Hurley Beseiged

There were vigorous protests against Liz Hurley's participation in a strike-busting, non-union commercial when she arrived at the US premiere of Bedazzled last night (17 October 2000). The Mann Village Theater in LA is on a junction which enabled around 40 protesters to march across with the traffic lights to a chant of, "Unions united, will never be divided." There was a heavy security presence and guests like Raquel Welch, who played Hurley's role in the original film, seemed bewildered by the dozens of signs that read "Scabs are Scum," "I want to HURL Liz out of the Union," and "Beauty Fades, Honor Doesn't." Although stars Elizabeth Hurley, Brendan Fraser, Frances O'Connor and director Harold Ramis did attend, their presence was delayed until the last minute and the audience was notable for its absence of industry figures or major stars. It may have been the protest or the mixed reviews of the film but the aftershow party emptied very rapidly. Hurley was in and out in fifteen minutes with a large security contingent acting like the Secret Service around Clinton. Brendan Fraser avoided comment on the protest, but said of this remake of the 1967 British movie: 'hopefully Peter Cook will be either smiling or snarling at us from somewhere.'