They Were Partying Outside the ‘Hood

The Scene: The benefit premiere of Columbia Pictures’ “Boyz N the Hood” Tuesday at the Cineplex Odeon in Century City. A party followed at the nearby Twenty/20 club. The film chronicles the lives of black teen-agers growing up in South-Central Los Angeles. “I heard my film described on the news as a gang film,” said writer-director John Singleton. “I take that as a personal affront. It takes place in an area where there are gangs. But it’s about families.”

Who Was There: An 800-strong crowd that included 23-year-old, first-time director Singleton and stars Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut and Larry Fishburne, plus guests Winona Ryder, Denzel Washington, Jasmine Guy, Kathy Bates, Tony Danza, Pia Zadora, Sandra Bernhard, Keenen Ivory Wayans and Wesley Snipes. One guest said, “If Sammy Davis Jr.’s son had a bar mitzvah, this is what it would look like.”

The Buzz: The film was passionately liked or disliked. The vast majority loved it. One guest who disliked it, finding it preachy, said it was like “an ABC ‘After School Special’ with strong language.”

Dress Mode: Rodeo Drive meets Slauson Avenue. Studio execs in Italian suits meet inner-city kids in Raiders jackets and baseball caps.

Money Matters: More than $60,000 was netted for Education 1st!, which uses the media to encourage educational change. “People have heard there’s a crisis in education,” said Lynda Guber, who co-chaired the premiere with her husband, Columbia CEO Peter Guber. “Education 1st! puts the message out so strongly it can’t be ignored.”

Quoted: “A movie changed my life,” said Singleton. “ ‘Star Wars’ made me want to be a filmmaker.”

Chow: There were five food stations from Along Came Mary with cuisine that ranged from soul food to pizza. The club was embellished with neon lights and 20-foot-long graffiti paintings. The caterer said that while decorating was minimal, it was “impactual.” Make note of a verb turned into an adjective in a way even Air Force pilots had never thought of.

Overheard: “It’s not about gangs. It’s more about safe sex than it is about gangs.”