Few Movie Stars Set to Attend White House Correspondents' Dinner

The Hollywood Reporter ^ | May 1, 2014 | By Tina Daunt

[Brad from Tennessee]

They may govern the free world's leading nation and regulate the globe's biggest economy, but when it comes to celebrities, Washingtonians are as starstruck as folks from Des Moines. That's why the annual White House Correspondents' dinner has assumed an outsized importance on the capitol social calendar and one of the reasons many locals are feeling let down by this year's dearth of A-list actors and film figures.

Apart from Robert De Niro, who is promoting a documentary on his artist father, there will only be a smattering of high-wattage names at Saturday night's edition of the annual event. A number of those involved with the dinner told the Washington Post this week that reduction in the number of celebrity guests is deliberate, reflecting a desire to put the evening's focus back on the journalists who cover the White House.

However, one Hollywood insider, who asked not to be identified, tells The Hollywood Reporter that the lack of swoon-worthy A-list movie stars shows that the lure of the event "has faded dramatically."

According to the source, "there are way too many A-listers who have had pretty weird experiences at the dinner. A lot of the people who have gone say they'll never do it again. The room is so crowded. It's uncontrolled. There's no limit to the number of people trying to get photos and autographs -- and there's no way to hide from it. It's like the stars are animals in a cage. People go crazy when they see them. They act like a bunch of kids at the Kids' Choice Awards."

[Brad from Tennessee]

[It’s impossible to be objective & impartial when you fraternize.]

CBS president Les Moonves said two years ago that “Ultimately journalism has changed. Partisanship is very much a part of journalism now.”

Even though this goof heads a network news division he pretends like he is helpless to clean up the corruption in his own shop.