05/08/09 DC is a sucker for celebrity.  Maybe the high school scenario best explains the phenomenon –  DC being the land of former high school student council/chess club members yearning to hang with the cool kids and the cool kids being the Hollywood types.  At the same time, the cool kids want to show that they are not just vapid egotistical shells.  Washington validates them.  Sooner or later they come to town to testify before Congress on behalf of their “cause” often appearing in non-prescription glasses to add gravitas (a trick I think they learned from watching Ginger on “Gilligan’s Island”).

Occasionally the mutual love-in comes to an abrupt halt when someone rudely points out that the king has no clothes.  That listening to what an entertainment personality has to say about politics or their “cause” is akin to asking a circus elephant his thoughts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  My favorite example of this breakdown of the Hollywood on the Potomac Axis happened back in 2002 when Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio) blew up at the thought of Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson testifying in front of his committee.   ”It’s just a joke to think that this witness can provide members of the United States Senate with information on important geological and water quality issues,” Voinovich told the AP.  ”We’re either serious about the issues or we’re running a sideshow.”

And speaking of sideshow, we come to the Washington, DC premiere of Barry Levinson’s “Poliwood” which the press release breathlessly describes:

“It’s a documentary where politicians are the celebrity, celebrities attempt to untangle policy, and media reports it all. POLIWOOD features a trip through one of history’s most climactic elections with Anne Hathaway, Alfre Woodard, Spike Lee, Sting, Tim Daly, Kerry Washington, Matthew Modine, Dana Delany, Will I.M., Mos Def and other notables on the trail with Levinson.”

The premiere was held, strangely, at the Navy Memorial Theater on Pennsylvania Ave.  It’s an interesting venue (it’s underground and filled with war memorabilia) but the air conditioning wasn’t working well and it got muggy and sweaty quickly.  The press was put into a pen around which the celebs were escorted by their handlers like hot walkers at the horse track.   A reporter friend of mine working freelance for one of the entertainment magazines was mortified to be given a list of specific questions by the mag’s editors tailored for the celebs expected to attend.  These questions ran along the lines of “How do you keep your tush toned?” and “What is your best dieting secret?”  To add to her discomfort, the celebs – by virtue of being in Washington – were expecting serious questions and were annoyed because they were not being asked about politics.

After I got the pix I needed, I headed off to another event and left without attending the screening.

Photos © 2009 by Patrick G. Ryan