Reception Gets a Crashing Finale

The Scene: A screening and reception for the new film “twenty-one,” Tuesday night at the Directors Guild of America in West Hollywood. It was your garden variety weeknight screening party--until several hundred protesters arrived.

The Demonstration: While guests were arriving, a dozen gay and lesbian activists, attracted by TV cameras covering the screening, crashed the event, shouting their displeasure with Gov. Pete Wilson’s veto of the gay rights employment discrimination bill. It was the third night of protests in West Hollywood.

When Parties Collide: The other question on everyone’s lips was, Who are those women in the bikinis, and what do they have to do with “twenty-one?” Actually, the bikini-clad models had nothing to do with “twenty-one” and everything to do with “Bikini Summer,” a feature being screened in an adjacent room.

Who Was There: “twenty-one” producer Morgan Mason and star Patsy Kensit, along with actors Justine Bateman, Rosanna Arquette, Fred Ward, Jennifer Tilly, Julian Sands, Linda Blair, Amanda Plummer, and directors Ken Russell and Renny Harlin.

They’re Back: During the after-party, several hundred more protesters arrived, sitting down on the steps outside the DGA. This time, guards blocked the entrances, but the crowd inside, some of whom sympathized with the demonstrators, pressed against the glass doors to watch.

Chow: A buffet of sandwiches, pizza, curried chicken, and miniature quesadillas.

Quoted: Film critics have been writing about Patsy Kensit in terms that range from the rapturous to the downright hormonal. “I try not to read any of that,” Kensit said, “because if you believe the good stuff, you have to believe the bad as well. They can say what they want--I just want to work.” Work doesn’t seem to be a problem for the actress--she’s completed four films since “twenty-one.”

Glitches: The lack of big-name stars made a member of one TV crew say, “The producers should be happy about these protesters, because otherwise we wouldn’t run this story at all.”