And ... political action!

Hollywood -- at least the politically active Democratic side of it -- has fallen madly in love with entities known as 527s. The unregulated groups, so-called for their tax code designation, are allowed to raise funds, register voters and get the word out -- but are prohibited from endorsing a candidate.

Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris (“The Fog of War”) cut 17 political ads in which former Bush voters describe their change of heart. At MoveOn.org, more than 100,000 cast votes for their favorite, which the organization hopes to air during the Republican National Convention.

In October, when Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M. and Bonnie Raitt, among others, hit the road for a “Vote for Change” concert tour, the proceeds will go to 527 entity America Coming Together (ACT), whose website features a Will Ferrell spoof of President Bush shooting an imaginary campaign commercial.

Such efforts reflect the way in which the passage of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Act in 2002 has changed the way Hollywood does business. Restricted from donating more than $25,000 to a national party per election cycle and more than $2,000 to a presidential candidate, Democratic heavyweights are now writing checks to organizations such as MoveOn, ACT and the Media Fund.

Although some see 527s as a legal means of counteracting Bush and his $200-million-plus war chest, not everyone agrees. Conservative groups have filed campaign violation suits against 527 donors, including international investor George Soros and producer Steven Bing, head of Shangri-La Entertainment. After the election, the courts and the Federal Elections Commission will rule on the issue of legitimacy.

“We’ve opened a Pandora’s box,” said writer-producer Lionel Chetwynd (the Emmy-nominated “Ike: Countdown to D-Day”), who’s working on two films for the Republican National Convention. “Anyone who truly believes in campaign finance reform doesn’t do an end run around it. And if Democrats are engaged in activities later deemed illegal, the damage will have been done.”

That hasn’t slowed efforts by Democrats in Hollywood. Bing has donated more than $8 million, making him the third largest contributor to 527 entities in the 2004 race, while TV producer Marcy Carsey (“Roseanne,” “That ‘70s Show”) is tied for 12th with $1 million in contributions. To raise money for ACT and the Media Fund, Disney Hall architect Frank Gehry joined actress Judith Light in hosting a late June bash at her Mulholland Drive home, for which Brad Pitt was an honorary chairman.

“We’ll never be on equal financial ground with the Republicans,” said Chad Griffin, a political advisor whose clients include Rob Reiner and “Ghost” director Jerry Zucker, “but, hopefully, the playing field will be more level than in the past.”

Laurie David, a leading Hollywood activist and wife of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator Larry David, makes no apologies for her involvement with ACT, whose success in milking the Internet for donations lighted a fire under the candidacy of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. The rules are the same for everyone, she notes -- and until they change, everything is fair game.

The 527s were originally created as a vehicle for corporate giving, most of which went into Republican coffers. Smaller in scale than their Democratic counterparts, says Chetwynd, the Republican 527s have been slow to realize the potential of popular culture -- films such as Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” and straight-to-video features like Robert Greenwald’s “Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism” which MoveOn.org partially financed and promotes on-line. Among the more recently formed are the Republican Youth Majority and GOPAC, a political action committee.

The focus of most of Hollywood’s Republican activity lies outside of the 527 realm. Nationally syndicated radio host Larry Elder, who begins a daily talk show for Viacom in September, is seeking theatrical distribution for “Michael & Me,” a defense of the right to bear arms that he’s framed as a rejoinder to Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine.” The movie will be featured at the American Film Renaissance, a conservative film festival taking place in Dallas Sept. 10-12 -- shortly before young Republicans present the Liberty Film Festival (“Liberating Hollywood One Film at a Time”) Oct. 1-3 at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.

Television writer-producer Eric Peterkofsky’s “The ‘Right Stuff’ Conservative Comedy Tour” opens at the Laugh Factory in New York’s Times Square later this month, just in time for the Republican National Convention. The tour has already made its way through Baltimore, Washington D.C., Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Peterkofsky says Republicans are at a disadvantage because of the “left-wing bias” in entertainment.

“While we have a presence on talk radio, we don’t have a ‘West Wing’ or a right-wing Michael Moore,” says Peterkofsky, 38. “When I worked on ‘Murphy Brown,’ one secretary posted a bumper sticker ‘Friends don’t let friends vote Republican.’ And you’d never have a sitcom such as Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ where the liberal is the bigot.”

That’s no excuse, maintains Jim Hubbard, cofounder of the upcoming Dallas film festival, who calls himself a “conservative independent.” “The Republican mantra has always been ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps,’ ” he said. “It’s not Sean Penn’s role or Michael Moore’s role to make films for us. Instead of whining about Hollywood, Republicans should start producing.”

In Hollywood, Republicans claim stars such as Kelsey Grammer, Drew Carey, Bruce Willis, Tom Selleck, Bo Derek, Johnny Mathis, Dennis Miller and Shannen Doherty. Many more stay in the closet for fear of retribution, Peterkofsky says.

“Hollywood is a very insular community -- geographically and politically,” he said. “It only talks to itself. Though there’s a stigma to being a conservative here, I decided to market my minority status to the rest of the nation. They don’t care what people on Sunset Boulevard think and that liberates me.”

Political consultant Donna Bojarsky rejects the notion that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ascent to the State House has made the climate in Hollywood safer for those right of center.

“Democrats are Democrats because of their value system,” said Bojarsky, Clinton’s national entertainment liaison in 1992 and a consultant to stars such as Richard Dreyfuss. “That doesn’t change because the Terminator became governor.”

The rise of the 527s hasn’t precluded more traditional fundraising. This spring, investment banker Ron Burkle held a fundraiser for Sen. John F. Kerry at his Beverly Hills Greenacres estate attended by stars such as Sharon Stone, Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio. The maximum ticket went for $2,000, conforming to the McCain-Feingold regulations. The event raised $4 million -- a record for a Democratic fundraiser in a private home, Burkle was told. And in June, Barbra Streisand and James Brolin were among the couples paying $25,000 for a chance to dine with the Clintons at Greenacres, where the former first couple generally stays.

The previous week, a glitzy Disney Hall bash, at which Streisand, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Willie Nelson were featured, raised $5 million for Kerry. John Mellencamp, Mary J. Blige and, Whoopi Goldberg -- whose off-color anti-Bush remarks made headlines nationwide -- followed suit in a Radio City Music Hall Kerry fundraiser in July. No more such events are planned, because most of Kerry’s Hollywood supporters have exhausted the $25,000 limit on donations to the Democratic National Committee

“I’ve never seen the Democrats so united -- even under Clinton, whose appeal was like a rock star’s,” said Reiner, who introduced Kerry at events in San Jose and Anaheim. Singer Carole King, one of Kerry’s earliest supporters, is a staple on the campaign trail. And, on the grass-roots level, Jack Black performed in one of the “Concerts for Kerry” at the Knitting Factory in June and at a Kerry fundraiser at the Henry Fonda Theatre in July. Henry Winkler held a Writers for Kerry event at his Santa Monica home, at which Callie Khouri (“Thelma & Louise”) and Paul Attanasio (“Quiz Show”) were part of the host committee. Larry Kasdan (“The Big Chill”) and John Hamburg (“Along Came Polly”) were among those paying $300 a person to hear Kerry campaign strategist Bob Shrum.

“Instead of relying on a small group of wealthy liberals, we’ve had to broaden our base,” said Marge Tabankin, who oversees political contributions for Steven Spielberg and Streisand. “Because a David Geffen can no longer write a $250,000 check, we’re seeking more contributions in the $1,000-$2,000 range.”

Media conglomerates continue to hedge their bets, donating to both parties -- including the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which has a 50-50 split. Still, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, nearly two-thirds of the donations from the movie, television and music industries went into Democratic efforts. During this election cycle, Viacom and Time Warner have donated nearly three-fourths of their contributions to Democrats. Donations from News Corp. -- owned by conservative-leaning Rupert Murdoch -- are nearly 60% Democratic.

“Hollywood has been near to the top of the Democratic donor list, along with lawyers and organized labor,” said Andy Spahn, head of corporate affairs for DreamWorks SKG. “In the wake of McCain-Feingold -- which unintentionally increased the time needed to raise money -- we’re finding new and different ways to contribute.”

Celebrities such as Valerie Harper, Ed Asner, Esai Morales, Diane Ladd and “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin were among those training to be Kerry “surrogates” at the home of Daphna Ziman, who co-founded Artists for Kerry with former California first lady Sharon Davis. They listened to Roger Wolfson, former aide to the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), deliver tips on raising money and awareness -- particularly important in nonswing states such as California, where advertising and Kerry campaign appearances are limited, his supporters say.

Harper, who campaigned in four states for Clinton, says the push is more “democratic” this time around. Six hundred house parties, to which Kerry called in, were held nationwide on May 22, including 200 in California. Harper says she has spoken at most of the dozen she’s attended.

“I’m renting myself out,” said the actress. “I’m not good on the computer and I don’t bake, but I did play ‘Rhoda’ and I can use that. People say, ‘Oh , those Hollywood folks,’ but we never gave up our citizenship.” By choosing not to accept federal money in the primaries and caucuses, Kerry sidestepped spending limits -- raising a record amount in the private domain, National Deputy Political Director Lara Bergthold says. That nest egg gives him a leg up.

“Next to the most conservative president we’ve ever had, Ronald Reagan looks like a mild-mannered sweet man,” said Bergthold, Kerry’s official liaison with Hollywood. “The threat is so real, the consequences so great, everyone’s in rapid attack mode.”

“Until there’s public campaign financing, there’ll always be some way to raise money outside of the system. It took years and years to reform the current system and could take that long again. Until such time, we have to take advantage of whatever’s at our disposal.”