At Spike TV’s fourth annual “Guys Choice” Awards taping on the Sony lot Saturday night, Robert Downey Jr. observed “This is better than the Oscars … Everyone shows up here.”
The “everyone” who came out for the male-skewing cable net’s summer shill-fest included Robert De Niro,George Clooney, Charlize Theron, Jessica Biel, Adrien Brody, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, Lebron James, Ben Kingsley and a surprise appearance by Sandra Bullock, her first public outing since the scandal surrounding spouse Jesse James exploded in the days following her Oscar win.
Bullock’s appearance amidst a military troop salute steals some of the thunder from her first official appearance, at “The MTV Movie Awards,” a sibling-MTV Networks award show that airs live on Sunday night. While accepting the “Entertainer of the Year Award,” Bullock asked, “Did I win this because I really am the ‘Entertainer of the Year' or because of the spectacular I.E.D. (improvised explosive device) that became my personal life? Even if it is (because of the personal life), I would do it again and again for the troops.”
Clooney and Kid Rock bonded backstage (left).
De Niro and Ray Liotta fronted a “GoodFellas” reunion, and Sylvester Stallone scowled a bit at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for the rest of the night after the Gov’s quip on Stallone: “Four 'Rambo' movies, three marriages.”
While it was technically an awards show, the off-color language, recurring anatomy jokes and heavy “inside-the-industry” humor made the party atmosphere feel more like another MTV Networks special – the infamous "Comedy Central Roasts."
A few of the quotable bites:
Samuel L. Jackson to Clooney: “How do you make so many sh– movies and we don’t work together? Oh yeah, Don Cheadle.” As Clooney received his golden antler trophy from Jackson, he said, “Thanks, Don.”
Chris Rock: “I’m putting this award between my Blockbuster Award and Chippendale’s Dancer of the Month Award. To all the kids trying to get into showbiz, make some money … you’re late, bitches. The internet dried it all up.” Rock appeared with "SNL"-in-the-90s alums and castmates Adam Sandler and David Spade.
Charlize Theron for winning “Decade of Hotness”: “It’s not really a decade of hotness for me … it’s more like nine years. ’03 was a fat year.” (That's the year she won the Oscar for “Monster.”)
Surprisingly, for all the free-flowing testosterone and Coronas in the room, Kiefer Sutherland recorded the most PG appearance of the night. The former “24” star thanked the real-life government agents who “do for real what I got to do for 10 years.” (The show ran for eight seasons, but close enough.)
The real awards should go to the show's executive producer Casey Patterson and talent executive Kelly Brock, who landed all those faces on a summer Saturday night, and production designer Keith Rayword, who created the mammoth museum to male sterotypes. The dark, wood-paneled set fell somewhere between the library in “Clue” and a trophy room in a European polo club – albeit one with sharks and live tigers on stage.
Not everyone was smiling, as nearly all of the talent listed above skipped the red carpet. While some broadcast and photo outlets left grumbling at the missed opportunity, the cast of “The A-Team” continued their publicity push and obliged the waiting media line.
Before the weekend, Jon Hamm, Minnie Driver and Brett Ratner came to support “The A-Team” stars Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, UFC fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, producer Ridley Scott and writer-director Joe Carnahan at a poolside party at the Roosevelt after their Thursday night premiere across the street at Grauman’s. Fox Film Entertainment chairman-CEO Tom Rothman (pictured at right) shared a laugh with Cooper at the event.
Meanwhile, on Saturday night, the ninth annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball honored Fox animation king Seth Macfarlane, Ryan Murphy (“Glee”), and Brett Ratner.
Twentieth TV chairman Dana Walden was a co-chair for the Brentwood event, which raised funds for Chrysalis’s programs that provide employment opportunities to homeless and economically disadvantaged people.
The”Guys Choice Awards” airs on June 20.
