A Whole Lot of Bonding Going On

The Scene: Tuesday’s premiere of United Artists’ “Tomorrow Never Dies” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The 18th James Bond boys-with-toys film was launched with Oscars-style hoopla that included blocked-off downtown streets, searchlights and fans in bleachers. It had the feel of Academy Awards lite. As though the Oscars were being held in Budapest.

Who Was There: His Bondness Pierce Brosnan; co-stars Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Pryce, Teri Hatcher, Vincent Schiavelli, Ricky Jay and Cecilie Thomsen; plus 1,600 guests including Wesley Snipes, Barbara Sinatra, Cyd Charisse, Danny DeVito, Martin Landau, Jennifer Tilly, David Schwimmer, Robert Wagner, Rikki Rosen, Steve Stabler and studio execs Frank Mancuso, Lindsay Doran and Jeff Kleeman.

The Buzz: How will Bond’s wry innuendo fare opening against “Titanic”? Who sinks? Who swims?

The Party: It was very much Hollywood Invades the Music Center. One floor done as a gambling casino, the Founders room used for a VIP room (where the fire marshal stopped letting guests in) and the Great Hall as a Bondian nightclub with a black lacquer dance floor, video monitors and velvet draping. Said one industry savant: “I’m just thrilled to see go-go dancers at the Dorothy Chandler.”

Best Touch: The symphony orchestra in the pit playing Bond soundtrack music before the screening. No popcorn or Goobers, but the band was great. A wonderful opportunity to use the opera supertitles to point out product placement was missed.

Dress Mode: A commingling of black-tie, after-work and winter clothes. One Music Center employee described the mix as “less dressy than for the opera, but more than for ‘Rent.’ ”

Hollywood War Stories: “I used to do James Bond bow tie tying contests and martini glass races at spring break in Daytona,” recalled Viacom licensing exec Neil Newman, who handled Bond products in the late ‘80s. “We tried to do 007 condoms with ‘Always Safe, Never Sorry’ printed on them. It would have been great.”

Overheard: “It’s like Bond has become this women’s plaything,” one screenwriter said. “They send him to sleep with other women, like a stud on loan. He’s this British Mandingo.”