Stars of ‘Three Kings’ Get the Royal Hollywood Treatment

Hundreds of fans came out to cheer their favorite Hollywood royalty--”Three Kings’ ” George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube--at Mann Village Theater in Westwood on Monday night, for the premiere of Warner Bros.’ Desert Storm adventure movie.

And they weren’t disappointed. Other Tinseltown bluebloods on hand included Salma Hayek, Cindy Crawford, Spike Jonze (who plays the “fourth king”) and wife Sofia Coppola, Donnie and Robert Wahlberg (Mark’s bros), “South Park” boys Trey Parker and Matt Stone and a slew of Clooney’s “ER” pals, including Alex Kingston, Eriq La Salle and Laura Innes.

Ever the chronicler, writer-director David O. Russell captured the whole experience, from red-carpet arrivals to the after-party at the UCLA / Armand Hammer Museum, on his Sony Digital camera.

Asked about his inspiration for the film, Russell replied, “So much of the idea for this picture came from the L.A. Times [Gulf War] book, day by day through the war,” and then quickly added, “not enough to sue us for the rights, though.”

*

It was a “Hee Haw”-style hoedown Tuesday evening in the lot adjacent to the Cecchi Gori Fine Arts theater after the premiere of the new indie comedy “Happy, Texas.”

Guests--including a newly brunet Gwyneth Paltrow and the film’s stars, Illeana Douglas and Ron Perlman--sat on haystacks and ate down-home barbecue, coleslaw and corn bread.

“I don’t even mind standing in hay ‘cause it went really well,” quipped Mark Gill, president of Miramax L.A.

“From now on I’m gonna direct all my movies from horseback with a loaded gun,” said director Mark Illsley, who gave himself a cameo in the film as a mounted guard. “I couldn’t believe the respect I got.”

*

Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick and Fran Drescher were among the performers at Sunday evening’s “A Family Celebration: One Giant Leap for Humanity,” a charity ball at the Century Plaza Hotel that was hosted by Sidney and Joanna Poitier. Gladys Knight and the cast of “The Practice” were honored, and $1 million was raised for four national charities, but the biggest hit of the party was in the goody bags. The most popular item? Suzanne Somers’ Ultimate Toning System (a.k.a. the Thigh-and-Butt-Master).

*