Cagey Premiere

Never mind that there were no Tinseltown types at the Orange County benefit premiere of “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.” Hosts Jim and Patti Edwards (owners of the Edwards Theaters chain) and the 552 Club of Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach made sure everything else was on hand: pre-screening soiree, huge-screen theater and all the buttered popcorn that 800 movie lovers could eat.

Not to mention the “Corelli” movie poster signed by Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz and director John Madden that snagged $2,500 in the live auction, boosting event proceeds to more than $100,000.

Held in conjunction with Universal Pictures, the ninth annual premiere screening last weekend at Edwards Cinema in Fashion Island featured a buffet supper staged in a parking lot dotted with towering cypress and a replica of the Acropolis--a tribute to the movie’s picturesque Greek backdrop.

Proceeds are earmarked for Hoag’s Women’s Pavilion, a new, seven-story facility to open in 2004.