Kevin Bacon, Gerard Butler and Leonardo DiCaprio were among the stars who helped the embattled Hollywood Foreign Press Association hand out their annual charitable donations yesterday in Beverly Hills.
The HFPA is currently battling two lawsuits–one from their former publicist and another one with Dick Clark Productions and NBC. But that didn’t stop them giving away a portion of their $8 million NBC license fee to good causes. Our Leah Sydney was there (cocktails only) before the HFPA installed a new slate of officers (including an 80 year old president who has served before). Then they presented $1.5 million to a variety of arts groups.
Leah caught up with one of our favorite actors, Kevin Bacon, who was joined by a mix of movie and TV people that also included Lea Michele from “Glee” and Mark Wahlberg, Elisabeth Moss, Jessica Chastain, Hugh Dancy, Taylor Lautner, Elizabeth Olsen, Jim Sturgess, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Gabriel Macht. There was no sign of Ricky Gervais, or mention of his return as host of the next Golden Globes TV show.
But back to Kevin: ”I just did a picture with Billy Bob Thornton directing — he’s in it –called “Jayne Mansfield’s Car.” We shot it in Atlanta, it’s a great script that kind of just poured out of Billy’s heart. It’s funny , touching and most of all outrageous. It takes place in 1969 and I’m the ne’er-do well hippie son.”
Next up for Kevin is: “’RIPD’. I play the bad guy opposite Ryan Reynolds Jeff Bridges. It’s an action comedy with monsters.”
Bacon can currently be seen in “Friends with Benefits,” supporting Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. (Bacon should be starring in films, for god’s sake.) Anyway, as I’ve said before, the Screen Actors Guild should honor him with their Lifetime Achievement Award this year for over 25 years of outstanding performances. Bacon is the real deal. There are only a few guys in his age group–Matthew Modine, included–who’ve excelled with consistency whether in lead or supporting roles.
