One Major League Party

The Scene: The world premiere of Columbia’s “A League of Their Own” Monday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The screening of the film about a World War II-era women’s baseball team benefited the Westside Children’s Center.

The Locale: Guests exited the theater to the corner parking lot, which had been Astroturfed and decorated with balloons; red, white and blue bunting and carny-style games for the baseball-themed party. Of the games, the Speed Pitch--a radar gun that gave readouts on how fast a ball was thrown--had the most devastating effect on frail male egos.

Who Was There: The film’s stars, Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty and Jon Lovitz; director Penny Marshall; plus 1,100 guests including Harvey Keitel, Carl Reiner, Barbet Schroeder, Peter Guber, Mark Canton, Michael Nathanson, Nancy Englander, Christine Meleo, Carrie Fisher, Nancy and Martin Short and Albert Brooks. Co-star Madonna--to the everlasting regret of the local paparazzi--will attend the New York premiere.

Quoted: Tom Hanks on why he liked his role: “I play an overweight, drunken, former baseball great. I never had to shave. I was only in the makeup chair for three minutes. I got to take a nap every morning. I didn’t have to watch what I ate. And I got to play baseball between shots. It was essentially like going to a baseball spa for the summer. Americans pay ludicrous amounts of money to do that, and here I was being paid ludicrous amounts of money to do that.”

Fashion Statement: Davis wore a white Nicole Miller dress with red stitching that elegantly evoked a baseball. It fit, as one man noted, “like a glove.”

Biggest Surprise: For a comedy, “A League of Their Own” was also quite the tear-jerker. Not since Gary Cooper, as Lou Gehrig, tipped his hat goodby in “The Pride of the Yankees” have so many tears been shed at a baseball movie.

Not a Surprise: Somehow--even in a baseball movie--it figured you were going to see Madonna in a cone-shaped bra. This also served to differentiate “League” from “The Pride of the Yankees.

Chow: Baseball haute cuisine from Along Came Mary with five buffets serving hot dogs, pizza, French dip sandwiches and soft tacos.

Money Matters: Tickets were $250; co-chair Lezlie Johnson said a “ballpark figure” on what the Westside Children’s Center netted was $250,000. In what might be a trend for charity premieres in a cost-cutting era, Columbia picked up the tab for the screening, but the charity paid for the party by itself.

Observed: Penny Marshall, who is notoriously nervous about her premieres, approached the theater with the look of a condemned criminal. At the party, after being mightily praised, she looked like she had gotten a reprieve.