The world premiere of “Firewall” was held at Grauman’s Chinese Theater February 2. The major advantage for me of a Grauman’s Chinese premiere is that the theater and adjacent Hollywood and Highland complex are literally 3 minutes from where we live. The major disadvantage, though, is that Grauman’s Chinese has a small courtyard and unless the event planners get two lanes of Hollywood Boulevard closed for the evening, there’s no room for fans.

Which was the case last Thursday evening. The premiere was set up to accommodate the press and not the fans, who were “invited” to stand across Hollywood Boulevard. They had one lane shut down, but only for limo drop-offs. The “Raiders” memorabilia and Sharpie marker I was carrying awkwardly in my purse would have to wait for another day.

We arrived a bit early (“star” arrivals were set for 6:00 – 7:00) and had a couple of drinks up at Hollywood and Highland’s version of “The Grill in the Alley” (an offshoot of a Beverly Hills institution). Good cocktails; we got needed shot of “Irish” going before heading down to the Chinese theater courtyard.

Well, the “Irish” started wearing off really fast when we realized there was no place, except for across the street, for fans to stand. We headed across the street but quickly surmised that we weren’t going to see anything from across 6 lanes of boulevard. So back to the courtyard.

Now, the Chinese theater itself sits back from the street, and the courtyard leading up to the theater (which holds the hand- and footprints of the stars) was jam-packed with press. You can access the courtyard entrance from the street, but the security guards were very discouraging of folks loitering around (although they were nice about it, just firm).

However, there is another entrance to the courtyard… off to the right and flush with the entrance to the theater itself, there is a passageway that leads to some stairs… up the stairs and you’re at the Hollywood and Highland shopping complex. This “back” entrance to the courtyard was roped off and guarded too, but standing on the stairs just beyond this entrance, we had a fairly decent view of the back side of the press line. As long as we kept a bit away from the velvet ropes and guards, we were good.

Now, we it was pretty dark and we weren’t as close as we wanted to be, but we did see Harrison, Calista, Virigina Madsen, Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connolly, and Carly Schroeder, whose pink dress was very striking from a distance (but too reminiscent of a prom dress I once wore).

We figured Harrison would show up later, but actually he and Calista were there around 6:40 and stayed out beyond the 7:00 “start” time of the premiere. We couldn’t see anyone getting out of limos, so we weren’t sure when H+C arrived. However, they rounded the corner to the beginning of the press line, and I was struck by the image of a slender woman with an elegant, open backed dress and a cascade of wavy hair... and I said, "That's Calista!" (Sure enough, they’d arrived!)

Calista looked just amazing (as the "real" photos of the event demonstrate); even from a distance she had that special, elegant air about her. Harrison looked good too, although throw a suit on a guy and he’s not going to look bad. Harrison would take some questions from the press, then step back, lean over and talk to Calista for a moment, then step forward and take another couple of questions from the next microphone in line, then step back again and lean over and talk to her again. Very sweet!

The folks loitering with us on the steps were calling out “ Harrison!” and my partner-in-crime even tried “Force Ten!” to try to get him to look over our way. But alas, he was tied up with the press, talking to Calista, and greeting his costars. The sharpest call-out wasn’t going to get his attention this night!

We were able to get a few far-away shots of H+C, although this was definitely a job for a professional's camera with a telephoto lens for this evening (it was DARK). I hope you all can make H+C out (click here for our pics)!

The Golden Globes were held this past Monday, but this date (the 20th) marks the date four years ago that Harrison Ford was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. And that would be four years since one Calista Flockhart spilt red wine on Ford at an after party.

At the time, if one were to shuffle the deck of all eligible celebs, these two would have been about the last pairing anyone might have dreamt up. They really seemed to be coming from different worlds... super movie stardom vs. small screen notoriety, long-time family man vs. never-married single mom, heroic persona vs. flighty, seemingly needy persona, the age gap, the weight gap, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

As is always the case, opposites attract (or perhaps they weren't that different from one another after all?), love finds it's own way, and this couple has been going strong for four years now, raising her son and seemingly doing quite nicely... who'd of thought? They seem to be very good for each other and have a true, non-Hollywood "match", so congratulations and all the best to both on making a enduring relationship!

Harrison Ford and his Firewall co-star Virginia Madsen handed out the award for best screenplay at the 63rd annual Golden Globe awards presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (btw, the award went to Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana for Brokeback Mountain). As we all know, the Golden Globes are the casual precursor to the Oscars, where the food and drink flow freely.

Ford took advantage of this, and brought what appeared to be a cocktail onstage, which he handed to Madsen before opening the envelope holding the winners' names. What to make of this? Was it a literal example of taking a good thing (open bar) too far? A deliberate joke on the reputation of the Golden Globes as a boozy, anything-goes party? A wicked self-parody and conscious nod to some of the nastier "whispers" about his drinking habits over the years?

Not sure... it was humorous regardless. But next time, take heed... the joke (if indeed it is a joke) goes over better if you don't mispronounce the names (it's Tony Kushner, not Kirshner).

Looking for a very different take on Ford's Golden Globes presentation performance? Check out Whatevs (dot org) for a blow-by-blow intervention (WARNING: it's a humorous take, but NOT for the easily offended).

UPDATE: When asked by the television show "Inside Edition" why she shared a drink with Harrison Ford on stage, Virginia Madsen told the reporter that "it was really a bit of a joke, in the spirit of the evening." So says La Madsen on the matter.

In today's New York Daily News, columnist Ben Widdicombe marvels at Harrison Ford's taste for a new clothing line:

Ford walked into a Chelsea men's wear store recently and liked the 429 T-shirts so much, he bought one in each color ("Green, brown and eggplant," according to a spy). He probably didn't realize that 429 is so named because it spells G-A-Y on a telephone keypad.

I can see some eyebrows being raised if Harrison were trying on Manolo Blahnik's, but a T-shirt? Excepting apparel that carry slogans, can a plain old T-shirt even be gay? If it's got a particularly flattering cut, nice feel, good colors, well, why shouldn't any man, or woman, have at it?

In the article, the president of the clothing line went on to explain that "429 stands for the idea that it doesn't really matter whether you are gay or straight, but it definitely matters that you are confident and comfortable in your own skin." Bravo to 429 for their philosophy, and boo to Widdicombe for trying to make a story out of nothing more than a routine "sighting."