpor

'Wind' on the Great White Way

So, a newsman, a nanny and a New Jersey housewife walk into a theater... waiting for a good punchline? Well, keep waiting because this simply describes Thursday night's opening of "Inherit The Wind" at the Lyceum Theater in Gotham. Mike Wallace, Fran Drescher and Edie Falco were among the stars who arrived on Broadway to see the production starring Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy. Read here to find out how these two stage pros handle the never funny annoyance of a cell phone ringing during a performance.

- posted by Mia Sulpor

Arquette Gets Diplomatic

So, where does David Arquette lean politically? Based on his recent guerilla marketing tactics for his slasher “The Tripper,” the multi-hyphenate makes no bones about his liberal predilections toward pot.  At the 36th Annual Hash Bash last Sunday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Arquette advocated the legalization of marijuana in addition to tub-thumping his pic about a group of hippies who are terrorized by a Ronald Reagan obsessed murderer.

However, at the Wednesday “Tripper” premiere at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Arquette waffled when it came to taking about the left versus the right. “My film is making a statement about the left against the right. The extreme left in this film, they’re no prize. They’re an aspect of hippies today who get wasted beyond belief. They’re not the people that stopped the Vietnam War. The other thing that "Tripper" is about are the leaders of this world. If violence is how we solve our problems, how do they expect the rest of the world to respond?” asked Arquette.

That said, the Great Communicator wasn’t a bad guy after all in Arquette’s eyes – despite the fact that he’s beheading teenagers in “Tripper.” “The film isn’t really an attack on Reagan. I actually like him. He did some amazing things and not so great things. But I think that comes with the territory of being president.” explains Arquette, “Yet in horror films, the killer is often looked at as the hero. It’s a fun movie and I think Republicans will like it.” (A. D’Alessandro)

Ford's Foot in Mouth

     "I think this whole celebrity thing is part of the problem. It should  be about the clothes. It’s so formulaic, the fashion world today. You get a celebrity, stick them in front of some wallpaper, you dress them in a dress, they get photographed, and the pictures run all around the world. I’m just really tired of it."

Well, we'll just forget designer Tom Ford said this a few years back and let him and his fashionable famous faces smile pretty for the cameras at his new flagship opening in Gotham, which took place on Wednesday night. Ford's three level store carries men's suits, shirts, shoes, ties, eyewear and fragrances. And while everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Sean 'Diddy' Combs came out for the soiree, for Tom's sake, we will just focus on the attire not the attendees. For more details about the store click here.

- posted by Mia Sulpor

Shandling Won't Spill The Beans

Garry Shandling's lips are sealed. The stand-up comedian along with cast members from "The Larry Sanders Show," like Jeffrey Tambor and Bob Odenkirk gathered Tuesday night for the DVD release party of “Not Just The Best of The Larry Sanders Show” at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Shandling refused to fess up on who the show was really making fun of. "We’d write an episode one week and then hear that a certain host thought it was about him. In fact, most of the time it wasn’t," Shandling told On the Town. "All talk show hosts share certain traits, like not knowing what to say to a guest off-camera. However, I wouldn’t want to divulge what was taken from whom." Thankfully, Shandling’s protégé, helmer Judd Apatow who cut his teeth as a scribe on “Sanders” was a little more forthcoming. "There’s a sketch that Dana Carvey did on ‘Saturday Night Live’ where he did a brutal impression of Garry.  Dana called to apologize, but Garry said that he’d just talk about it on the show,” recounts Apatow, “Then he had the writers create a episode about Dana doing an offensive impression of him. Reality kept dipping into the show."  (A. D’Alessandro)

What makes Spacey over the 'Moon'

Kevin Spacey may be an Academy Award winner who is now starring as Jim Tyrone in Broadway's 'A Moon For The Misbegotten,' which opened Monday night at The Brooks Atkinson Theater in Gotham. But who knew the guy loved ping-pong? Spacey elaborated on his ping-pong passion in a recent Newsweek interview with Ramin Setoodeh.

"Ping-Pong is one of the greatest games ever! I'm a Ping-Pong nut."

Do you have time to play?
"Constantly. I have a Ping-Pong table in my apartment in London. I love Ping-Pong."

Do you play alone?
"No, no. I've got friends to play."

They come over just to play Ping-Pong?
"Well, not just to play Ping-Pong. I have tournaments. Whenever I'm on location, that's the one thing I always want, a Ping-Pong table. Here's my point. Why is Ping-Pong so much fun? It doesn't matter the rules are the same, it's always a different game. That's what doing a play is like."

What a fun guy. Just don't ask him about America Idol. Find out why.

- posted by Mia Sulpor

Berry blabs about Bruce

Halle Berry and Bruce Willis reported for red carpet duty in Gotham for the premiere of their new film, "Perfect Stranger" on Tuesday night at the Ziegfeld theater. Berry looked happy to reunite with her costar whom she gushed about to about.com earlier in the week:

"It’s hard not to have chemistry with Bruce because he’s a ladies man but he’s also a man’s man," explained Berry. "You know, men like him. He represents that good ol’ macho man’s man and women find him irresistibly sexy. He’s funny [and] he’s charming. He knows how to say all the right things that just make you feel like you’re the most important person on the planet. Like he’s got all that down."

..aahhh, how sweet. The psychological thriller opens Friday the 13th.

- posted by Mia Sulpor

Congrats! Here's a brick

It seems like they have handed out everything when it comes to awards - Oscar's golden statue, MTV's moonman, Nickelodeon's surfboards and most recently, a good ol' brick. Yes, the Brick Awards took place in New York Tuesday night at the Nokia Theater and attracted Susan Sarandon, Mandy Moore, Fran Drescher and Petra Nemcova who were on hand to honor 12 young winners (ages 11 to 25) for helping to make the world a better place. The awards will air on the CW Network on Thursday.  Now, all those youngsters have to do is figure out where to display their shiny new brick. Perhaps, they will follow Sarandon's lead and put it in the bathroom where she keeps her Oscar. See where other winners have stashed their statue.

-posted by Mia Sulpor

Kudos for Keaton

The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Monday night Tribute to Diane Keaton seemed more like a Comedy Central roast. “(When I first met) Keaton two words went through my mind - Eve Harrington,” Woody Allen remembered. The director was one of the honoree’s many colleagues, which included Steve Martin, Meryl Streep, Sarah Jessica Parker and Martin Short, who took the stage at Avery Fisher Hall to salute Keaton. “Every film that I did with Keaton I always wrote all the good jokes and all the good scenes for me,” Allen said. “Then when the picture would come she got all the laughs and reviews. It was infuriating.” Allen, who skipped the dinner following the gala, went on to joke about Keaton's decision to be honored. “Somehow I knew (Keaton) would like (this). You get bathed in obsequious adulation all night long. So I told her ‘Yes I can think about nice things to say about you. (She is) punctual, thrifty and has wonderful handwriting. She was also always beautiful. Interestingly she is not beautiful in the conventional sense of the word beauty. In the conventional sense I mean pleasing to the eye.” Streep, who had the difficult task of following crowd pleasing Allen, also teased the honoree. “I love you Diane, even though you never call me!” (A. Morfoot)

Animal Attraction

For his directorial debut, "Year of the Dog," scribe Mike White drew on a very unlikely source – a stray cat that lived behind his house.

When the cat died suddenly during a stressful point in White's professional life he said he "was emotionally unraveled by it" and hadn't realized the animal had affected him so profoundly. From that experience, the story of Penny and her beagle grew into a charming tale of the importance of animal companionship and adoption advocacy.

White says the move from writer to director "didn't seem like such a huge transition" since he had been around production and post-production for so long, but the Thursday night premiere at the Paramount studio theater did not go so smoothly.

"This is my worst nightmare," White said after the film experienced technical difficulties a few minutes in and had to be stopped. After a lengthy delay, the film finally unspooled to a theater filled with comedic stars like Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Drew Barrymore and Megan Mullaly.

Following the screening, New Leash on Life, a pet adoption agency, paraded pups eager to find homes around the Paramount lot as star Molly Shannon chatted with guest Jack Black and co-star Laura Dern petted a pink-nosed pup named "Rocky." (L. Repstad)

Sippin' on the Sand

Malibu denizens and a smattering of neighborhood celebs -- including Merv Griffin, Emilio Estevez, Jane Seymour, James Keach, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber -- hit the beach for the fourth annual Malibu Wine Classic on Saturday. Guests sampled wines from California's Central Coast in a two-sesh benefit aiding child abuse charity ChildHelp (ChildHelp.org). Held in a big white tent next to Zuma Beach's Sunset Restaurant, the winefest raised $100,000. The daytime affair featured taster-sized pours from more than 60 wineries such as Arcadian, Fess Parker, Tablas Creek and Linne Calodo, plus gourmet bites from local eateries (including Geoffrey's, Michael's, Duke's,  Moonshadows and Water Grill). Event founders -- entertainment attorney Michael Barnes and Malibu wine merchant John Selman -- and charity director Tony Griffin added tables for the more exclusive nighttime event, which featured larger portions (of food, not vino) and Griffin senior belting out a few tunes. (S. Swart)

Comedy for a Cure

Tears and laughter came from the heart at the 6th annual Comedy for a Cure benefit at the Music Box theater on Sunday. The fundraiser, which helps raise money to cure tuberous sclerosis, has progressively garnered a powerhouse support base, including Patricia Heaton and this year’s honorary chair, Teri Hatcher.

“When a few celebrities come in to bring support, big things happen,” Hatcher said during the evening’s VIP cocktail reception and silent auction, where guests could bid on items ranging from teeth-whitening to an autographed USC football.

Later, Ray Romano drew huge laughs during his stand-up comedy show, by sharing intimate details about his sex life post marriage with four kids. “Is there any press her tonight?” Romano asked before spilling all the details. “I don’t care… I don’t have a show anymore.”

On a more touching note, Heaton and her husband, David Hunt, were honored by the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance for their long-time commitment to the fundraiser.  “I’m not a doctor,” she said. “I’m just an actor… but it is so rewarding to be able to bring publicity to this cause.” (E. Bertet)