HOLLYWOOD (Variety) – It’s not often Salman Rushdie is seen at an L.A. movie premiere (and until recently he wasn’t seen almost anywhere, what with a death sentence hanging over his head), but the novelist was at the Century City Cineplex for New Line’s “15 Minutes” premiere Thursday.Though there was joking in the crowd as he searched for a seat (”Lord, please not next to me” was the general tone), afterward at the Century Club party Rushdie said he was “a great admirer of De Niro” and thought the film was “very well performed.” He added he was in L.A. to work on a screenplay adaptation of his novel The Ground Beneath Her Feet for Gemini Films.Among those on hand were writer-director John Herzfeld, stars Edward Burns, Robert De Niro, Kelsey Grammer and Melina Kanakaredes; plus guests Albert Brooks, Don Cheadle, Vin Diesel, Robbie Robertson, Sylvester Stallone and Christy Turlington.
– Craig Zablo (February 24, 2001)