Global soccer icon David Beckham has made it clear he wants to be a star on the field -- not on the screen.
Nonetheless, Hollywood is expected to be scrambling like a striker chasing the ball to get some face time Sunday night with the Brit-turned-Beverly Hills estate owner and his glamorous singer wife, Victoria.
Two of Hollywood's biggest stars -- Tom Cruise and Will Smith -- are hosting a private, welcome-to-L.A. bash for the Beckhams at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary in downtown Los Angeles.
The 600-person, invitation-only list includes Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Jim Carrey, Anjelica Huston, Steven Spielberg, David Geffen, producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Brian Grazer, Warner Bros. President Alan Horn and Universal Pictures chief Ron Meyer. Not invited inside: the paparazzi that have followed the Beckhams' every move here.
"This is the hardest party to get into," said one person with knowledge of the affair, "It's A-list only. And, no press."
Beckham's name was up in lights before with the 2002 independent film "Bend It Like Beckham," but he was not a member of the cast (an airport sighting at the end was played by an actor). He did appear in file footage, and received a "special thanks" in the credits for lending his name to the title.
Beckham's sold-out debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy is set for Saturday night, although a tender ankle could limit his play.
However, he should be fit to party by 8:30 p.m. Sunday for what is expected to be the hottest ticket in town. While event planners are trying hard to keep all details under wraps, no doubt the next few days will bring some major last-minute dribbles from those hoping to attend.
Invitations were sent out earlier this week.
Cruise and his wife, actress Katie Holmes, who have befriended the Beckhams and are their neighbors in Beverly Hills, are said to have initiated the party. Smith's wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, helped Holmes pull the event together. To attend the affair, Cruise will fly in from Germany, where he just began shooting his latest film, the World War II drama "Valkyrie."
The Hollywood coming-out bash caps more than a week of Beckham-mania sweeping Southern California, with TV ads proclaiming his arrival, a mob of photographers greeting him at the airport and more than 700 journalists attending a news conference Friday at Home Depot Center in Carson, the Galaxy's home field.
