A Party So Big It Was Just ‘Nutty’

The Scene: Thursday’s premiere of Universal’s “The Nutty Professor” in the studio’s amphitheater. It was the first time the concert hall has been publicly used for a screening. Though only half the 6,000-seat capacity was utilized, it was still a massive venue. One guest said she’d “never seen ushers using bullhorns before.”

The Party: A nearby parking lot was done over as scenes from the film--a laboratory with oversized, neon-lit test-tubes, seething chemists’ beakers and hamster cages, a white tent hung with chandeliers, an outdoor dance floor, and a stage with aerobic instructors. “This is called: when people have big money and they’re serious about throwing a party,” said Sinbad.

Who Was There: The film’s star, Eddie Murphy; co-stars Jada Pinkett and James Coburn; director Tom Shadyac; and producers Brian Grazer and Russell Simmons; plus 3,000 guests including Jim Carrey, Will Smith, Pauly Shore, Martin Lawrence, Courteney Cox, Damon Wayans, Ron Howard, Sid Sheinberg, Mario Van Peebles, Brad Crevoy, David Colden, Richard Green and studio execs Frank Biondi, Ron Meyer and Howard Weitzman.

Who Might Have Been There: It was reported that Michael Jackson quietly slipped into the screening wearing an Arab burnoose and a red surgical mask. Or it could have been Elvis in disguise as Eleanor Roosevelt--you never know about these things.

Subject of Discussion: The film’s reliance on flatulence as a rich source of humor. Asked about the numerous jokes on this topic, Jeffrey Katzenberg said, “Every movie should have exactly that number.”

The Buzz: This will make buckets of money. It could be characterized as “The Mask” with gas.

Quoted: “I wanted the movie to just be very funny because it’s been so long since I just did something that was really, really funny,” said Murphy. “I’ve been trying to mix genres so much. Trying to do different things because I didn’t want to get trapped in that Axel Foley-type humor every time I did a movie. This time I was trying to get away from that and do something that was really funny, man.”

Money Matters: Tickets were $250, and more than $140,000 was netted by LA’s BEST (Better Educated Students for Tomorrow), an after-school enrichment project, and the Juan Cabrillo Special Education Program, which assists disabled children.

Overheard: “So what celebrities are you going to have at your wedding?”