POLLYWOOD | HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMACBY JANET DONOVAN
Superman doesn't land in D.C., Janet Jackson's way with words and a very fashionable Devil It's a bird! It's a plane! It's… Oops, it's not him Superman may have returned, but not to Washington. The only thing soaring in D.C. were delighted guests who got a sneak preview of the summer's blockbuster while stars Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey were visibly absent. That didn't stop either WMAL or The Children's Inn at NIH from making it the centerpiece for their activities. For WMAL, it was the end of their "630 Day" with local personalities Fred Grandy, Andy Parks and Chris Core, former Pentagon spokesperson Torie Clarke and diamond merchant Ronnie Mervis,who could have used an intervention when his K Street store was robbed recently, and we're not talking kryptonite... Across town, Dianne and Alan Kay hosted a kick-off dinner followed by a Superman Returns screening to benefit seriously ill children and raised $29,000. Congressman Chris Van Hollen shared billing with Redskins' Mark Brunell, retired player Darryl Green, and former Washington Capitals Captain Jeff Halpern. Treats included everything Kryptonite: punch, popcorn... you get the point. As for the movie, if you're not into krypto-techno it doesn't fly, but the love story endures and Kevin Spacey is always worth his paycheck. Design me, puleese First the costume, now the album: Both got redressed. Janet Jackson, in town to promote 20 Years Old, due out on September 26th, took fans by surprise after changing the title of her upcoming CD to 20 Y.O. just ten days after "The D.C. Press Junket for the International Icon" at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel; maybe it's the Washington effect - people talk in code. According to executive producer and Jackson squeeze/business partner Jermaine Dupri, who accompanied the star, the album will "blow a new generation of minds" while marking the 20th Anniversary of her 1986 album Control. Jackson, who has gone through more reincarnations than Kabbalah and Buddhism combined, seemed smaller, shyer and prettier in person, though conversation is not her strong suit. The Washington Post said it best: "Not that you go to a Janet Jackson news conference expecting to hear a soliloquy on the stem-cell debate or anything. But still." As to the pros and cons of being Janet Jackson: The Good: "Sharing your life with Jermaine Dupri!" The Bad: "Press conferences." Well now, that explains it. The Devil made me do it Wear Prada: That's what the fashion industry would have us do. Based on the dishy novel by Laura Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada gives new meaning to the boss from hell … and to how ultimate fashion icon Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, will be viewed by her peers. This thinly veiled novel/ movie takes us deep inside the fashion industry where the only thing more colorful than the clothes are the personalities—and nobody does it better than Meryl Streep. Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci are notable, but look for an Oscar nod for the venerable Streep. Fittingly, the Mercedes-Benz sponsored advanced screening benefited Suited for Change, which provides low-income women with workplace attire. The new-generation 2007 Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan featured in the flick also whisked Kathleen Matthews to the Georgetown Theater, which was packed with D.C.'s younger vanguard, dressed as if they had been ripped from the pages of Runway Magazine, the film's fictitious Vogue. The after-party at the Ritz Carlton heightened the Prada vibe— luxury abounded: champagne, Godiva gourmet truffles, a M.A.C. cosmetic bar and Prada Spa products. If you weren't into fashion before, you were after this event. History repeats itself After a summer of unrepentant world-wide unrest, you have only to look back to be reminded that sadly some things never change. Reps. Curt Weldon (R-PA) and Charles Rangel (D-NY) co-hosted a breakfast showing of On Freedoms Wings: Bound For Glory— The Legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen for members of Congress. The film, which celebrates the legacy of World War II Tuskegee Airmen who were America's first black military pilots, is personally unique, yet common. "It was the first experience of Black Americans being given an opportunity to be treated as equals," said Luther Smith, one of the original 20 Tuskegee airmen. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania (the state where the film was produced by the Veterans Museum) said, "They were able to sustain that courage through a very difficult time and that's a great lesson to every one of us." It's a story that bears continual repeating if alone for the sake of history not repeating. District Sightings The Judds, Patti LaBelle, Chris North, Jack Nicklaus, Jared Leto, Nicolette Sheridan, U2's Bono, John Corbett with Bo Derek, Cher and Lionel Ritchie.
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