Variety On the Town

'Fool's' Flock to Hollywood

The event: "Fool's Gold" premiere

The details: Wednesday at Grauman's Theater

The guest list: Pic's Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, helmer Andy Tennant and Warner Bros.' Alan Horn, Jeff Robinov and Kevin McCormack.

The decor: A Caribbean world complete with sunken treasure and scuba gear

The talk: Pic was set in the Bahamas and Key West but lensed in Australia. "When we finally got the green light it was hurricane season," explained director Andy Tennant. "We knew we’d be on the water with boats and actors and there was just no way to do it [in the Bahamas]." (B. Perry)

Universal Welcomes 'Roscoe'

The event: “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins” premiere

The details: Monday at Mann's Chinese Theater

The guest list: Universal's Ron Meyer, Marc Shmuger, David Linde, helmer Malcolm D. Lee and pic's Michael Clarke Duncan, Mo'Nique, Martin Lawrence and Joy Bryant

The talk: "It was a non-stop good time from when we showed up to when they said, 'Go home.  It’s over.  Cut!' " said Mo'Nique. (L. McCarthy)

'Untraceable' Leaves Its Mark

No stranger to dark territory having helmed “Primal Fear,” “Fallen” and “Fracture,” Gregory Hoblit’s latest film, "Untraceable" raises questions about the role government should play in restricting on-line content. Hoblit discussed this idea at the pic's premiere Wednesday night saying, "There are 300 million streamings a day on the Internet and nine billion a month, so the FBI knows it has a virtually unstoppable tiger by the tail, but they’re getting better all the time at tracking people and corralling it, and one of the reasons I wanted to make the movie is to show that at the end of the day, the FBI will get your ass.”

At the after-party at the Pacific Design Center's Red Seven restaurant, Hoblit was joined by pic's Diane Lane, Colin Hanks and Joseph Cross as well as guests Rita Wilson and Josh Brolin. In preparing for his role, Hanks said: “I met with two FBI agents whose job it is to catch online predators and identity thieves. Spending two days with them was a pretty scary, intense and eye-opening experience.” (J. Sneider)

Stars Weigh in on 'Cloverfield'

When an untitled trailer for "Cloverfield" debuted last summer attached to prints of Paramount's "Transformers," no one was quite sure what to make of it. Now everyone has an opinion. On the Town asked guests at the film's Hollywood premiere on Wednesday to weigh in with their reactions.

Ron Jeremy, adult film star: "It's like a roller coaster. It's like 'Blair Witch' meets 'Aliens.' I liked it, but I think we got the point that it's handheld. We understand that when you're running, the camera will shake. When you're standing still, shooting somebody's damn face, you don't have to keep moving the camera. I can see a dad filming his kids at Disneyland steadier than this. I've been in porn films that shoot video steadier than this and those cameramen usually suck. They didn't have to make it that out of focus and that shaky. I was getting dizzy and it just gave me a big headache. The scariest part was when I went to the bathroom to vomit, so I would've liked the film more without the vomiting. Listen, I don't mean to knock the film because it's a good movie and it's very well done, except for that camerawork. My entire row wanted to throw up. I had to move to the back and I was still nauseous. The girls were adorable though."

John Krasinski: "I think it's both an incredibly innovative script and idea to bring back the monster genre, but they also started breaking some boundaries in film. The night vision shot in the tunnel was wild. It was kind of like 'Blair Witch' on speed."

Masi Oka: "It was fantastic. I liked that it was a love story in the end. It was very smart and suspenseful."

Scott Speedman: "I didn't know much about it going in. It was one of those movies that I tried not to watch the preview for, so I didn't know a whole lot about it at all. To be honest, I was kind of blown away. The best thing I can say about it is that it's really, really emotional. That's what surprised me the most. Monster movies aren't that emotional but it really got that part down amazingly. There wasn't one specific part that jumped out as the scariest moment, but what's great is how it sets a tone of fear and keeps it going and keeps building on it throughout the movie."

Other guests attending the premiere included Lindsay Lohan, Rainn Wilson, Lauren Conrad, Frankie Muniz, Bruce Greenwood and DJ Samantha Ronson.  (J. Sneider)

Clooney's Idea of Fun

The events: The National Board of Review Awards

The details: Tuesday at Cipriani 42nd St. in Gotham

The guest list: George Clooney, Michael Douglas, Denzel Washington, Joel and Ethan Coen, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck

The menu: lamb and ratatouille

The talk: When Clooney presented Joel and Ethan Coen with the adapted screenplay prize for “No Country For Old Men,” he said: “This is gonna be the most fun for all of us tonight because these guys hate this. They are the worst I have ever seen at (accepting awards) so enjoy yourselves folks.” 

                                   (A. Morfoot)

BAFTA's Tea Time

The event: The BAFTA/LA tea party

The details: Saturday at the BevHills Hotel

The guest list: BAFTA/LA chairman Peter Morris, Allison Janney, Hal Holbrook, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan, Scott Rudin, Paul Webster, David Cronenberg, Julian Schnabel and Brad Bird.

The talk - the Writer's Strike: “I’m very disappointed at the same time I’m in total sympathy with the writers’ position. I would’ve preferred them to do it next year,” quipped “Into the Wild” composer Michael Brook.   “Juno” director Jason Reitman said, “I made a small movie, my hope was that some people would see it, now a whole bunch of people have seen it. We’re nominated for all these awards I never expected. You hope in your career to achieve what I’ve done on this film and it’s happened so early to me that my only fear is nothing to do with asterisks, it’s having to living the rest of my life and trying to feel this once again.” (S. Dore)

Food For Thought: A V-Day Luncheon

The event: A luncheon hosted by Glamour Magazine celebrating the 10th anniversary of V-Day.

The details: Thursday at Craft in Century City. The event was a prelude to "V To The Tenth," V-Day's two-day event at the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome on April 11-12.

The guest list: Jessica Alba, Eve Ensler, Katie Holmes, Paula Wagner, Cindi Leive, Carol Black, Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Beals, Marlee Matlin, Dylan McDermott

The menu: goat cheese salad, grilled chicken, caramel ice-cream

The talk:
Kerry Washington: "Eve (Ensler) said the only way to change this (violence against women) is to change the culture. To change how the culture thinks. We in this room are the carriers of culture. We are the modern day story tellers who pass on the image s of who we are as a people and as a society. What we do really matters if we stand up and allow it to. If we take control of those images. And that doesn't mean that in my career I have not played a hooker, because I have. But what it means is that we take responsibility for the humanity of the women we play. If I am playing a hooker, I am not happy about it. I am not glorifying it. What we do in this frivolous tinsel town really, really matters. Living in this town is about fantastic dresses and fancy lunches but it is also about what we do with that."  (M. McNiece)

Ricki Lake Talks 'Business'

"This movie is about choice. It's not about being anti- hospital or anti- doctor," Ricki Lake said after "The Business of Being Born," a doc that explores the maternity care system in America, preemed at the IFC Center in Gotham on Wednesday.

Lake, who exec produced and starred in the doc, helmed by Abby Epstein, said at the Waverly Center after-party that she was initially hesitant about showing old footage of her home birth in her bathtub. "I really wish I had a shirt on and I had better lighting but I didn't film it for anyone to see. It was for my children. I did go back and forth about whether or not it should be in the film but Abby ultimately made the decision to put it in and I think it's an important part of the film."  (A. Morfoot)

Star Power Hits Critical Mass

The event: The 13th annual Critics' Choice Awards

The details: Monday night at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The show was hosted by comedian D.L. Hughley and broadcast live on VH1.

The guest list: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Katie Holmes, Sean Penn, Daniel Day-Lewis, Don Cheadle, Julian Schnabel, Brad Bird, Daniel Battsek

The menu: Skimpy chicken skewers, salmon and caprese salad.

The talk: Daniel Day-Lewis: “I’ve been thinking about the work of my wonderful fellow nominees and others who gave supreme performances this year that weren’t nominated... and it’s the mystery of the work of all these people that I admire so much, the work they’ve done this year is like food and drink to me. I don’t know if I would’ve done what they've done, I don’t want to know how they did it. I’m just glad they did. And I feel more or less like a spokesman here saying we did the best that we could do this year. I owe everything to Paul Thomas Anderson, my evil twin brother.” (B.Perry)

Palm Springs Fest: He Said / She Said

At the Palm Springs Film Fest gala on Saturday, Bruce Willis noted the fact that the WGA was on strike and the gala was unscripted. “I’m making this up as I go along,” he said.  Some speakers came off better than others:

Jerry Weintraub, who received SAG Foundation’s award for being a patron of the arts had this groaner, “I really do believe I deserved this award because I’m a patron of Art’s Delicatessen in Studio City.”

“Hairspray’s” Nikki Blonsky said, “I want to thank John Travolta, the best mommy a girl could have.”

James Newton Howard: “I’ve reached this stage in my career where I get to work with great directors and sometimes even with great friends.”

Emile Hirsch, for whom Laura Linney adjusted the mic, said, “I’m always learning from her.”

Joe Wright who was clearly distracted by Dale Chihuly-designed glass award, held it up to his ear and said, “I can hear the ocean.”

Afterward host Mary Hart apologized to Chihuly, who was in the audience. “Dale, don’t take it personally.”

Norman Jewison: “All directors are paranoid.” And then presenting to Sean Penn added, “Besides being paranoid, he’s sensitive.”

John Singleton, who presented Halle Berry with her award, said, “She’s done some classics and she’s done some stinkers.”

A very pregnant Berry thanked him for referring to the latter and said, “I’m three times the girl I was. It was the first time I walked up the red carpet and didn’t need to hold in my stomach. It’s also the first time I sat at an awards dinner and ate the whole thing.”

(S. Dore)

A welcome reception for the Olympics

The event: A kick off reception for the 2008 Summer Olympics called "Seeking Our Olympic Dreams" - A historical tie between Beijing and Los Angeles.

The details: Thursday at Universal Studios' Baker Street lot

The guest list: 1984 gold medal winner Xu Haifeng and Liu Hongliang, the son of China's first Olympian, Liu Changchun

The talk: "Los Angeles and California have a great Chinese heritage, both in the state and in the Olympics," said Los Angeles city councilman Tom LaBonge. "There was a foundation established during those games that continues today. When we are talking about the Olympics, we are actually talking about friendship." (E. McCarthy)

Fest Springs Into Action

The Palm Springs International Film Festival kicked off last night with a screening of "Then She Found Me," helmed by Helen Hunt who also stars in the film alongside Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick and Bette Midler.  Hunt said she decided to direct the pic because, "I finally found a story I love so much I couldn't stand to give it to anyone else." Other stars expected this weekend in the desert include Daniel Day-Lewis, Halle Berry, Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch.