It looked like a staid group, all dark suits on the men and expensive dresses on the women, at the Fulfillment Fund Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Early on, people quietly mingled and sipped cocktails Spike Lee in one corner Don Cheadle another, huge Tony Robbins filling up a big section of turf; then all demurely took their seats in the glittering, capacity-filled ballroom. Revolution Studios head Tom Sherak calmly greeted the deep-pocketed assemblage, and dinner–sea bass and filet mignon–was served.
Then all hell broke loose! Chris Rock hit the stage and suddenly the vibe shifted big time. Rock, who “flew across the country” to be master of ceremonies at the gala honoring his buddy, Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, lost no time in ragging on the über producer.
“Brian Grazer has made some incredible movies–A Beautiful Mind, Eight Mile, Splash,'” Rock began. “He’s also made a few pieces of shit, like The Cowboy Way. Now he’s got The DaVinci Code coming up soon with Ron Howard; he’ll f**k up that book for sure!”
Rock didn’t stop there. Next, he dissed the Fulfillment Fund (the 28-year-old organization dedicated to mentoring underprivileged kids and helping send them through college), the thing that the whole night was about, along with the whole charity dinner circuit that’s in full swing in Hollywood right about now.
“Okay, so we’re here giving out money to sick kids. No, wait, they’re not sick? Oh, they’re going to college!” he cracked, “Oh, man, they can’t get as much cash as sick kids!”
Little did he know that the room really was filled with incredibly wealthy people (just like he is, of course), who were moved by speeches from Fund founder Dr. Gary Gitnick, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and a number of young adults who have thrived under the guidance of the educational charity. For when Tom Sherak hit the stage along with Sinbad to run the live auction, the crowd opened their pockets big time.
Tony Roberts forked over $30,000 for two tickets to the World Series, NBA Finals, and Super Bowl, while long-time Fund supporter Mary Ellen Davis threw out $100,000 to buy the just-raffled-off Volkswagen convertible from winner Ruth Bloom. The money flew fast and furious; by the time a bearded Ron Howard took the stage to introduce a slightly nervous Brian Grazer, over $2 million had been amassed for the worthy cause, with hefty contributions coming in from Hollywood bigshots like Brad Grey, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ron Meyer, and Rob Moore.
“I find it a mindbender to try and explain Brian Grazer,” Howard said of his long-time moviemaking partner. “He’s an original, a guy that they broke the mold after making.”
No doubt, since there aren’t many Hollywood “A” list producers who would admit to a large crowd like Grazer did that he “needed a bunch of beta blockers” in order to get through his thank-you speech.
And that’s the difference between a Hollywood producer and a Hollywood actor/comedian. It was no problem for Chris Rock to bound back onto the stage when the night was just about over, to crack just one more joke.
“Take care, god bless, and stay off the pipe!” he laughed.
