Hollywood Stars are 'over the moon' about Obama's speech
Calvin Hearns
Stars over the moon about Obama's speech
By RYAN PEARSON, AP Entertainment Writer
DENVER - First word on Barack Obama's historic nomination acceptance
speech from a bevy of celebrities in attendance was decidedly
partisan: "It was excellent," Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie said. "It
was amazing."
"Incredible," said Jessica Alba simply, before joining Fergie, Rosario
Dawson, Wilmer Valderrama and Kerry Washington at a private exit from
Invesco Field. Alba was at the speech with husband Cash Warren.
Other celebrities in attendance included George Lucas with girlfriend
Mellody Hardon and his daughter, Forest Whitaker with wife Keisha and
Star Jones, and Daniel Dae Kim of "Lost," who posed for pictures with
the Hawaii delegation.
Next for Obama and his celebrity backers?
"What I hope happens is the country doesn't forget the jubilation and
excitement that's been generated here," Kim said. "And I hope it turns
into something that changes the world."
will.i.am performed his speech-song "Yes We Can" with John Legend
during the run-up to Obama's speech. Susan Sarandon and Anne Hathaway
sang along in the stands as Sheryl Crow performed "Change is Gonna
Come," and crooner Michael McDonald prompted many a flag wave with his
rendition of "America the Beautiful."
___
Oprah Winfrey left Denver with the candidate she wanted, but
reportedly without her eyelashes.
The talk-show host said she was moved to tears by Obama's speech. And
those must've been some serious tears.
"I cried my eyelashes off," she said in the bowels of Invesco Field,
moments after Obama accepted the nomination for president before an
estimated 84,000 people.
"I think it's the most powerful thing I have ever experienced," she
added, calling Obama's words "transcendent." On the 45th anniversary
of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a Dream Speech," Winfrey compared
Obama's words to those of the civil-rights leader, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
"He's not an African-American candidate," she said. "He's a candidate
for Americans."
Winfrey threw her support behind Obama early — even before the
Democratic primaries got under way last year. She's stayed active
since, hosting rallies and fundraisers that even Obama has
acknowledged have given him a boost.
___
Before singing the national anthem to a slowly filling stadium,
Jennifer Hudson appeared lost in thought, wearing a casual gray dress
and listening to iPod earphones as her handlers asked for directions
to the podium. While waiting, she typed on a Sidekick.
"Fired up!" said an excited Spike Lee on the field. "Bigger than the
Super Bowl!"
The only major party planned for Thursday night was an elite event
sponsored by Vanity Fair and Google.
___
Among the celebrities spotted in and around the convention on
Wednesday was Steven Spielberg, who directed a short film on veterans
that shown at the convention. Jennifer Lopez spoke at a reception
honoring children's rights activist Marian Wright Edelman. Ben Affleck
read excerpts from a Howard Zinn book and made an appearance at the
city's food bank for America's Second Harvest.
Affleck was joined by his wife, Jennifer Garner, at the book reading
at the Starz Green Room across the street from the Pepsi Center. Also
participating: Dawson, Washington, Taye Diggs, Hill Harper and Josh
Brolin.
___
Also on Wednesday:
• The Black Eyed Peas performed a concert at the Fillmore Auditorium
for the Creative Coalition. Fergie praised Hillary Rodham Clinton's
Tuesday-night speech, saying Clinton "really spoke to me as a woman.
And I think she spoke to a lot of people in that way."
• Politicians including former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner attended a
ONE Campaign party featuring a Kanye West performance. Also in
attendance: Whitaker, Kal Penn, Jamie Foxx and director Davis
Guggenheim.
• Muhammad Ali sat in the convention audience.
• Fran Drescher, Ashley Judd and Joy Bryant joined Lopez at the
reception honoring Edelman.
• Hathaway and others gathered at a morning reception honoring Annette
Bening for her work narrating the documentary "14 Women," about women
in the U.S. Senate.
• Big Boi of Outkast was at the airport on his way out of town after
hosting a Radio One show where he interviewed John Legend, among
others.
___
AP writer Christopher Wills contributed to this report.
George W McCain
> for the Creative Coalition. Fergie praised Hillary Rodham Clinton's
> Tuesday-night speech, saying Clinton "really spoke to me as a woman.
> And I think she spoke to a lot of people in that way."
>
> ONE Campaign party featuring a Kanye West performance. Also in
> attendance: Whitaker, Kal Penn, Jamie Foxx and director Davis
> Guggenheim.
>
>
> =3F Fran Drescher, Ashley Judd and Joy Bryant joined Lopez at the
> reception honoring Edelman.
>
> =3F Hathaway and others gathered at a morning reception honoring Annette
> Bening for her work narrating the documentary "14 Women," about women
> in the U.S. Senate.
>
> hosting a Radio One show where he interviewed John Legend, among
> others.
>
> ___
>
> AP writer Christopher Wills contributed to this report.
>
>
>
Matt
> In article <48b7ea43.633776...@news.easynews.com>, calvin...@aol.com says...
>
> >http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080829/ap_en_tv/cvn_celebrity_sightings;...
So are we voting on who gives the best speech?