Just a Clever Ruse to Get Free Food

The Scene: Coincidence could hardly explain the fact that 1,000 to 2,000 VIPs and screaming fans jammed the streets of Westwood on Monday night. No, this was the work of some shadowy operatives known as Warner Bros., which held the premiere of the Richard Donner action-comedy, “Conspiracy Theory”--starring Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, Patrick Stewart and Cylk Cozart--at the Mann’s Village and Mann’s Bruin theaters. For reasons apparent to no one, the party afterward was held at Jerry’s Deli, not the one down the block, but the one a traffic-snarled commute away at Beverly and San Vicente.

*

Who Was There: Director Donner, producer Joel Silver and Gibson, Roberts and Cozart. Also making the scene were Elizabeth Berkley, James Coburn, Corey Feldman, David Foster, Jodie Foster, Victoria Principal, Steven Seagal, Mario Van Peebles and Patrick Swayze. Many, however, including Roberts and Seagal, came only for the film and shunned the distant and overcrowded reception.

*

Chow: There were buffets of such common Jerry’s fare as pastrami, turkey, brisket and blintzes as well as tables piled with egg rolls, chow mein and sushi. Waiters, clad in “I Don’t Know What I Know, But I Know It’s Big” T-shirts, plied the crowd with trays of pizza and hors d’oeuvres. And while the helpings were generous, the guests were not. “I just came from working a Hispanic wedding, where I made a heap of tips,” moaned the bartender. “Here, I got nothing.”

Conspiracies, Real or Imagined? According to all who know him, Gibson’s role as the conspiracy-addled protagonist was less of an acting stretch than one might imagine. “I think there was more than one shooter with Kennedy,” he said. “I mean, that Zapruder film. How come they edited it? Stuff like that, it’s pretty weird. And if you ever do read those conspiracy books--which I did--it’s pretty good reason to think that something else was going on. . . . There’s something fishy going on. Something fishy’s always going on.”

*

Other Theorists: Donner said of conspiracies, “I don’t believe in them. It’s all a farce,” while Jodie Foster admitted, “I believe in some of them but certainly not as many as Mel.” Showgirl Berkley refused to be drawn into the whole issue saying, “I don’t want to get involved in any controversies, thank you. I got enough to last me a few years.”

Exit: After acting in a film full of clever escapes, Gibson was forced to employ one in real life after his attempted egress was blocked by dozens of autograph-seeking fans brandishing “Braveheart” placards. With the help of his director, he sent the Donner party out first to create a diversion, then slipped out another exit.