Although vengeful vigilante Frank Castle is one of Marvel's perennial popular characters, he is far from the household name that, say, Peter Parker is. So it was somewhat surprising that Lions Gate didn't borrow a page from Sony/Revolution's HELLBOY playbook and put in some extra production effort for the April 12 Hollywood premiere of Jonathan Hensleigh's big screen take of THE PUNISHER. There were no costumed extras or such in the vicinity of either the Cinerama Dome or the adjoining ArcLight Cinemas; the only added bit of flair was the familiar Punisher skull plastered on one of the walls.

As it turned out, the studio saved its big guns for the afterparty, which took place a half-block north of the Dome at the SoHo Project. The venue alone fit the down-and-dirty feel of the film and character, as this hipster club is, in fact, an abandoned warehouse separated into four sections, each with plenty of empty space for Frank Castle to store vehicles and weapons. The employees manning the bars and (in an amusing reference to a scene in the film) popsicle stand all wore black T-shirts bearing that familiar white skull; and there were kiosks where guests could play the first two levels of the as-yet-unfinished tie-in Xbox game, due out in the fall from THQ. Although the control functions on the game were a bit too complex to master quickly, the fittingly brutal and bloody game was nonetheless a hit--and how could it no be, when at one juncture, Frank can dispose of a baddie by tossing him into a woodchipper?

The main attraction, of course, was the celebrity contingent, most of whom congregated in the same northwest section of the building, making for curiously open space in the other three. Of course, Frank Castle's real-life alter ego, the newly-rechristened "Tom" Jane (accompanied by Patricia Arquette), was a popular attraction, and he graciously returned the compliments by posing for pictures and signing autographs for any well-wishers. However, the breakthrough star of the film couldn't quite match the drawing power of the enduring screen icon in the house: John Travolta, who plays the villainous Howard Saint in the film. For such a big name, Travolta--not to mention his wife Kelly Preston, who was also on hand to lend her support--has always been unusually receptive and accommodating to his public, and his behavior at this event was no exception; there was constantly a line of guests waiting for a photo op with him, and he (and Preston, for that matter) gladly fulfilled about every request until they took their fairly early leave, at around 11pm.

Others associated with the film hung around a bit longer. Writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh appeared to be the only talent clearly assigned a seating area (not in that northwest section, as it happens), but whenever spotted he was not sitting at his table but making rounds among the guests. Also often seen in similar mingle mode was Samantha Mathis, who plays Frank's ill-fated wife Maria; and the film's producer, ever-affable Marvel president Avi Arad (who also sported one of those skull shirts). Ben Foster, who plays the body-pierced Dave, did some token rounds in the default celebrity room before stationing himself in a more laid-back outdoor area. Laura Harring (who plays Saint's wife Livia) spent most of the evening quietly lounging at a sofa in a corner directly opposite to the perpetually busy Jane/Travolta area, but whenever she was on her feet, the stunning bombshell sent heads turning, particularly when she took a few dance steps on her way out the door--a very special treat for me, being a fan of Ms. Harring since her big screen debut in (yes) THE FORBIDDEN DANCE. On hand for the pre-screening red carpet run but nowhere to be found at the post-film festivities was Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, who plays Frank's neighbor Joan; no doubt her absence could be attributed the announcement made earlier in the day that she was splitting with her husband.

Special thanks to Corey Scholibo at IDPR and Melissa Holloway at Lions Gate Films.

A fairly straight shot west down Sunset Boulevard from THE PUNISHER festivities, a very different event for another action-packed film took place on April 12: Miramax Home Entertainment's launch party for the DVD of Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL VOL. 1, located at none other than the world-famous Playboy Mansion.

Cynics (namely, female cynics) may wonder what exactly is the big deal with the Mansion since, despite the presence of scantily-clad young female residents, it is, in the end, just that--a house. But any snarky thoughts diminishing the legend of the House That Hef Built went straight out the window on the shuttle ride from the UCLA parking structure 3 through the narrow roads of the posh Holmby Hills neighborhood. Along the winding, greenery-lined driveway awaiting behind the residence gates were those familiar yellow, diamond-shaped caution signs--but bearing the very unfamiliar statement "Playmates at Play," giving this slow-moving, uphill ride to the impressive manse a bit of a naughty Disneyland feel.

In fact, the theme park analogy is rather apt, particularly in reference to this event. If someone at Disney comes up with the bright idea (no sarcasm implied) of trying to jumpstart its faltering California Adventure resort by opening a MiramaxLand area, it would quite probably resemble the grounds of the mansion that night. Miramax spared no expense in converting Hugh Hefner's backyard into a Tarantino Fantasyland, as the first thing one saw upon entrance was a bar/drinking set-up done up like a mini-Japanese teahouse.

Since Hef's grounds are so expansive, there was another bar serving the other side of the yard, where one was served by none other than the Crazy 88's. If that weren't enough, the roaming waitresses serving hors d'oeuvres were done up in Elle Driver's Psycho Nurse get-up. The biggest hit of all, though, was the young lady designated to fill the shoes of the absent Uma Thurman. It's doubtful anyone particularly noticed or cared about the genuine article's absence, for the stand-in more than adequately did her job, not only wearing a facsimile of the famous yellow tracksuit, but wearing one that was literally painted onto her body.

Appropriately enough, the primary food of the night was sushi (tuna, halibut and California Roll--alas, no salmon, much to my chagrin), but the affair lost some theming points with its Caucasian sushi chef--after all, with all the other servers in some form of costume, would it have been too hard to get a more faithful Hattori Hanzo stand-in? However, that slight misstep was more than compensated for by the evening's pièce de résistance: a cake that was an astonishing replica of the Pussy Wagon.

But what would a DVD party be without the actual DVD playing someplace, and behind the female DJ's turntable station was a large screen on which the film was shown on loop.

The continuous DVD showings made for one of the highlights of the night, when Vivica A. Fox rather intently watched her segment of the film. It was quite a meta experience to witness Fox cheer herself on as during Vernita Green's memorable living room brawl with the Bride--and then let out a huge sigh/groan when the Bride finally finishes her off in the kitchen. Alas, Julie Dreyfus wasn't viewing the screen when the Bride sliced off Sofie Fatale's arm in the House of Blue Leaves sequence. She was otherwise engaged mingling with the crowd, graciously engaging in conversation with anyone who approached her. I appeared to touch a nerve when I expressed my disappointment in Sofie's absence from VOL. 2; apparently she shares the same feeling and isn't all too keen on waiting another ten or so years for Tarantino to make his proposed follow-up film, which would feature Sofie and Vernita's vengeful grown-up daughter. In the meantime, the French-born Dreyfus--a television celebrity in Japan--is going to stay in Hollywood and pursue opportunities here. As for the future plans of the only other KILL BILL actor in attendance, David Carradine--that's anybody's guess, as he rather curtly declined to pose for pictures or exchange more than one word with anyone who wasn't a somebody.

Not that the "somebodies" in attendance were major A-List players. The recognizable faces ranged from comedians (D.L. Hughley, Paul Rodriguez, Tom Arnold) to a talk show host/reality show icon (Sharon Osbourne) to talented-but-underappreciated actors (Leelee Sobieski, BABY BOY's Taraji P. Henson, SOUL FOOD stars Malinda Williams and Rockmond Dunbar) to C-Listers on the Make (Antonio Sabato Jr., Pauly Shore). Sabato made for an interesting case study as he spent the early stages of the party standing by a tree, as if waiting for admires to approach him; after an hour of undoubtedly being recognized yet going largely undisturbed, he was spotted making the gladhanding rounds on the grounds.

Luckily, the study of the schmoozing game wasn't the only form of entertainment to occupy guests while waiting for the arrival of Tarantino. Hef, looking very healthy and spry for any age standards, did nothing to diminish his larger-than-life aura for this evening at home. Bedecked in that trademark bathrobe and constantly surrounded by his eight (or was it nine?) girlfriends and flanked by two personal security guards, the man exuded awe-inspiring power and cool.

While Hefner and his entourage were sights to behold, he left the lion's share--make that "bunny's share"--of entertainment to his Playmates. In a column last year, our dear editor-in-chief Chris Ryall bemoaned how there was never any of the expected debauchery on display the couple of times he was at the Mansion. Such was not the case at this event. The fine print on the invitation read "Swimsuits are not allowed, however, swimming in the Playboy Mansion grotto is allowed," and a number of Playmates led the way by taking a dip in the water for all the guests to watch and photograph their makeout (and more) sessions. After a couple of hours of undisturbed play, a couple of male guests took that fine print to heart and joined the ladies. Needless to say, with the guys in the picture, enthusiasm soon died, and it wasn't too long before the women dried off. Picking up the nudity slack, however, was the DJ, who spent the latter part of the evening spinning records without her top.

As for the guest of honor, Tarantino showed up rather unfashionably late, with only about an hour left to go in the allotted party time; the Playmates had long left their aquatic playground, and about half of the crowd was already gone. Of course, among those who had stuck around were the VOL. 1 cast members--though I think they had little choice in the matter, considering the requisite group photo ops with Tarantino was more or less the event's whole reason for being.

Special thanks to Lawrence Bender and Jeff Swafford at A Band Apart.

On the evening of May 2, late into the nearly four-hour music and dance extravaganza known as BREATHLESS, the spectacle came to a spontaneous halt when Deputy Mayor Carmel Sella came onto the Los Angeles Sports Arena stage and presented the event headliners, Indian film superstars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, official commendation certificates from the City of Los Angeles for support and advancements of the cultural arts. This was truly a landmark moment; after all, for years similar tours featuring Hindi cinema stars recreating their most memorable musical moments have passed through North America without so much as a word of mainstream recognition. To go from not even a blip on the general-interest radar to official civic validation was further confirmation that the much-buzzed-about crossover between the worlds of Hollywood and Bollywood is, indeed, in full swing.

The figure at the forefront of the movement is Rai. Bollywood's reigning queen was recently named one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" by TIME magazine, and this fall's eagerly awaited Miramax release BRIDE AND PREJUDICE--an English-language, Bollywood-style musical adaptation of Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, from BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM director Gurinder Chadha--is but the first in a number of Hollywood projects lined up for the stunning former Miss World. If her performance and audience reaction at the BREATHLESS concert is any indication, she has more than a good shot at making her one-time pageant title applicable to the realm of movies. It goes without saying that her spirited dance numbers--including dazzling, spot-on recreations of two key scenes from her international breakthrough, the 2002 hit DEVDAS--didn't give the audience a taste of her award-winning acting chops, but her beauty, grace, precision and presence came out in full force. Nothing transcends language, geographic and cultural barriers like pure star quality. As genuinely exciting as her BREATHLESS performances were, there was a certain bittersweet air to Rai's entire involvement, as it had the feeling of a farewell/graduation tour before she moves on to bigger things.

Should Rai conquer the West, Hollywood will no doubt look East for more talent, and the natural next choice would be heartthrob Roshan. His reputation as "the Brad Pitt of Bollywood" is rather deserved, for his famously pumped-up physique and pin-up-ready looks hide a generally underrated acting talent. What has never been questioned, however, is his charisma and amazing dancing ability, which was well-exploited in Breathless (as was, rather shamelessly so, his body; one number ended with him slowly peeling off his shirt). Roshan received some due as an actor this past year by collecting a number of awards for his commendable performance as a mentally-challenged young man in the blockbuster (but overall rather jaw-droppingly awful, if you ask me) E.T./CLOSE ENCOUNTERS/FORREST GUMP ripoff KOI... MIL GAYA (I Found... Someone), and so BREATHLESS featured a number of nods to that film, from recreated musical numbers and--rather embarrassingly--a bizarre skit where an in-character Roshan travels to an alien planet and defeats an invading race with his nifty dance moves. Upon reflection, I revise my statement in the last paragraph: nothing transcends language, geographic and cultural barriers like star quality... and bad movies.

The BREATHLESS show was not just a showcase for those two popular stars. Also on hand were two hot up-and-comers in the Bolly-world, sultry ex-beauty queens Lara Dutta (Miss Universe 2000) and Celina Jaitley (Miss India 2001), who strutted their considerable stuff in some steamy numbers from their recent films; popular singer Shaan, who ebulliently performed medleys of his greatest movie hits; and actor Fardeen Khan, who proved to be a tagalong in more ways than one. Khan is one of those film stars whose career and popularity never quite took off like they were once expected to, and so from the get-go his involvement bore some whiff of coattail-riding (not helping matters is the fact that Roshan is married to his cousin). As fate would have it, he broke his foot during the pre-tour rehearsals, thus preventing him from actually performing in the show; however, that still didn't prevent him from tagging along, and so he was dragged onstage to engage in some rather forced Q&A with the teenyboppers in the audience. It was all rather awkward and more than a little tedious, but it did make for one of the more amusing moments of the night, however unintentional. In response to one young female's marriage proposal (yes, this was the fangirl-y line of questioning to be endured), Khan deadpanned that he had a huge dowry. The young woman's reply? "But you're worthl--uh, priceless." Such inadvertent, Freudian slip hilarity was enough to leave one breathless.

Special thanks to Super Entertainment Inc.

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