President Obama, whose popularity ratings are approaching Tom Hanks levels, is coming back to town next month, but this time around he plans to schmooze Hollywood -- big time.
During his visit to Los Angeles in March, there was a good deal of talk that Obama, who had assiduously courted Hollywood for money and support during the campaign, didn't make time for even his closest industry supporters. Insiders drew unfavorable comparisons between his hit-and-run schedule and those of Bill Clinton's when he was president. Whenever Clinton -- who is in Hollywood himself this week -- came within a tank of gas of Wilshire and Little Santa Monica, you could expect a meet-and-greet.
Hollywood seems to be weathering the recession better than most traditional pockets of Democratic support, so Obama may have fat wallets as well as fragile egos in mind as he works through this next schedule.
A whole series of events with major industry players is in the works, but this week, invitations went out to a May 27 "Evening With President Obama" at the Beverly Hilton. (Evidently, the president has lost his reluctance to appear at formal high-society events amid a recession.) The event will be Obama's first major fundraiser since taking office. Expect major stars to mingle with the president and perform.
Think the inaugural bacchanal with better weather and food. Proceeds from the "reception and VIP dinner" will benefit the Democratic National Committee.
Those "proceeds" could be considerable, since the event is expected to sell out, and individual tickets to the reception will run $2,500. The VIP dinner tab will be $30,400 per couple. (Is that $400 for the tip?) According to the invitation, the price of dinner includes "a meet & greet and photos with our President."
No word on the menu, but at $15,200 a person it virtually qualifies as a stimulus package for the hospitality industry.
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Amanpour steals show from Leno
It takes a lot to hold your own with Jay Leno on stage, but the star of the Feminist Majority Foundation's glittering Fifth Annual Global Women's Rights Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Wednesday turned out to be CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour.
Leno and his human rights activist wife, Mavis, were the evening's hosts, and NBC's sultan of chat turned in a hilarious performance in the role of fundraising auctioneer. It was Amanpour, however, who held the audience -- and her lucky table mates, including local activists Peg Yorkin and Roz Wyman -- rapt with her incisive views on foreign policy issues, particularly in Afghanistan, where the situation of women is a major concern of Mavis Leno and the Feminist Majority.
