Premiere Packs a Big ‘Punch’

The Scene: Westwood Village looked as if it had suffered an invasion of Bridget Fonda posters as autograph-seekers converged with movie stars, athletes and recording artists at Mann’s Village Theater on Thursday night for the long-awaited premiere of Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown.” The film, based on the Elmore Leonard novel, “Rum Punch,” stars Samuel L. Jackson, blaxploitation queen Pam Grier, Michael Keaton, Bridget Fonda, Robert Forster, Chris Tucker and Robert De Niro in a tale of gunrunning, money smuggling and plenty of double-crossing. After the screening, there was a reception across the street in the tented parking lot adjacent to Madison’s Neighborhood Bar and Grill.

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Who Was There: Tarantino was there with Mira Sorvino, along with cast members Grier, Fonda, Keaton, Tucker and Forster and author Leonard. Also spotted were Ben Affleck, Steve Buscemi, Minnie Driver, Peter Fonda, Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Amanda Plummer and Mark Wahlberg, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Rick James, Oscar de la Hoya and Shaquille O’Neal.

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Why L.A.? “Rum Punch” took place in Miami, Tarantino explained to the crowd before the screening, but “I’ve never been to Miami and didn’t want to go. So I changed it to the South Bay, which is where I’m from.”

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Shaftesque: Flashing lights, smoke machines and raunchy disco music filled the tent, which was decorated with oil paintings on velvet. Guests helped themselves to a Cajun-style buffet while waiters cruised with trays made of Lucite-encased vintage LPs.

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Dying on Film: Writer/actor Affleck said, “I wouldn’t say it was without bloodshed or violence. People did get shot. I thought the violence was realistically handled. It’s immediate and then it’s over. I once saw this tape that this guy got from a news station of people actually getting shot. It was really horrifying and nauseating and disturbing, but it was just like the way it was in this movie. I love the way people would just kind of fall out of frame and they were dead.”