Amfar's starry night set for gala

Cinema Against Aids to headline Bill Clinton

By SHARON SWART

Former President Clinton with Amfar chairman Kenneth Cole. Clinton told the crowd, 'When times get tough, give more, not less.'
• Photos: Amfar Cinema Against AIDS benefit.

Held for the first time at the Hotel du Cap, Amfar's annual Cinema Against Aids charity gala tonight will headline former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

He'll be making remarks at the black tie dinner and auction, where he'll be joined by film bizzers including Harvey Weinstein, Sharon Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Lars Von Trier, Marion Cotillard, Michelle Yeoh, Isabelle Huppert, Robin Wright Penn and 50 Cent.

Weinstein and Stone will play auctioneers. Stone, Amfar's global fundraising chair, is a master at wielding the mic. And, given the economic woes, she's likely to be extra tenacious this year. (Last year's auction raised $7 million.)

Among the items up for auction are Clinton's Alpine alto saxophone, a Diesel's Renzo Rosso-designed Fiat 500 car, a private screening of "Inglorious Basterds" for 50 people and private tennis lessons with Monica Seles and Jelena Jankovic.

Among the evening's treats is a performance by Annie Lennox.

An after-party at the Eden Roc will follow the tented gala, set up on the tennis courts at the du Cap.

Also on the guest list are Emile Hirsch, Diane Kruger, Joshua Jackson, Kerry Washington, Mike Myers, Justin Long, Alison Lohman, Eva Green, Hayden Panettiere, Robert Pattinson, Asia Argento, Ziyi Zhang, Elizabeth Hurley, Rinko Kikuchi, Elodie Bouchez, Damien Rice, Dita Von Teese, Eli Roth, James Grey, Guillaume Canet, and designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.