Hollywood and Hippies

Hollywood, Sacramento and a Hollywood-loving ex-president came together Friday night for what was billed as an evening of music, message and comedy to benefit the environment.

Music and levity were provided by the local version of the Soggy Bottom Boys--Steve Martin, Christopher Guest and Tom Hanks--who performed on banjo and guitars between comedy skits.

When Hanks asked Martin why he had given up the banjo for acting, Martin was quick to answer. “You never hear the following sentence: ‘Oh look, it’s the banjo player’s Porsche.’”

Martin Short quipped that he was honored to appear at the “Earth to LA II!” event, benefiting the National Resource Defense Council, even though he wasn’t the organization’s first choice. “Robert Blake,” he joked, “is such a different type.”

As the evening segued toward the serious, Leonardo DiCaprio (who had a brief, if controversial, career as a journalist for ABC News in 2000 ) took care of the message, with an appeal to save the environment.

Carole King got more specific, asking Gov. Gray Davis, in the audience, to help protect the California Channel Islands. Before she left the stage, she also performed, with Mick Fleetwood backing her up on drums.

Then it was time for the political big guns. Seinfeld co-creator Larry David introduced Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a senior NRDC attorney, by comparing the David and Kennedy clans, observing among other things that the Kennedys have great hair whereas “even the women [in our family] are bald.”

Last to take the stage was the keynote speaker, introduced by Hanks, who asked the audience to imagine the music from “The Dating Game” as he did a voice-over, recounting the previous administration’s environmental legislation.

“The big man,” he intoned. “The guy I still like to call the boss, William Jefferson Clinton.”

The former president told Hanks: “I didn’t come up here to talk about the environment. I came up here to meet Forrest Gump.”

The evening, which raised about $1.6 million, drew to a close, and Hanks told the audience: “OK, you hippies, thanks for coming. Have a safe carpool ride home.”

Outside the Wadsworth Theater in Brentwood, a line of limos and Range Rovers was parked by the curb, engines running, waiting to take the hippies home.

Heated Up for Film

Soaring temperatures Sunday afternoon in Hollywood made the long-awaited premiere of “Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones” a test of endurance for fans and eager ticketholders. It was enough to make a fantasy villain melt. Two men dressed from head to toe in white plastic armor hovered under an awning of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre as a reporter noted, “The storm troopers are seeking shade.”

Few of the film’s stars turned up for the Mother’s Day event, primarily because they were scattered around the country at the 10 other “Star Wars” premieres Sunday. Hayden Christensen attended one near his home in Toronto. Natalie Portman appeared in New York. George Lucas and Carrie Fisher attended a premiere in San Francisco.

In Hollywood, Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Jedi knight Mace Windu, arrived with his children in tow, praising the picture. “It’s full of information we didn’t get before,” he said. Nearby, Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks), said his controversial role “has given me the opportunity to never miss a meal.” (Later inside the theater, he chided the audience of about 1,000: “Anyone have a Jar Jar question? If you do, keep it to yourself, because it’s the only job I have in Hollywood and I’d like to keep it!”)

On the red carpet, Billy Zane handed out tangerines to reporters. “It’s my popcorn,” he explained. When one magazine writer tried to engage the actor, Zane shouted: “Good scoop!” and marched off.

Moments before the screening began, Ewan McGregor arrived from the airport looking dressed for comfort. He flew in from Glasgow, Scotland, where he’s filming the British film “Young Adam,” made a quick tour of the red carpet, then raced back to the airport.

All proceeds from tickets sales went to the Fulfillment Fund, a nonprofit that mentors underprivileged children and helps fund their college education. The group’s chairman, Gary Gitnick, appeared unaffected by the heat. He smiled, wiped his brow and said, “We believe we’ll get about $1 million today.”

Quote/Unquote

“When Brian Grazer and I had just started photography on ‘Night Shift,’ a comedy for Warner Bros. and the Ladd Co., we had gotten some negative responses to the dailies and it was our first studio feature and we were terrified of literally getting the plug pulled on the whole film. I couldn’t shake this image I had in my head of Brian and I swimming around in a giant toilet bowl.” --Director Ron Howard talking about insecurity and the film business during his commencement speech Friday to the USC Film School’s Class of 2002.

City of Angles runs Tuesday through Friday. E-mail: angles@latimes.com.