RSVP : They Were All There--in Spirit and in the Flesh

The Scene: Sunday’s benefit premiere of Universal’s “Casper” at the CityWalk Cineplex Odeon. That the film is “right on, metaphysically speaking” was the judgment of no less an authority on phantasm than “Ghostbuster” extraordinaire Dan Aykroyd.

Who Was There: The film’s in-the-flesh, non-computer-generated stars: Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci, Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle; director Brad Silberling; producer Colin Wilson; plus 1,200 guests including Daryl Hannah, Don Novello, Jeffrey Montgomery, Steve Tisch, Al Teller, Reese Witherspoon, Nancy Davis, Lew and Edie Wasserman, Sid and Lorraine Sheinberg, Tom Pollock, Casey Silver and Hal Lieberman.

The Joy of Making Movies: Idle, of Monty Python fame, on being a “Casper” villain: “I got pretty banged up on this one. I guess it’s what you get paid for, but swallowing shaving foam can be a really embittering experience. They don’t teach you that one in drama school. I guess what it comes down to is this: You wait around for long, long setups and at the end of the waiting, there’s pain. And if it hurts, it’s funny.”

Quoted: When it was mentioned that her role in “Casper” is quite a departure from her breakthrough performance in “Raging Bull,” Cathy Moriarty said, “The difference is 15 years and I don’t get punched in the face this time.”

Money Matters: Tickets were $150 and $250. More than $300,000 will be divided between the Children’s Action Network, which focuses on immunization and health care, and the Starbright Pediatric Network, whose work is with the therapeutic application of entertainment and media technology on seriously ill kids.

Pastimes: The studio’s “Back to the Future” small-town set was redone as a kids’ carnival complete with Ferris wheel, haunted house and a 50-foot inflatable slide that produced major screams.

Buzz: That Casper is indeed a promotion-friendly ghost. He’s a video game, an advertising tie-in for Pepsi, Choice Hotels and Pizza Hut; a likely amusement-park ride, and an animated TV series. Plus he’s amicable enough to incarnate as every type of glow-in-the-dark, action figure Taiwan can produce.

Noted: One producer thought the film’s best line was the reference to ghosts as “the living-impaired.” He said, “I’m going to start calling agents that.”