Hollywood Supporting Democrats? Shocking!

Money. Power. Glitz. They will all be on display Thursday when Hollywood throws one of its biggest political fund-raising bashes in years on the sprawling grounds of Greenacres, the old Harold Lloyd estate in Beverly Hills. President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will be the guests of honor at the gala, which is expected to draw more than 1,000 guests, including movie stars, studio executives and even a billionaire or two. Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks will emcee the event with Maya Angelou reading one of her poems and Barbra Streisand, the Eagles and the Neville Brothers performing. The first lady will introduce the president, who will deliver a speech. The cost of admission: $2,500 per person for the concert; $5,000 for the concert and reception with the Clintons; and, $12,500 for the concert and a dinner that is expected to draw 200 people. The fund-raiser, which is expected to raise $3.5 million for the Democratic National Committee, is co-hosted by DreamWorks SKG’s co-founder David Geffen, supermarket tycoon Ron Burkle and the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee. Chairing the event are some of Hollywood’s power elite, including MCA chieftain Edgar M. Bronfman Jr., MCA Chairman Emeritus Lew Wasserman, DreamWorks’ co-founders Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg and producer Norman Lear.

Record Companies Respond to Drug Problem Responding to hotly debated calls for action within the music business, the Recording Industry Assn. of America is expected to announce today its first unified effort to combat drug abuse within its ranks. The organization, which represents the six major record conglomerates accounting for more than 90% of all U.S. record sales, has established a three-year, $2-million fund to support the Musicians’ Assistance Program, which addresses the recovery needs of musicians and other music industry professionals suffering from drug and alcohol abuse. “MAP will help label representatives, managers, A&R; executives, publicists and others within the music community become better educated about helping friends and associates deal positively with their drug and alcohol addictions,” says Hilary Rosen, Recording Industry Assn. president. The association action is independent of the much-discussed campaign launched this year by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, which has also supported MAP in recent years. Michael Greene, academy president, says he welcomes the association’s involvement. “This is exactly what we wanted to happen,” he says. “We’ll continue our work in the artistic community and I’m glad that they’re doing it from the business community. We absolutely feel it will be cooperative.”

Music Is Playing Inside Her Head “It seems as though I’m never permitted to get too heady for very long.” So said filmmaker Allison Anders last week, speaking of what transpired Wednesday when her latest film, “Grace of My Heart,” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. According to representatives of Gramercy Pictures, the movie was very well received. “You’d be a complete fool to expect a response like that,” Anders said. Unfortunately, that same day, Anders learned that her father had passed away. “Having that experience the same day my father died was incredible, very grounding.” So, despite her well-chronicled troubled upbringing, it is with a heavy heart that Anders is faced with the opening of a film she calls “more my own than any movie I’ve ever done.” Sunday, the film was screened at a Toronto Film Festival gala, today it opens in New York and Friday in 50 theaters nationwide. Anders’ fans won’t be surprised at the theme of her latest film, since music has always been central to her work. “Grace” is loosely based on the lives of rock legends Carole King and Ellie Greenwich, telling the story of a woman struggling to find her voice in the male-dominated New York music world of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Shortly after wrapping “Grace of My Heart” last year, Anders learned that she’d been awarded $225,000 from the MacArthur Foundation. At the time, she said the unexpected windfall would allow her to work on less-commercial projects, such as a film about midwives. But, for now, the music plays on.

In an Industry Town, This Is a Town Meeting As the January date for implementation of a television ratings system draws closer, the anxiety in Hollywood is growing almost palpable. Producers, writers, directors, studio and network executives are all wondering how it will work and what it will mean for their business. They may get some of their questions answered this week--about the technology, at least. On Tuesday night, MediaScope, a nonprofit media research group, is sponsoring a program at the Directors Guild to demonstrate the V-chip that will enable parents to block programs that carry a rating they deem unsuitable for their children. Among the participants will be Tim Collings, developer of the V-chip, and Brad Radnitz, president of the Writers Guild of America West and a member of the industry committee that is devising the ratings system, using the motion picture industry’s ratings system as a guideline. Meantime, another forum on the V-chip--this one debating its merits and shortcomings--will be held Oct. 2 by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Compiled by Times Staff Writers and Contributors