STARS COME OUT TO CELEBRATE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF "GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER" AND RELEASE OF STANLEY KRAMER DVD BOXSET FROM SONY

On Feb. 11, producer/actress Karen Kramer - along with special guest Quincy Jones - hosted the 40th anniversary event for Stanley Kramer's landmark film, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." The event was held at the Hammer Museum in Westwood. The night began with a wonderful pre-reception featuring many celebs, members of the media and VIPs intermingling and buzzing about the film as well as this year's awards season. Following the reception came a spirited introduction of the film and its history by Ms. Kramer, the widow of the legendary director/producer, then remarks from Quincy Jones as well as producer Dean Devlin (who discussed his involvement with the organization Facing History and Ourselves). Sony then presented a $25,000 check to Facing History, after which all in attendance watched a screening of the film in the Billy Wilder Theatre.

Karen Kramer and Quincy Jones
(AP Photo/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Dan Steinberg)

The Host Committee included Tom Brokaw, Dean Devlin, Harrison Ford, Al Gore and Steven Spielberg, along with Sony Pictures Entertainment's Co-Chairman Amy Pascal and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's President David Bishop.

Other celebrities and VIPs in attendance at this 40th anniversary red carpet celebration included actress Katherine Kramer (daughter of Stanley and Karen Kramer), Stella Stevens, Louis Gossett Jr., Katharine Houghton (one of the stars of the film), producer Tony Bill, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, actor Harrison Held and many others.

After the screening, guests were given the DVD boxset of five Stanley Kramer films that will be released on February 12, 2008, titled "The Stanley Kramer Film Collection." In addition to "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" the set includes other Kramer classics such as "The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T," "The Wild One," "Ship of Fools" and "The Member of the Wedding." The boxset features many bonus features, including an introduction by Karen Kramer on every film, five featurettes on "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," two featurettes on each of the other four films, a Photo Gallery from every film, commentary with author and film historian Jeanine Basinger on "The Wild One" and commentary with author and biographer Professor Virginia Spencer Carr on "The Member of the Wedding."