CINEMATIC ART
There’s nothing that goes together like actors and art and, for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, there’s no better combo than actors, art and film.
That’s why some of Hollywood’s biggest names gathered for the Inaugural Art and Film Gala honoring two local legends-Oscar-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood and art world sensation John Baldessari.
Malibu’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Eva Chow co-chaired the evening. It was a who’s who of Hollywood with a starry roster that included locals like Brian Grazer as well as Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Jack Black, Emily Blunt, Kate Bosworth, Jerry Bruckheimer and Steve Carell. Just a few of the other celebs included Will Ferrell, Jane Fonda, Balthazar Getty, Jon Hamm, Kate Hudson, Mickey Rourke, Zoe Saldana, Benicio Del Toro, Uma Thurman, Gus Van Sant, Gore Vidal and Reese Witherspoon.
It almost made you wonder what the rest of Hollywood happened to be doing that night.
Kate glittered in a sparkling beaded champagne-colored sheath. Cameron Diaz showed off plenty of sex appeal in her charcoal gray one-shouldered creation. Rachel Wood looked like she stepped right out of the Jazz Age in her dazzling flapper dress and pin curls, and Elizabeth Moss looked far more glam than her prim “Mad Men” alter ego Peggy Olsen. In this crowd even she copped to being a little star-struck.
“I am such a fan of Clint Eastwood,” Olsen said. “If you aren’t, you have a problem. I grew up in Los Angeles and I’ve come to this museum many, many times and I love it. It’s so beautiful.”
Co-host Eva Chow shimmered in Gucci and crowed about the night’s two big honorees. “Clint has always been my hero and John is like the father of the video film as an art form, and it’s very, very appropriate to honor both of them for our inaugural gala.”
A-listers like DiCaprio and Eastwood may be gearing up for the Oscars but they gave this gala a big thumbs up.
“I am very supportive of LACMA,” the famed director said. “I think Los Angeles has to be very supportive of this museum. It shouldn’t be just Paris and New York [where] art and film go together well.” Funny man Jack Black echoed those sentiments and said, “I think a city is only as rich and as great as its support of the arts.”
Jack took his two boys to see the recent Tim Burton exhibit and called it “amazing.” He also quipped, “The pillow monster has still stayed with my youngest and he has a lot a nightmares. Thanks a lot, Tim.”
There were words of praise for both Baldessari and Eastwood, who both received rousing ovations. Eastwood, who just finished “J. Edgar” with Leonardo DiCaprio, probably gave the actor the greatest compliment of all, saying, “Leo, you’re a gem. I’ve worked with some pretty good actors along the way, but none better than this young man.” No wonder Leo is leading the pack in the Oscar Best Actor buzz.
The evening closed out with a surprise performance by the great Stevie Wonder and raised a whopping $3 million for LACMA.