Meeting ‘Dave,’ the Movie, and Its Lucky Stars

The Scene: Tuesday’s benefit premiere for Warner Bros.’ “Dave” at the Mann National in Westwood. A party followed at the nearby Armand Hammer Museum, where the courtyard’s stone floors are heated by pipes filled with scalding water--a locale where at least some of the hot air comes from below.

Who Was There: The film’s stars, Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver; producer-director Ivan Reitman and his wife, Genevieve, who co-chaired the benefit with producer Lauren Shuler-Donner and her husband, Richard Donner; plus 1,100 guests including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, Danny De Vito, Alfre Woodard, Goldie Hawn, Geena Davis, Christian Slater, Anne Archer and Don Henley.

Quoted: As Kline is a Shakespearean actor, he was pressed to provide a line by the Bard relevant to movie premieres. After first expressing doubt over the wisdom of this idea (“I don’t want to be this ham actor quoting Shakespeare”), Kline came up with a line from “Henry V”: “What art thou, thou idle ceremony? . . . Oh ceremony, show me but thy worth!”

Dress Mode: The invite called for “casual.” This is a very wide spectrum. One guest said that in L.A., casual comes down to “You have to wear shoes.”

Fashion Analysis: “Trends come and trends go,” said one woman, “but totally outrageous body exhibition will always reign in California.”

Chow: The museum’s courtyard was decorated with flags and bunting to go with “a whimsical presidential inaugural” menu from Along Came Mary. It included chili, turkey and sirloin burgers and honey-grilled chicken sandwiches.

Money Matters: Tickets were $250 and $500 per person. With underwriting from Warner Bros., Creative Artists Agency and Lorraine and Sid Sheinberg, the net to the Westside Children’s Center was $250,000.

Career Advice: When a British film crew asked Weaver what tips she had for American-bound European actresses, she said, “First get a green card.”

The Hollywood Viewpoint: One successful agent said all he sees when he goes to parties “are people whose calls I didn’t return. First it’s one or two, then in clusters, then wave after wave of unreturned calls.”