Film Czars Spied at ‘Russia’ Premiere

The Scene: The black-tie benefit premiere of MGM/Pathe’s “The Russia House” Tuesday at the Cineplex Odeon in Universal City. It’s hard to believe, but this was the first charity premiere in almost 20 years to assist the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s work in aiding industry retirees.

The Setting: The Russian-themed post-screening party was held in a white, 25,000-square-foot tent erected without poles in a parking lot across from the theater. Thirty-five chandeliers hung from the tent’s super-structure (which looked like the ribs of a steel whale) over 105 tables covered in gold linen. Lining the walls were tapestries from the 1938 MGM film “Marie Antoinette.” The six full-size trees that grow in the parking lot were covered in white lights in the center of the room. The asphalt was covered with blue vinyl. Antique furniture from the Warner Bros. prop department was set in the tent’s foyer. “You look at all this and you’d never know we were going into a recession,” said the film’s producer, Paul Maslansky.

Who Was There: The film’s stars, Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer and Roy Scheider, director Fred Schepisi, the benefit co-chairs, Laura and Roger Davis, Edie and Lew Wasserman, and Cindra and Alan Ladd Jr.; plus 1,100 guests including directors Robert Zemeckis, Sydney Pollack, Penny Marshall and Brian DePalma; agents Mike Ovitz, Norman Brokaw and Jeff Berg; plus Johnny Carson, Richard Harris, Suzanne de Passe, Paul LeMat, Tom Pollock, Bob Daly, Giancarlo Parretti, Barbara Davis, Bob Newhart and Jackie Collins.

Chow: Romanoff excess rather than Gorbachevian austerity. Catered by Rococo, there was chilled caviar soup, rack of lamb, poached salmon and, for dessert, a white chocolate egg filled with lemon mousse. Pricey sebruga caviar was served at the VIP reception before the premiere and disappeared instantaneously. The masses at the post-premiere party had to make do with a touch of caviar in their soup.

Money Matters: Tickets were $300. Expenses ran about $190,000. The evening’s net (including a $250,000 donation from MGM/Pathe) was $575,000. Though there was a sumptuousness to the decor by Party Planners West that would have made a czar blanch, most of it was on loan from various studio prop departments. Considering the appearance of extravagance, costs were kept very low.

Quoted: “We need to get the word out about the Motion Picture Fund so it can be there in the future,” said co-chair Laura Davis. “We need to stand on top of the Hollywood sign yelling, ‘Wake up! We need help.’ ”

Also Quoted: “This is old Hollywood,” said “The Russia House” author David Cornwell, whose nom de plume is John le Carre. “If you can’t be happy now, when can you be?”

The International Quotient: A film company (MGM/Pathe) owned by Italians holding a Russian-themed party on the lot of a film company (MCA’s Universal) just bought by the Japanese for a movie based on a novel by a British author (Le Carre) with a Scottish star (Connery) and an American co-star (Pfeiffer).