‘Boys’ Night Proves a Little Too Popular

The Scene: Thursday’s premiere at the Cinerama Dome of Columbia’s “Bad Boys.” The story of vice cops in Miami was described by co-star Martin Lawrence as “a very lovely action film.” There was a full-blown dance party at the Palace afterward that co-star Will Smith described as “old-school hip-hop.” This means anyone who came close to the speakers had a near-deaf experience.

Who Was There: The film’s stars, Smith and Lawrence; director Michael Bay; producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer; plus a crowd of 1,500 that included Wesley Snipes, Jada Pinkett, John Singleton, Keenen Wayans, Babyface, Cuba Gooding Jr., LeVar Burton, the UCLA basketball team (who, of course, got the biggest ovation when introduced), Trisha Covington, Kadeem Hardison, and studio execs Mark Canton and Sid Ganis.

The Buzz: That Martin Lawrence is the Eddie Murphy of the ‘90s. As one guest said: “If Eddie Murphy isn’t gonna be Eddie Murphy, then somebody’s gotta be Eddie Murphy.”

Happenings: The Cinerama Dome was overbooked by 300 bodies. The fire marshal wouldn’t allow the screening to start until the excess guests were cleared from the room. This proved difficult.

Though offered seats at another theater, some invitees acted as if they were being taken outside for compulsory limo washing. One woman who adamantly refused to leave was finally threatened with arrest. Her last words before exiting were: “This movie isn’t worth getting arrested for.”

Hollywood Moment: In the midst of a crush of guests entering and exiting an upstairs Palace room, a guy in a baseball cap and black leather jacket pulled out a business card, handed it to Elliott Gould and said: “Hello, Mr. Gould. How are you? I handle celebrities--Michael Jordan, even Robert Shapiro.” Stranger things have happened.

Weird Moment: A male guest sporting a kind of nouveau Liberace look--white satin double-breasted jacket, black tuxedo pants, two-tone shoes, but no shirt--got into a wild argument in the lobby, yelled, “You do that and I will be the bitch from hell,” then ran out the door. But he came back later for the party.