Scene & Heard: Chrysalis Butterfly Ball
As one of three honorees at the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball, Brett Ratner choked up as he spoke about Chrysalis, an organization that helps the homeless by restoring their self-sufficiency. Revealing that his father had been homeless, the director of such films as “X-Men: The Last Stand” and “Rush Hour” said that out of embarrassment for his situation, his father kept his distance from the family.
“If Chrysalis existed for my dad, maybe we could have had a life together,” Ratner said.
Ryan Murphy, creator of “Glee” and “Nip/Tuck,” and Seth MacFarlane, creator of “American Dad!” and “Family Guy,” also picked up honors, as did Eunice Boynton for turning her life around with the organization’s support.
Dana Walden, chairman of 20th Century Fox TV; Rick Hess, head of Creative Artists Agency’s Film Finance Group; and actress Rebecca Gayheart-Dane co-chaired the June 5 event, which took place at the private Brentwood estate of Susan Harris and Hayward Kaiser.
Other attendees included Jim Gianopulos, co-chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment; Donna Langley, co-chairman of Universal Pictures; and actors Eva Mendes, Christina Ricci, Ryan Phillippe, Ben Stiller and Ashley Greene.
Mila Kunis and Randy Jackson emceed; Phyllis Diller and Chris Tucker participated in ceremonies.
KCET Visionary Award
Patrick Soon-Shiong and Michele B. Chan received the KCET Visionary Award on Tuesday, and, if anyone needed reminding of the couple’s unique background, “Airplane!” producer Jerry Zucker told the 250 dinner guests, “Of all our physician, surgeon, actress, scientist, surfer, billionaire, philanthropist friends, they’re really our favorites.” Janet Zucker called them “an incredibly powerful duo.”
The Soon-Shiongs have given $135 million to St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica; a $100-million guaranty to underwrite plans to reopen Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital in Los Angeles, and funding for the arts, healthcare, education and children’s causes. Dr. Soon-Shiong founded the biopharmaceutical company Abraxis BioScience.
In accepting the award, Soon-Shiong said, “People ask, ‘Why do we do what we do?’” and explained that he as a young scientist and his wife, an actress, immigrated to the U.S. from South Africa, having experienced apartheid. “We had the opportunity to live the American dream,” he said.
Staged at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel, the event benefited the public television station KCET and included a performance by Molly Ringwald and a quartet of musicians, together known as “Molly + Four.”
Celebrants included KCET board Chairman Gordon Bava, television personalities Val Zavala and Lisa Ling, former Gov. Gray Davis, L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Ernest Wilson, dean of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.
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