Wednesday, February 16, 2005
FEB15 EVENT REVIEW: NATL LAMPOON'S "BLACKBALL" DVD RELEASE PARTY
by Don Rose
(Hollywood Hills: Feb. 15, 2005) Yes, there is a cool new DVD debuting this week that co-stars Vince Vaughn. Yes, it has "Ball" in the title. But forget Dodgeball, this is National Lampoon's Blackball, a tale that feels like the love child of "Caddyshack" and "Happy Gilmore", with an English accent:
Synopsis: The realm of popular spectator sports includes football, rugby, tennis, golf, and -- lawn bowls? In Torquay, a city on "The English Riviera," this game for geriatrics and pensioners is taken very seriously -- especially by reigning champ Ray Speight. Conservative and stuffy, he's been Torquay's hero for 20+ years, but now his title is threatened. Young Cliff Starkey dares to go up against him; his sexy bad-boy persona attracts a flashy American agent (Vaughn) and an army of female fans. Cliff is a fresh new sex symbol -- turning Lawn Bowls into the biggest spectator sport in England! And Cliff's biggest fan is his new girlfriend Kerry -- who is, yes, Ray's daughter.
To celebrate the DVD's release, NL threw a party at the magnificent mansion that the head of the comedy franchise calls home. Guests were treated to hip DJ tunes as well as tasty sandwiches, delish cookies (they covered all bases: choc chip, choc choc chip, white choc chip), and plentiful drinks (providing guests many choices, including lots of my fave, IZZE drinks -- with creative juice flavors like Clementine! -- and many bottles of beer to consume -- remember, this is the company that made Animal House, so beer is practically a requirement). The event started pleasantly mellow but built steadily in energy and size until dozens were dancing and the mingling and munching morphed into multiple modes of merriment, including overheard jokes, laughs, flirting, piano playing (yours truly) -- in short, what you'd expect a Lampoon shindig to be like (and no, Animal fanatics, no beer bottles were thrown through the window -- this was a REAL house we were at, people!).
The crowd was cool, friendly, and diverse. I got a kick out of meeting stars from Survivor who exchanged war stories with two stars from Average Joe -- Joe (yes, his real name), a man who really is not that average given his dynamite demeanor (one of the original contestants, he says he is "a rock star when you get out of LA" -- folks once waited hours in the rain for Joe's signature)... and Dennis, who actually works for NL, and does not look like the nerdy picture on his card -- he looks nerdier. But all seriousness aside, he is charming, very charming. A perky personality, like many of those in attendance.
And in the midst of it all, mingling up a storm, arriving in grand style in hot car pulled right up to the party's entrance, was Kato Kaelin. One of Lampoon's stars, KK is currently filming his TV show Eye for an Eye; word is "Eye" will air Mon-Fri starting in September, on either KCAL or KTLA here in L.A. The K-man was in town for one day to shoot a part in an HBO film, yet STILL made it to the DVD bash. (But hey, this WAS the hot party of the night!)
Ed.note: I recently performed the voice of OJ on a comedy radio show, "commenting" on the Scott Peterson trial -- and thankfully got Kato's seal of approval -- but I wonder if some of the young beauties at this soiree even recall that circus of justice, now that THREE new "Trials of the Century" are going on here in the City of Fallen Angels. Guess I better get my Robert Blake, Phil Spector and MJ impressions down soon, or I will be out of jurisprudence jocularity...
Other notables in attendance: Blackball co-star James Cromwell, looking tall (well, he is) and extremely at ease, very friendly (he plays the upper crust establishment TedKnight-ish character being challenged by the upstart Starkey)... one of my favorite comediennes, Judy Tenuta... an exec from Fox (no Paris in tow, darn)... several higherups from Lampoon, including the cool CEO/partyhost... celeb photog extraordinaire Ken Sax... and, ascending actress Phoebe Price, a striking redhead (not on strike -- I mean good looking) who has no less than FOUR films slated to come out this year (including, I am told, a tale that revolves around that everpresent part of many LA parties, the Gift Bag).
Speaking of gifts, this NL party had that too: there were free Tshirts (NOT all XL, good job!) and posters of Blackball to take home on the way out. But many simply did not want to leave; although the music was off by midnight, revelers kept schmoozing and flirting and exchanging numbers and, well, hey, for many this wasn't just a fun Hollywood party, it was a nice substitute for a so-so Valentine's Day the day before. Beautiful night, beautiful girls, dapper dudes, reality stars, fiction stars, giveaways, grub, libations galore -- hard to top all that at this strong candidate for TRR "Party of the Week". And it's not even Hump Day yet.
Special thanks to BWR PR, and their dynamic duo Neal Cohen and Henry Eshelman (one of the event's excellent DJ's) , for putting on a bang-up Blackball bash.
And, in case you were wondering... yes, I have left the party.
I wanted to keep the English vibe going, but Denny's doesn't serve Bangers and Mash...
(Hollywood Hills: Feb. 15, 2005) Yes, there is a cool new DVD debuting this week that co-stars Vince Vaughn. Yes, it has "Ball" in the title. But forget Dodgeball, this is National Lampoon's Blackball, a tale that feels like the love child of "Caddyshack" and "Happy Gilmore", with an English accent:
Synopsis: The realm of popular spectator sports includes football, rugby, tennis, golf, and -- lawn bowls? In Torquay, a city on "The English Riviera," this game for geriatrics and pensioners is taken very seriously -- especially by reigning champ Ray Speight. Conservative and stuffy, he's been Torquay's hero for 20+ years, but now his title is threatened. Young Cliff Starkey dares to go up against him; his sexy bad-boy persona attracts a flashy American agent (Vaughn) and an army of female fans. Cliff is a fresh new sex symbol -- turning Lawn Bowls into the biggest spectator sport in England! And Cliff's biggest fan is his new girlfriend Kerry -- who is, yes, Ray's daughter.
To celebrate the DVD's release, NL threw a party at the magnificent mansion that the head of the comedy franchise calls home. Guests were treated to hip DJ tunes as well as tasty sandwiches, delish cookies (they covered all bases: choc chip, choc choc chip, white choc chip), and plentiful drinks (providing guests many choices, including lots of my fave, IZZE drinks -- with creative juice flavors like Clementine! -- and many bottles of beer to consume -- remember, this is the company that made Animal House, so beer is practically a requirement). The event started pleasantly mellow but built steadily in energy and size until dozens were dancing and the mingling and munching morphed into multiple modes of merriment, including overheard jokes, laughs, flirting, piano playing (yours truly) -- in short, what you'd expect a Lampoon shindig to be like (and no, Animal fanatics, no beer bottles were thrown through the window -- this was a REAL house we were at, people!).
The crowd was cool, friendly, and diverse. I got a kick out of meeting stars from Survivor who exchanged war stories with two stars from Average Joe -- Joe (yes, his real name), a man who really is not that average given his dynamite demeanor (one of the original contestants, he says he is "a rock star when you get out of LA" -- folks once waited hours in the rain for Joe's signature)... and Dennis, who actually works for NL, and does not look like the nerdy picture on his card -- he looks nerdier. But all seriousness aside, he is charming, very charming. A perky personality, like many of those in attendance.
And in the midst of it all, mingling up a storm, arriving in grand style in hot car pulled right up to the party's entrance, was Kato Kaelin. One of Lampoon's stars, KK is currently filming his TV show Eye for an Eye; word is "Eye" will air Mon-Fri starting in September, on either KCAL or KTLA here in L.A. The K-man was in town for one day to shoot a part in an HBO film, yet STILL made it to the DVD bash. (But hey, this WAS the hot party of the night!)
Ed.note: I recently performed the voice of OJ on a comedy radio show, "commenting" on the Scott Peterson trial -- and thankfully got Kato's seal of approval -- but I wonder if some of the young beauties at this soiree even recall that circus of justice, now that THREE new "Trials of the Century" are going on here in the City of Fallen Angels. Guess I better get my Robert Blake, Phil Spector and MJ impressions down soon, or I will be out of jurisprudence jocularity...
Other notables in attendance: Blackball co-star James Cromwell, looking tall (well, he is) and extremely at ease, very friendly (he plays the upper crust establishment TedKnight-ish character being challenged by the upstart Starkey)... one of my favorite comediennes, Judy Tenuta... an exec from Fox (no Paris in tow, darn)... several higherups from Lampoon, including the cool CEO/partyhost... celeb photog extraordinaire Ken Sax... and, ascending actress Phoebe Price, a striking redhead (not on strike -- I mean good looking) who has no less than FOUR films slated to come out this year (including, I am told, a tale that revolves around that everpresent part of many LA parties, the Gift Bag).
Speaking of gifts, this NL party had that too: there were free Tshirts (NOT all XL, good job!) and posters of Blackball to take home on the way out. But many simply did not want to leave; although the music was off by midnight, revelers kept schmoozing and flirting and exchanging numbers and, well, hey, for many this wasn't just a fun Hollywood party, it was a nice substitute for a so-so Valentine's Day the day before. Beautiful night, beautiful girls, dapper dudes, reality stars, fiction stars, giveaways, grub, libations galore -- hard to top all that at this strong candidate for TRR "Party of the Week". And it's not even Hump Day yet.
Special thanks to BWR PR, and their dynamic duo Neal Cohen and Henry Eshelman (one of the event's excellent DJ's) , for putting on a bang-up Blackball bash.
And, in case you were wondering... yes, I have left the party.
I wanted to keep the English vibe going, but Denny's doesn't serve Bangers and Mash...
