Barack Obama found himself surrounded by Hollywood stars at a Los Angeles fundraiser on Tuesday that raised $4 million to more than $5 million for Democrats and the Illinois senator’s presidential campaign, according to a press pool report and the Los Angeles Times.

Obama told the crowd he knew his long campaign against former Democrat presidential rival Hillary Clinton “caused some heartburn and some frustration.” But he added, “we were allies then and we’re allies now.”

Clinton had enjoyed strong support in Los Angeles and among Hollywood’s stars, who first warmed to her when her husband Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992.  But many in her camp are now joining the Obama bandwagon in a sign of party unity against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.

Obama spoke to an audience that included actors Samuel L. Jackson, Dennis Quaid and Don Cheadle, as well as Sherry Lansing, the former CEO of Paramount Pictures. British-born singer Seal performed his ballad “Kiss from a Rose” and the Sam Cooke soul classic “A Change is Gonna Come,” an apparent reference to Obama’s campaign theme of change.

Seal was introduced by Quaid, who told the crowd: “He’s here tonight to sing for the superman for everyone — Barack Obama.” Rapper Will.i.am of the group the Black Eyed Peas and retired boxer “Sugar” Ray Leonard also were in attendance.

The event was held amid glass chandeliers at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, a performance venue that in years past hosted the Oscars.

Money raised at the fundraiser will be split between the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Tickets to the reception cost $2,300 per person, and VIP tickets cost $28,500 per couple, which allowed those VIPs to attend a dinner with Obama.

Caught up in the mortgage crisis and looking for a helping hand? “Hancock” could come to your rescue. 

Columbia Pictures, the Hollywood studio behind upcoming action movie “Hancock,” is holding a contest to pay off the mortgage debt of one family — taking its cue from the flawed but good-hearted superhero played by Will Smith in the movie.

The studio will pay up to $360,000 of mortgage debt for the family that wins a 200-word essay contest explaining why they deserve the grand prize.

It’s a pretty slick publicity stunt by a Hollywood studio which, for a big-budget film like “Hancock,” will spend tens of millions of dollars on marketing. The amount is not small, especially if you’re a family up to you’re neck in mortgage debt and unable to pay it off. But for a multi-million dollar marketing campaign, $360,000 is a relatively cheap deal if it draws a lot of attention to the movie.

The promotion does seem appropriate to the film. In “Hancock,” Smith plays an angry, drunken superhero with a serious case of self-loathing, but for reasons unknown to him he can’t stop himself from tossing crooks in jail. His bad attitude seems to cause more harm than good and most everyone in his hometown of Los Angeles seems to hate him. Hancock is in serious need of an image makeover when he meets up with a savvy public relations man played by Jason Bateman who, himself, is looking to do some good in the world.   

Columbia’s contest, called Hancock’s Helping Hand Mortgage payoff, begins immediately and runs through July 6. “Hancock” opens on July 2. Good luck.

Action star Sylvester Stallone will make a cameo appearance in a Bollywood movie, but movie fans hoping Sly would share the screen with action hero-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will have to keep waiting. And maybe for a long time.

Aaron McLean, Schwarzenegger’s spokesman in the California governor’s office, dismissed recent media reports that the “Terminator” star will appear in the Bollywood movie “Incredible Love.”

“He is not involved in that picture,” McLean said.

But Stallone, star of the “Rocky” and “Rambo” films, will make an appearance in “Incredible Love,” which will be shot at Universal Studios in Los Angeles.

“I will confirm that Mr. Stallone is doing a cameo,” said his spokeswoman Michelle Bega. 

“Incredible Love” is the story of an Indian stuntman in Hollywood, and it features Bollywood star Akshay Kumar. The New York Daily News reports the movie’s $21 million budget will be the most spent on any Bollywood picture.

Stallone, 61, and Schwarzenegger, 60, have never starred together on screen, but in 2002 they performed voice work for animated series “Liberty’s Kids: Est. 1776,” about the American revolution. Stallone played Paul Revere and Schwarzenegger had the role of Baron von Steuben.  

Rapper Snoop Dogg is known for his rapid-fire description of urban life’s brutalities, but his new music video is a crossover into country music and something of an ode to “My Medicine” with the help of singer Willie Nelson. 

The 37-year-old rapper wears a cowboy hat, strums a guitar and opens the video, posted on his Web site this week, with a dedication to the late Johnny Cash, by calling him “a real American gangster.”

Country icon Nelson, 75, joins Snoop Dogg in the video, and is shown leaning into a microphone and singing, between shots of Snoop Dogg running through a forest and swinging a guitar.

What’s the inspiration that unites these two music artists separated by age and music category? Medicine. Or, as the song is called “My Medicine.”

Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson’s medicine is all but spelled out in their history and when the rapper sings the lyric, “You say you can’t buy me love, but you damn sure can buy me bud.” And on that theme, part of the video is filmed in Amsterdam.

Snoog Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr., has built a reputation around his love of marijuana, and he has faced a string of arrests related to possession of the drug. In 2006, Burbank police nabbed him after a performance on NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and said they found marijuana in his car. Nelson, too, has been popped by the police for marijuana possession and has supported its legalization.

It’s rare when two big-budget comedies with big-name stars battle for the same audience on the same weekend at movie theaters. The general rule is that one big comedy is enough. But this Friday, “Get Smart” with Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway squares off against “The Love Guru” with Mike Myers and Jessica Alba.

But the big problem for both may not be that there are too few comedy fans to go around. Rather, it may be that both are getting panned by many critics. Reviews are mixed for “Get Smart,” but mostly bad for “Love Guru.”

“Two film comedies go head-to-head this weekend, ‘Love Guru’ and ‘Get Smart,’ which is anything but smart on the studios’ part,” the Hollywood Reporter wrote.

“But the real question is, which is the worst?,” the review continues. “Quite possibly, ‘Love Guru’ will out-awful ‘Get Smart.’

On the Web site www.Rottentomatoes.com, which collects and scores reviews, “Get Smart,” which is based on the 1960s TV show that spoofs spy movies like the James Bond flicks, had a rating hovering around 55 percent by Thursday. “Love Guru,” with Myers in the role of an Indian sage, limped away from the critical scoring with a rating in the 10-percent range.

Another film review web site, www.Metacritic.com, also put “Get Smart” in 50-percent territory, while “Love Guru” had half that.

The reviews don’t bode well for comedy or movie fans, in general. Then again, the mostly young audiences that both films target rarely are influenced by film criticism. They want to see the stars, and both Carell and Myers have legions of fans.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

Can’t get enough Hollywood gossip? Don’t have time to sign on to the Web? Never fear, the Queen of All Media is here!

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, the self-styled “Queen of All Media,” has unveiled a new subscription phone service, starting Wednesday, that will call people with recorded news flashes of the latest celebrity gossip from Hilton.

Fans who sign up for “Gossip on the Go” at www.perezhilton.com will receive at least 8 calls a month for $4.99 a month. His partner in the service is the company Entertainment Mobile. 

Hilton’s blog has been around since 2004, and it claims to be read by as many as 10 million people monthly. Recently, Hilton has been expanding his activities beyond simply blogging, and this month he launched his own clothing line. Hilton’s real name is Mario Lavandeira.

Joan Rivers is not quite eating crow, but profanities she let fly about actor Russell Crowe got the comedienne kicked off a British talk show.

Rivers, 75, was making a guest appearance on “Loose Women” when the Hollywood interviewer was asked if she likes meeting celebrities on the red carpet. She responded that she likes “nice” celebrities, but that Crowe is not one of those.

She then said “get ready to bleep this,” and let loose with two expletives in reference to the Oscar-winning movie star whose films include “Gladiator” and “American Gangster.” The comedienne, who is famous for the catch phrase “can we talk?”, was asked to leave the chat show at the commercial break.

But it’s not like Joan was overly contrite. In a statement released through her spokeswoman, Rivers joked about the incident. “In England you can’t swear on TV before 9 p.m.,” Rivers said. “Like it’s my fault — I’m still on New York time.”

Another zinger: “The whole incident reminded me of my wedding night because I was to asked to leave in the middle.”

Rivers did not know that the show was live with no capability of bleeping her choice words about Crowe, said her spokeswoman.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

 The two movie versions of Marvel comic book character the Incredible Hulk can never truly battle on the streets, but at movie box offices and on the film review pages, the latest green giant in “The Incredible Hulk” is being compared to his 2003 predecessor in 2003’s “The Hulk.”

The critics are not universally pleased with “The Incredible Hulk,” directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Edward Norton. It opened on Friday and captured the No. 1 position at box offices with $55 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales. Then again, critics also had mixed praise for its predecessor, directed by Ang Lee and starring Eric Bana. Some reviewers described it as an art-house treatment of a superhero comic but opened to $62 million on its debut weekend.

The latest “Incredible Hulk” movie has a slight edge among critics. Yahoo! movies gave the film, starring Edward Norton, a “B-” rating among reviewers, and a “B+” from Yahoo! users. That compares to a “B-” and a “C” respectively for the 2003 movie.

The Web site Moviesmackdown.com compares the two films and finds that “The Incredible Hulk” comes out on top. The movie is “simple but deep it its own instinctual way,” reviewer Beau DeMayo wrote on the site. The 2003 “Hulk” gets “lost in its own murky head,” DeMayo wrote.

After a strong opening, the 2003 “Hulk” saw its box office figure drop quickly as fans moved on to other films. It ended its run in domestic theaters with a little more than $130 million. One question Hollywood box office watchers were asking on Monday was whether that same fate would dampen the long-run prospects for “The Incredible Hulk.” But with good reviews and positive buzz following its debut, ”Incredible Hulk” would seem destined for “hit” status.

If you got an opinion on which you liked better, post a comment. We’d like to hear from our readers.

Media mogul and talk show host Oprah Winfrey had gifts for Stanford University’s graduates when she spoke at their commencement on Sunday – but they didn’t include new cars.
    
“I really wanted to give you cars  . . .  just couldn’t pull that off,” said Winfrey. Instead, the roughly 2,600 grads in attendance got two books: Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future” and Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.”

In, September 2004, Winfrey made headlines and stunned 276 audience members of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” with gifts of Pontiac G6 sports cars donated by General Motors. 
    
O.K., so self-help books aren’t as great as a car — especially for grads. They just finished at least four years of study. More for graduate students. But as far as gifts go, they are less likely to get you in trouble with the tax man.
    
Winfrey delivered the prestigious university’s commencement address on Sunday and was among friends. Her goddaughter Kirby Bumpus, daughter of her Oprah’s BFF Gayle King, was among the graduates.
    
Winfrey in June topped Forbes Celebrity 100 Power list after earning $275 million in the past year. And for the longest time, she was not a college grad.
    
Winfrey, speaking on Father’s Day in the United States, said her dad never let her forget that she was one credit short of a college diploma. Even after she had her own TV show, she remembered him saying, “Oprah Gail, I don’t know what you’re going to do without that degree.”
    
In 1987, when she was asked to speak during Commencement at her alma mater, Tennessee State University, she finished her course work, turned in her final paper, and earned her degree.
    
“I know if anything happens that one credit will be my salvation,” she said.

(Reporting by Clare Baldwin)

It’s all over between actors Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, who finalized their divorce this week with court documents filed in Los Angeles.

People magazine reported online that documents filed on Thursday show the couple, who separated back in 2006, had reached an agreement on finances and custody of their two children, after seven years of marriage.

The Louisianna-born Witherspoon, 32, starred in the movies “Legally Blond” and “Rendition.” Witherspoon took tea in Tokyo this week at an event for breast cancer survivors, as she wore a kimono and chatted with her Japanese hosts.

Witherspoon is dabbling in producing and has reportedly been dating actor Jake Gyllenhaal, while Phillippe is with Australian actress Abbie Cornish. He recently starred in the war film “Stop-Loss.”

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)