Cause Celebre by Tina Daunt
October 10, 2009
CAUSE CELEBRE
Stars shine on Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown may be leading Gavin Newsom by 20 points in the latest statewide poll of California Democrats, but in Hollywood the race for the party's gubernatorial nomination is shaping up as an exciting battle, one that may split the creative community and its deep pockets along generational lines.
April 3, 2009
CAUSE CELEBRE / TINA DAUNT
Jay Leno and Mavis Leno turn serious about the plight of Afghan women
Everybody knows about Jay Leno's taste for topical humor. Far fewer are aware that his wife, Mavis, has long been one of Hollywood's most influential behind-the-scenes activists on behalf of women.
March 20, 2009
CAUSE CELEBRE
Hollywood stays below Obama's radar in his L.A. sweep
It can be dangerous to diss an entire town of divas.
March 13, 2009
CAUSE CELEBRE
Stars support Dalai Lama
In Hollywood, everyone takes the Dalai Lama very seriously -- except perhaps for the Dalai Lama himself.
March 6, 2009
CAUSE CELEBRE
A starring role at the Wilshire
Scan any list of the Dems' biggest givers and money-raisers and you'll find the names of Haim and Cheryl Saban, but their most recent cause is a decidedly local one with deep roots in their hometown: restoration of the landmark Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills.
February 20, 2009
CAUSE CELEBRE
Documentaries delight Hollywood's politically engaged
The documentary category is where Hollywood wears its conscience on its sleeve, and this Oscar season's nominees have the politically engaged members of the industry buzzing more than usual over the range and variety of topics.
February 17, 2009
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Stars underdressed for a good purpose
If Anaïs Nin had a Nikon D3 and every celebrity in town on her BlackBerry, her photos would probably look a lot like those Deborah Anderson shot for the book, "Room 23."
February 13, 2009
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
The pre-Oscar charity party scene
Only Hollywood could make a cause of celebrating causes during the season of its self-congratulations -- or as the industry likes to call it, the run-up to the Oscars.
February 11, 2009
CAUSE CELEBRE
Hollywood takes notice as Congo's unrest grinds on
Much of the world seems to have written Africa's problems off as insolvable, and nowadays, if you ask a lot of Americans to name an ongoing tragedy, they'd probably point first to the U.S. economy.
February 4, 2009
CAUSE CELÉBRÈ
Using star power to pursue war criminals
Hollywood may be in a post-inaugural mood, but many of the industry's leading activists came back from Washington without a hangover. They're already moving into full swing on a number of nonpartisan human rights issues as varied as hunger in America and the ongoing war in Iraq.
January 30, 2009
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Jerry Brown gets out of the gate
Much of the country may still be suffering from electoral and inaugural exhaustion, but a substantial section of politically involved Hollywood has rediscovered the wisdom of the late, great Tip O'Neill --"All politics is local."
January 14, 2009
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Hollywood group hopes to bring a lot to the table
Like everybody else these days, politically engaged Hollywood -- and particularly its younger activists -- is in a back-to-basics mood.
9:49 PM PST, November 18, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
At Arnold Schwarzenegger's behest, Rob Lowe woos Chinese officials
Here in Hollywood, we're all used to the idea that life imitates art, but in the rest of the world, the discovery of that truism, at least when it comes to films and TV, is still a source of delight and fascination.
November 13, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration tickets elude even Hollywood A-listers
There are Super Bowl tickets, there are front-row tickets for a U2 concert -- and then there are tickets to President-elect Barack Obama's January inauguration. There hasn't been a hotter admission slip since someone started a rumor the Beatles were going back on the road.
November 7, 2008
CAUSE CELEBRE
Ari Emanuel's brother has clout too
And so the winner is? Endeavor. The aggressive, A-list Hollywood talent agency has always been well connected, but things just got a lot better.
November 6, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
How Hollywood elects to celebrate
Hollywood helped pay for Barack Obama's historic victory with money and talent -- and now it's looking forward to the party.
October 22, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Hathaway, Daly, and Jackson's non-partisan plea
The participant list reads like a list of actors from the red carpet at the Oscars.
October 16, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Pitches and perks for young voters
YOUTH MAY be wasted on the young, as the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw put it. But Hollywood is not wasting an opportunity to encourage America's youth to play a pivotal role in the upcoming presidential election.
October 14, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
John Mellencamp's season of political discontent
JOHN MELLENCAMP captured something about himself three decades ago when he penned the words, "I need a lover that won't drive me crazy." Someone who knows the meaning of "hey hit the highway."
October 3, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Harry Sloan is the Republicans' inside man
TO BE a Hollywood Republican, you've got to be one of two things: very stubborn or very optimistic. Harry Sloan is the latter, and that has made him not only the Republican Party's major entertainment industry cheerleader but also Sen. John McCain's go-to guy as this year's election enters its final stretch.
September 30, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Before Hillary, there was Helen Gahagan Douglas
BEFORE Lee Atwater became a political hit man and before "Rovian" was written into the nation's campaign lexicon, the campaign against actress Helen Gahagan Douglas symbolized the viciousness of politics by smear.
September 26, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Hollywood's in slo-mo on Prop. 8 fight
IS HOLLYWOOD afraid of Proposition 8 -- or has it just been slow to notice its presence on the California ballot?
September 24, 2008
CAUSE CELÉBRÈ
Political parties need Hollywood's handouts
Anyone who doubts, or resents, Hollywood's importance to American politics these days simply needs to watch where the candidates and their surrogates go when the going gets tough. The fact of the matter is that Hollywood is to both parties -- but particularly the Democrats -- what the Fed's discount window is to American banking: the place to go when you need big money fast.
September 18, 2008
Brad Pitt donating $100,000 to fight gay marriage ban
Brad Pitt announced Wednesday that he's donating $100,000 to fight California's Proposition 8, a November ballot initiative that would eliminate same-sex couples' right to marry.
September 2, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Party must go on for young Republicans at the convention
The Republican elders may be able to scale back their party's convention, but when it comes to the late-night parties, the show definitely is going on -- and the young GOP politicos seem to be loving it.
August 29, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Celebrities are piled up a mile high at Democrats' convention in Denver
If Cecil B. DeMille had directed the Democrats' Denver festivities, the trailers would have touted "a cast of thousands." Even if the possibility of a strike hadn't shut down film production across Los Angeles, Hollywood would be empty this week because nearly everyone with a screen credit or a connection to somebody with a screen credit is here in the Mile High City.
August 27, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Democrats like to party
-- You know you are at a political convention when you see wonks dancing in the streets at 3 a.m, even in this city's sober downtown. When it comes to serious socializing, the real parties at this year's Democratic National Convention are the parties after the parties.
August 22, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE / TINA DAUNT
Kanye West, Spike Lee and more stars gear up for Democratic National Convention
WHO NEEDS bread and circuses when you've got networking and rock 'n' roll?
August 5, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Kirk Douglas pleased with House resolution apologizing for slavery
For some years now, Hollywood legend Kirk Douglashas been campaigning for a formal apology to African Americans for the institution of slavery. Like other advocates, he's been urging Congress and every presidential candidate to go on record for the apology.
July 16, 2008
CAUSE CELEBRE
Peas, Coldplay delivers music with a message
FOR YEARS musicians have taken a leading role in one of their industry's most important acts of public service -- turning people's hunger for a great song, well performed, into food that feeds the physical hunger of thousands.
July 10, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Marines invade Hollywood for 'Generation Kill'
It's a long way from Baghdad to one of Hollywood's most exclusive film viewing venues -- the lushly appointed screening theater at Paramount Studios -- but Marine Sgt. Rudy Reyes has made the journey across the physical and cultural divide.
July 10, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Joel Flatow, the RIAA's musical diplomat
JOEL FLATOW'S life is all about connections. Over the past decade, he's used his political links and savvy to help the recording industry wage its fight against piracy. Now he's using the musical ones to help politicians and nonprofit organizations raise the funds for their causes.
June 27, 2008
Cause Célèbre / Tina Daunt
Studio chiefs lining up early behind Antonio Villaraigosa
LOSANGELESMayorAntonio Villaraigosa is continuing his summer fundraising tour of Hollywood hotshots and other locals, and cash is filling his 2009 reelection campaign coffer. He could end up with a better showing than "Iron Man" before it's over.
June 18, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Jim Webb, Hollywood's latest military man
FOR A TIME, Hollywood was enamored with former NATO commander and Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark. He was feted at packed Beverly Hills parties every time he breezed through town. But these days, there's a new military man on the radar: Jim Webb, the Democratic senator from Virginia.
June 6, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Hollywood come together for Obama? Yes, it can
IF THERE is one thing Hollywood understands, it's casting.
June 4, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Cusack's 'War, Inc.' finds its niche
WHILE THE big-budget, large studio movies about the Iraq war all have tanked, John Cusack's intensely personal film, “War, Inc.,” has survived bad reviews to find an audience in its very limited theatrical release.
May 27, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Noel Irwin Hentschel calls on friends to help with China quake aid
ENTERTAINMENT industry moguls and various local billionaires seem to have two favorite California Republicans: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (of course) and the not as well known but equally liked Noel Irwin Hentschel.
May 14, 2008
CAUSE CELEBRE
Homeboy Industries fundraiser draws Hollywood elite
WHEN IT comes to faith-based politics, President Bush learned a lesson from Hollywood.
May 2, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE / TINA DAUNT
George Clooney depends on 'Cuz'
WHEN IT comes to human rights, George Clooney is one of Hollywood's most active major stars. But what can any celebrity activist be without a consigliere? The man Clooney relies on for advice on the issues he cares most about is David Pressman, an accomplished New York civil rights attorney and former staff member in President Clinton's State Department.
April 30, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Arianna Huffington fetes Tina Brown, Brian Grazer, Kathy Freston
THE GREEKS invented democracy. Arianna Huffington, Los Angeles' most popular Greek expat and sublime aesthete, has turned the city's Democratic politics into a party. And we're not talking about the sort with no-host bars.
April 25, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE / TINA DAUNT
Antiwar film has Phil Donahue in attack mode
NEARLY four years ago, when Phil Donahue, the onetime king of daytime television, set to make a documentary film about the war in Iraq, he knew he'd be telling a story of shattered hearts. What he never guessed was that the project would break his own.
April 22, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
When not filming, Maria Bello is rallying for Obama
ACTRESS Maria Bello had a few days off from filming on location in Connecticut. She decided she wanted to help Sen. Barack Obama more than she needed to rest.
April 19, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Quincy Jones stays with Beijing Summer Olympics
WHATEVER anyone else decides, Quincy Jones said Friday that he will participate in the Beijing Olympics.
April 11, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE: TINA DAUNT
Candidates show they can take a joke
THIS is the election that made politics a joke.
April 9, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Remembering Heston the maverick
CHARLTON Heston, who died Saturday, was a political individualist in a town that values conformity far more than it likes to admit.
March 28, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE: TINA DAUNT
Olympics become a hurdle
THIS isn't exactly the show Chinese government officials had in mind when they signed on to host the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer.
March 21, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE: TINA DAUNT
Obama heartens his base
CAREER disasters (which usually involve some embarrassing bootlegged video or gossip magazine exposé) are commonplace in Tinseltown. If you're lucky, you can redeem yourself by being honest -- and then dazzling audiences with an unexpected Oscar-worthy performance.
March 7, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Stars stump for Clinton
THE political pundits analyzing this week's primaries still are wondering whether negative advertising carried Ohio and Texas for Hillary Rodham Clinton.
October 11, 2007
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE: Hollywood wife has a way with green
KELLY MEYER is barreling down PCH in a massive black Ford pickup truck sputtering fumes that smell like French fries.
February 15, 2008
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE | TINA DAUNT
Norman Lear endorses young voters
AT 85, Norman Lear is, by age and experience, Democratic Hollywood's elder statesman. But he was also the first guy in town to recognize that presidential politics would be different this time around. (Change isn't limited to the young, after all.)
January 8, 2008
CELEBRITY
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE: Ready to give Barack the part
ON desks all over Hollywood, there's a note this morning waiting to be sent:
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
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