‘Waterdance’s’ Big-Hearted Bash

The Scene: The benefit premiere Tuesday of Samuel Goldwyn Co.’s “The Waterdance” at the Cineplex Odeon. A party followed at the Twenty/20 Club. The revel with a cause benefited the Paralysis Project of America and Project Support for Spinal Cord Injury.

Who Was There: The film’s stars, Helen Hunt, Eric Stoltz and Bill Forsythe; directors Neal Jimenez and Michael Steinberg, and producers Gale Anne Hurd and Marie Cantin. The film is about rehabilitation from paralysis, and there were dozens of “people with wheels”--in the words of one organizer--in attendance. The other 750 guests included Donna Mills, Bridget Fonda, Julie Warner, Barbet Schroeder, Tia Carrere, Larry Hagman, Elliott Gould and Hurd’s husband, Brian DePalma.

The Buzz: If this film becomes a hit, there is justice in the world.

Dress Mode: It ranged from business attire to baseball shirts and shorts. There seemed to be a smaller-than-usual display of DuPont-induced fashions in black stretch Lycra.

Money Matters: Tickets for the premiere were $20; $5,000 was netted. The independently made film cost a bargain-basement $2.7 million. Jimenez said that budget doesn’t allow a director “to get five extra shots. You get what you need and it works.”

Chow: In tune with the film, it was a low-budget spread of desserts and fruit that still probably cost more than the movie’s lighting.

Glitch: Somehow, when the limo driver picked up Jimenez, the director’s wheelchair was lost. “Here it is, one of the most important nights of my life, and my wheelchair is missing,” said Jimenez. “That’s the kind of irony we try to capture in the film.” A loaner was produced for the evening.

Quoted: “It’s a good film,” said Stoltz. “And when people are sick of all the exploding movies this summer, they’ll go see something about people falling in love and arguing with each other.”

OK, Now Ask Him About Murphy Brown’s Baby: A television crew asked each arriving celeb, “How do you feel about Johnny Carson retiring?” Stoltz, who doesn’t watch TV according to co-star Helen Hunt, answered, “From what?”

Overheard: As the end credits played, a woman exclaimed, “Beethoven got a credit! Look at that, me and Beethoven on the same credit roll.”