STARS' BUCKS FOR BERMAN ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FAVORS CONGRESSMAN.Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - With former favorites Bill Clinton and Al Gore Noun 1. Al Gore - Vice President of the United States under Bill Clinton (born in 1948) Albert Gore Jr., Gore in retirement and Hillary Clinton safe in the Senate until 2006, Hollywood's campaign contributors have given top billing to Rep. Howard Berman Howard Lawrence "Howie" Berman (born April 15 1941) has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1983, representing the 28th District of California (map). , D-Mission Hills. Berman's list of contributors, disclosed to the Federal Election Commission as of April 15, is a heady mix of moguls, matinee idols and musicians who have contributed more than $150,000 toward a war chest that totals $916,150. By comparison, fellow Tinseltown congressmen such as Henry Waxman Henry Arnold Waxman (born September 12, 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is an American politician. He has represented California's At-large congressional district (map) in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1975. , D-Los Angeles; Brad Sherman Bradley J. "Brad" Sherman (born October 24 1954) is an American politician. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing California's At-large congressional district. , D-Woodland Hills; and Adam Schiff
Adam B. Schiff (born June 20 1960) is an American politician. He first served in the California State Senate. , D-Pasadena, are distant second bananas. Berman, whose shy and serious persona is more evocative of Peter Parker Peter Parker may refer to:
``You could argue that this has something to do with the fact that I'm the ranking Democrat on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee,'' he said. Berman, who has used his post to lead Congress' efforts to protect movie and music copyrights and fight piracy via the Internet, would become chairman of that panel next year if his party erases the Republicans' five-seat House edge in November. ``I've been a champion of the creative community and have enjoyed working closely with some very talented people, including a lot of Valley residents, who create very valuable products,'' said Berman, who plans to share much of his campaign cash with less fortunate Democratic incumbents and hopefuls. His current projects include working with Republican former House colleague James Rogan, now head of the U.S. Patent Office, to speed processing of copyright applications; with the computer industry on new encryption protections and with the Justice Department to increase prosecution of movie and music pirates. No surprise Republican David Hernandez of North Hollywood, Berman's long-shot November opponent in the 28th District - where registered Democrats outnumber GOP voters by more than 2 to 1 - said he's not surprised by the incumbent's Hollywood popularity. ``Howard's always been strong in patents and related legislation,'' said Hernandez, whose biggest campaign contribution to date has been $425 from a GOP group. ``But I believe that, by November, the real issue in our race won't be what Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . or DreamWorks needs. ``It will be Valley secession. I'm all for it and the Democratic establishment is opposed. In Congress, I'd be most interested in seeing that our new city finally gets its fair share of federal money.'' Martin Kaplan, director of the Norman Lear Center Based at the USC Annenberg School for Communication, the Norman Lear Center is a multi-disciplinary research and public policy center exploring implications of the convergence of entertainment, commerce, and society. at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communications, gave a mixed review to Hollywood's star power in politics. ``I don't think celebrity endorsements make much of a difference,'' said Kaplan, a former Disney production executive and chief speechwriter speech·writ·er n. One who writes speeches for others, especially as a profession. speech  writ for then-Vice President Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (born January 5, 1928) is an American politician and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (largely established by former Vice President Hubert Humphrey). .
``People don't vote for someone because a star says they're
for a particular candidate.
``But glitz glitz Informal n. Ostentatious showiness; flashiness: "a garish barrage of show-biz glitz" Peter G. Davis. tr.v. can be very helpful getting free media,'' added Kaplan, whose current projects include a study titled ``Celebrity, Politics and the Public Sphere.'' ``It's next to impossible for a candidate to get covered on television or even in print. A candidate can give substantive speeches from sunrise to sunset and never get a story out of it. But a star can get a candidate attention, maybe a photo, maybe a sound bite.'' Others benefit Among other Hollywood-area House incumbents, Waxman lists a single $1,000 contribution from the Walt Disney Productions Employees Political Action Committee, while Schiff, whose 2000 campaign against Rogan had plenty of star power, has attracted a handful of givers, including $1,000 each from DreamWorks SKG SKG Stichting Kwaliteit Gevelbouw (Dutch) SKG Spielberg, Katzenberg,and Geffen (DreamWorks Studios) SKG Thessaloniki, Greece - Thessaloniki (Airport Code) SKG Smith and Kraus Global principals David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Sherman's short list includes a $1,000 donation from Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America and Hollywood's top Washington lobbyist; $500 from Barbra Streisand; and $250 from Catherine Bach Lopez of ``Dukes of Hazzard'' fame. Overall, Hollywood's campaign giving is following a familiar plot line. While the stars are as decidedly Democratic, as they were in 2000, the business side is again spreading its cash, via political action committees, between both major parties. An analysis by the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics "The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and the effect of money on elections and public policy. , which tracks campaign finances, found that Hollywood's business side has so far given $245,145 to Democrats and $227,914 to Republicans. Streisand, who leads all individual Hollywood donors, has shelled out more than $60,000 to Democrats. Top star bucks recipients include Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who isn't even up for re-election until 2004. He has collected $1,000 each from Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Michael Douglas, Michael J. Fox, Anne Bancroft and Steve Guttenberg. Support is also being given to incumbent Sens. Max Cleland, D-Ga., and Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., as Democrats seek to retain their control of the Senate. High-kicking hunk Chuck Norris is the GOP's biggest star, giving $6,000 to various campaigns. But, so far, Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger has made his sole contribution to a Democrat, according to FEC See forward error correction. FEC - Forward Error Correction filings. He gave $1,000 to Maryland House candidate Mark Kennedy Shriver shrive v. shrove or shrived, shriv·en or shrived, shriv·ing, shrives v.tr. 1. To hear the confession of and give absolution to (a penitent). 2. , the brother of his wife, Maria Shriver. BERMAN DONOR Here are entertainment industry contributions of $1,000 (the legal limit) to the re-election campaign of Rep. Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills, as reported to the Federal Election Commission: Norman Brokaw, William Morris Agency Founded in 1898, the William Morris Agency is the largest diversified talent and literary agency in the world, with offices in New York City, Beverly Hills, Nashville, Miami, London, and Shanghai. Jackson Browne, singer Roger Corman, director, ``king of the B movies'' Jonathan Dolgen, Viacom Entertainment Group Michael Eisner, The Walt Disney Co. Glen Frey, singer David Geffen, DreamWorks SKG Berry Gordy, West Grand Media, Motown founder Don Henley, singer Alan F. Horn Alan F. Horn is the President & COO of Warner Brothers Entertainment. Prior to Warner Bros., Horn served in various positions at 20th Century Fox and at Norman Lear's television production company, Tandem Productions. Horn sits on the board of directors of Univision. , Warner Bros. Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks SKG Michael King, King World Productions Sherry Lansing, Paramount Pictures Norman Lear, TV producer Randy Newman, singer, composer Norman Pattiz, Westwood One Sydney Pollack, Mirage Productions Bonnie Raitt, singer Hilary Rosen, Recording Industry Association of America Jay Roth, Directors Guild of America Haim Saban, Fox Family Network Kate Capshaw Spielberg, actress Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks SKG Barbra Streisand, singer, actress Heather Thomas, actress Lew Wasserman, Universal Studios (retired) Trisha Yearwood, country singer Gail Zappa, producer, widow of Frank Zappa. SOURCE: Federal Election Commission CAPTION(S): box Box: BERMAN DONORS (see text) |
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