Andrew
10-27-2003, 04:10 PM
L.A. opening galas -- come on, be happy Disney Concert Hall venue of rich, famous (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/10/27/MNGQ72JSS61.DTL) - SFGate, 10/27/03
Leah Garchik, Chronicle Columnist
Despite a handful of standard-issue, down-with-the-rich protesters that showed up on Thursday, and despite the San Bernardino forest fire that cloaked the mountain vista in smoke and ash particles, in downtown Los Angeles it was a weekend to forget your troubles, come on, get happy. Gray Davis was there and so was Liza Minnelli. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't make it.
At Saturday night's Soundstage L.A., hosted by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the Los Angeles Philharmonic played music written for movies, an art form in which real life, random and fleeting, is captured forever on film. The theme was echoed in many ways: Gehry's exteriors, billowing in the wind, are steel; the look of wildflowers on upholstered seats in the hall was created by computers programmed to make random assignments of three-colored patterns; music-lovers reveling in the moment pulled sleek high-tech cameras from their tuxedo pockets to make snapshot souvenirs of themselves on the red carpet.
Even the orchestra's musicians, the real stars of the show, stood outside watching the arrivals, before they were called backstage for final tune-ups. A sprinkling of political and cinematic celebrities trotted down the red carpet with practiced ease: Arianna Huffington, her arm draped maternally around her daughter's waist, former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, Ron Silver, Michael York, Rene Russo, Dana Delany, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Josh Groban, who sang in the program. The Bay Area contingent included major supporters Jean and Michael Strunsky, and Timothy and Athena Blackburn, Richard and Pam Kramlich, Doris and Don Fisher, Allison Speer, Brent Assink and John and Marcia Goldman.
Leah Garchik, Chronicle Columnist
Despite a handful of standard-issue, down-with-the-rich protesters that showed up on Thursday, and despite the San Bernardino forest fire that cloaked the mountain vista in smoke and ash particles, in downtown Los Angeles it was a weekend to forget your troubles, come on, get happy. Gray Davis was there and so was Liza Minnelli. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't make it.
At Saturday night's Soundstage L.A., hosted by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the Los Angeles Philharmonic played music written for movies, an art form in which real life, random and fleeting, is captured forever on film. The theme was echoed in many ways: Gehry's exteriors, billowing in the wind, are steel; the look of wildflowers on upholstered seats in the hall was created by computers programmed to make random assignments of three-colored patterns; music-lovers reveling in the moment pulled sleek high-tech cameras from their tuxedo pockets to make snapshot souvenirs of themselves on the red carpet.
Even the orchestra's musicians, the real stars of the show, stood outside watching the arrivals, before they were called backstage for final tune-ups. A sprinkling of political and cinematic celebrities trotted down the red carpet with practiced ease: Arianna Huffington, her arm draped maternally around her daughter's waist, former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, Ron Silver, Michael York, Rene Russo, Dana Delany, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Josh Groban, who sang in the program. The Bay Area contingent included major supporters Jean and Michael Strunsky, and Timothy and Athena Blackburn, Richard and Pam Kramlich, Doris and Don Fisher, Allison Speer, Brent Assink and John and Marcia Goldman.