‘Bodyguard’ Bash Quite a Boon for Kids

The Scene: Monday’s benefit world premiere at Mann’s Chinese of Warner Bros.’ “The Bodyguard.” Kevin Costner stars as a strait-laced ex-Secret Service agent protecting a pop singer-actress (Whitney Houston in her film debut). OK, she acts and sings better than Madonna; maybe Houston should try doing a book.

Money Matters: Warner Bros. generously underwrote all the expenses. The $250,000 net was evenly split between the Magic Johnson Foundation (which will funnel the money to the Ariel Project for pediatric AIDS research) and the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children.

The Locale: The evening began with a pre-screening party hosted by People magazine for 100 major donors in the nearby Old Masonic Hall. The main fiesta came afterward in a football field-sized tent set on an adjacent parking lot. Mercifully, nobody came up with a bodyguard theme for the party.

Who Was There: The film’s stars, Costner, Gary Kemp and a very pregnant Houston with husband Bobby Brown; director Mick Jackson, writer-producer Lawrence Kasdan and 1,400 guests including Natalie Cole, Luther Vandross, Mike Ovitz, Barbara Davis, Dionne Warwick, John Singleton, Quincy Jones, Georges Marciano, Peter Benedek, Andre Agassi, James Earl Jones, and Warner execs Bob Daly, Rob Friedman and Terry Semel.

Attitude: Very relaxed. Costner especially seemed at ease. Nobody claims the movie is great art or a cure for cancer--just light entertainment to enjoy with popcorn. One woman compared the film to a “Cosmo magazine fiction excerpt,” which was probably a compliment.

Quoted: “It’s good movie fare,” said Costner. “I like to look in my paper on Friday and have a great option to go to. I think that’s what ‘Bodyguard’ is about. Looking in your paper and thinking, ‘Ah, maybe this is why I go to the movies.’ ”

Best Fashion Barb: The description of an unfortunate combination of Italian styles as “dyslexic Armani.”

The Facts: Entry-level Secret Service agents make $17,686 to $21,906 a year. An experienced celebrity bodyguard makes $250 per day, plus expenses. Costner makes somewhere in the high single-digit millions per picture. So what’s the problem if your kid wants acting lessons?

Industry Interest: Kemp’s portrayal of a cheesy, lollipop-sucking publicist was a big hit among the pros. “I did a lot of research,” said Kemp. “I hung out on sun beds and ate a lot of angel-hair pasta.”

Stray Quote: One woman sampling the myriad buffets from Along Came Mary said, “In the Girl Scouts I got the hors d’oeuvres badge.”

Cultural Differences: Kemp’s wife, British actress Sadie (“Bram Stoker’s Dracula”) Frost, on movie premieres: “I can’t believe people here leave early so they can be sober in the morning. In England they’d be freaking out all night.”