Hollywood Goes and Does It Again

The Scene: The Environmental Media Assn.’s fourth annual awards Monday at CBS. Honored were entertainment programs that dealt with ecological issues. “What makes EMA unique is it influences creative people who put environmental themes into their TV shows and films,” said board member Alan Horn. “This gets the message out to the public in a way they can understand and relate to.”

Downside: It’s another evening of Hollywood patting itself on the back.

Upside: Patting itself on the back is the one thing Hollywood excels at.

The Setting: Production designer Bob Keene transformed the 100-foot-by-150-foot sound stage into an awesome, forest-like scene. “Nouveau Yosemite,” one guest called it. Four 30-foot forest backdrops cloaked the walls, the floor was covered in green Astroturf, and seven semi-truckloads of potted pines and redwoods lined the room.

The Show: Hosted by poet Maya Angelou and actor Hector Elizondo, it kicked off with a performance by Carole King. Disney’s Michael Eisner presented the Frank G. Wells Award to Audubon Society Productions. The evening’s keynote speaker was former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Among the award presenters were Kelsey Grammer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dana Delany, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Kermit the Frog, who said he now prefers being referred to as “Amphibian American.”

Who Was There: The 800-strong crowd was heavy with TV producers, writers and agents. Among them were NBC’s Warren Littlefield, CBS’ Peter Tortorici, ABC’s Ted Harbert, Norman Lear, Steven Seagal, Quincy Jones and EMA President Andy Goodman. Seated with Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev were Ted Turner and Jane Fonda, Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer Reiner, Alan and Cindy Horn, and Maria Shriver with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said the former Soviet president “gave the power back to the people and that’s the greatest thing anyone can do.”

Dress Mode: What one woman called “glamorous after-work. It’s a notch above a business suit, a notch below a shiny, beaded cocktail dress.”

Chow: From Patina came a corn and frisee salad, chicken with wild rice, bok choy and nappa cabbage. One agent said it was “the most politically correct meal I’ve ever eaten.”

Noted: Some guests were surprised by Gorbachev’s shift from Red to green. “The last I read, the Red Army wasn’t getting awards for the environment they left behind,” said a film producer. “You don’t exactly think of them as a bunch of tree huggers.”