BIG MONEY

These days it seems like all the internet celebrity gossip blogs (Defamer anyone?) are talking about where the Hollywood bigwigs are throwing their money for the upcoming presidential election. Will it be Hillary or Obama...or maybe even a Republican candidate hiding in there somewhere? I checked out opensecrets.org to see where the big bucks in the entertainment industry have been going lately.

Producer and Imagine Entertainment co-founder Brian Grazer has been a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party, pouring money into the campaigns of John Kerry, John Edwards, Barbara Boxer and the Democratic National Committee Services Corp. Another interesting thing to note is the presence of donations to Republican Senator John McCain, although there is a chance that this is a different Brian Grazer since the address corresponding to these donations is one in Beverly Hills (as opposed to the Encino address used for most of the other donations). So either Grazer decided to give a Republican a shot at one point in time or there's another Brian Grazer who makes his living as a (Republican-leaning) producer living in Beverly Hills.

Steven Spielberg and his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, both made significant contributions the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates. Mr. Spielberg has dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into a Democratic National Committee non-federal individual account while his wife has put money forth for candidates like Tom Daschle, Hillary Clinton and Walter Mondale.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has made some interesting contributions in his time. Following the trend of his fellow Tinseltown bigwigs, he donated $5,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2005. He's also put money towards California Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Hillary Clinton. Iger must love his own company (or has some ulterior motives here) because there are several instances of him donating money to the Walt Disney Company. Debts to pay off? Trying to win someone over? Who knows...when you're throwing bundles of $5,000 like that around you have to wonder a little bit.

It's still too early to tell whether Obama or Hillary is going going to win over the entertainment industry. Even so, taking a look at where Hollywood has donated to in the past might give us a better idea of who's going to get the backing of Tinseltown in 2008.