Hollywood's glitterati line up for Obama

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/18/wobama18.xml

An early winner in Oscars week will stride up the red carpet in Los Angeles on Tuesday night - Barack Obama.

The Democratic presidential hopeful with the rock star buzz is the guest of honour at a Beverly Hills fundraising party where the celebrity count will match Sunday's post-Oscar bashes. The reception, hosted by Steven Spielberg and his DreamWorks studio colleagues David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, is expected to draw 700 of Hollywood's most influential players, including declared Obama supporters George Clooney, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Oprah Winfrey, Oliver Stone and superagent Ari Emanuel.

It is not only a major financial fillip to the 45-year-old Illinois senator's campaign. It is also a crucial boost to his battle with the Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, a favourite in Hollywood from her husband Bill's White House days.

The apparent defection of Spielberg, a long-time Clinton supporter, set off alarm bells in the New York senator's camp. But the film director has since insisted that he has not committed to Mr Obama and has offered to co-host a future fundraiser for the former First Lady.