The president's man

The attendance list is being kept secret, but actors, studio executives and film moguls will be among the 150 guests. Tickets sold for $40,000 each, raising $6 million, and an online raffle offered regular voters a chance of a seat at the table on May 10. A series of teasing e-mails with subject lines such as "An evening with Clooney" invited Democrats to make donations for the chance of winning a ticket, raising a further $6 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Clooney has been a strong supporter of Obama since 2006, and within weeks of the President's inauguration in 2009, the actor was invited to the Oval Office where he urged the new administration to take a stronger stance on Darfur, the war-torn region of southern Sudan. Clooney's offer to host the dinner was not the Obama campaign's only option, with aides turning down the actress Reese Witherspoon's offer of the use of her estate. They have lost the support of another film star, Matt Damon, who is now a vocal critic of the president.