‘Deconstructing’ Here, Building There

The Scene: Never mind El Nin~o. Woody was in town. The die-hard Manhattanite made a rare trip out West on Friday night for the premiere of his film, “Deconstructing Harry,” starring Allen, Kirstie Alley, Richard Benjamin, Billy Crystal, Mariel Hemingway, Amy Irving, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Demi Moore and Elisabeth Shue. About 750 fans and celebrities turned out at the Century City Cineplex Odeon despite the downpour. The event also served as a benefit for Comic Relief, which provides medical relief and other services to the homeless. After the screening, there was a reception at Maple Drive.

Who Was There: The cast minus Irving, plus Bruce Willis, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, Fran Drescher, Bill Maher, Howie Mandel, Michael Richards, Tracey Ullman, directors Henry Jaglom and Joel Schumacher, Comic Relief President Bob Zmuda and, yes, Soon-Yi.

Money Matters: Tickets were $150 each. More than $65,000 was collected for Comic Relief. Crystal, who is involved in the charity, thanked Allen. “He made a lot of us want to be funny and want to be in movies, and the fact that he said, ‘OK, I want to help you guys and help the charity,’ that’s great.”

Uh, Thanks Again: Allen said that he has rarely set foot in L.A. in the more than 20 years since the filming of “Annie Hall,” the film in which he declared that the city’s only cultural advantage is the legality of making a right turn on a red light. Does that opinion still hold? “I tease L.A. all the time,” the director said. “But I would rather be here than in Iraq or Bosnia any time.”