Even more celebrity names coming to Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association dinner — because. . . well, what better place to promote your TV show or upcoming movie?
View Photo Gallery: The association's annual dinner attracts flocks of celebrity guests, invited by media outlets that cover the executive branch. The old joke used to be that Hollywood's elite would show up once and then never again, but this year many faces look familiar.
Politico is bringing Charlize Theron; Zooey Deschanel is coming with Bloomberg; Fox News invited Kim Kardashian (again!) and her mom because the poor things don't get enough attention. "American Idol" outcast Colton Dixon just got a consolation invite from the Christian Broadcasting Network.
You already know about the cavalcade of super-safe A-listers. . .
George Clooney, Steven Spielberg, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Reese Witherspoon, Daniel Day-Lewis, Martha Stewart, Diane Keaton Rashida Jones, John Legend, and all those "Modern Family" people. (Oh, you again! Celebs repeat at WHCA dinner, 4/23/12) You've probably heard about the later wave of the slightly scandalous : Lindsay Lohan (with her lawyer!).
Other random stars (this list is far from complete): Stevie Wonder, Pierce Brosnan, Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn, Claire Danes, Josh Hutcherson, Diane Keaton, Rachel Zoe, Ivanka Trump, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Ripa and Uggie, the dog from "The Artist." Fear not, old-timers, a few administration officials and politicians made the cut.
Some brave reporters have attempted to compile comprehensive lists of all the celebrity guests expected. Good luck; this way lies madness. We can tell you from past years that (1) more than a few advertised stars will be no-shows come Saturday; (2) other stars will show up completely out of the blue with no advance hype; and (3) many will get completely lost in the crowd, with barely a red-carpet photo to document their presence.
This year's WHCA host Jimmy Kimmel has big shoes to fill: Most viewers agree that Seth Meyers killed last year. Of course, both he and President Obama had the benefit of Donald Trump as punching bag in the room. See video of Obama's 2011 speech. There are risks involved with comedians hosting a big Washington media-political gala, of course, as in the case of Louis C.K. and the RTCA dinner.
From the 2011 WHCA dinner:
ScarJo and Sean Penn share love with press but Hollywood crowds out Washington at WHCA dinner, 5/1/11
Correspondents dinner guests 2011: Why'd they get invited? 4/27/11
From the 2010 WHCA dinner:
Nerd Prom no longer:Celebrities triumph over media at WHCA, 5/2/10
Washington's own Super Bowl: The incredible party sprawl of WHCA dinner, 4/30/10
Julia Allison explains how she crashed the White House Correspondents dinner, 4/26/10
From the 2009 WHCA dinner:
Hollywood takes on Washington press prom, 5/10/09
