The Train Crash Was a Hit With the Crowd

The Scene: Thursday’s world premiere of Warner Bros.’ “The Fugitive” at the Village theater in Westwood. The after-party was in the Armand Hammer Museum’s courtyard, a couple blocks away. Most guests hiked, though a dozen limos, angle parked in front of the theater “like high-class Harleys,” in one woman’s description, ferried the stars and the portentous.

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Who Was There: The film’s lead, Harrison Ford; co-stars Sela Ward and Joe Pantoliano; director Andrew Davis; producer Arnold Kopelson; plus 1,500 guests including Sylvester Stallone, Liam Neeson, Tori Spelling, Pierce Brosnan, Christian Slater, Nancy and Barbara Davis, Lou Pitt, Esther Williams, James Woods and studio execs Terry Semel, and Bob Daly with Carole Bayer Sager.

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The Buzz: The thriller got the best compliment a Hollywood audience can give: a jaded crowd cheered. The train-wreck scene actually got applause. Barbara Davis said, “This movie! I was on the edge of my seat. It was like our robbery.”

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Dress Mode: A couple fugitives from good taste, but mostly after-work dressy.

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Fashion Statement: Sela Ward wore a Dolce & Gabbana creation of an ornately brocaded Edwardian waistcoat combined with chiffon bell-sleeves. One woman’s take on Ward: “It’s like she’s so beautiful she’s not made of the same material as other human beings.”

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Quoted: “The film has got everything to do with the old TV show, the basic premise is the same, but it’s not an imitation of the old show,” said Harrison Ford. “The similarity is only in the premise. It’s a different world and a different show. It’s more sophisticated plotting.”

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Chow: In keeping with movie’s setting, there was a high-cholesterol, Chicago-themed menu from Along Came Mary. It included steak sandwiches, grilled panini, baby back ribs, mini sausage heroes, Buffalo wings, and deep-dish pizza. It was like a buffet display of how cops in the Midwest develop pot bellies.

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Overheard: “When I moved to L.A. 2 1/2 years ago, I was definitely heterosexual,” said a British expatriate. “Now I think I should be bisexual, or trisexual or having sex with plants or something.”