A Klump-Style Gala Follows the Premiere of ‘Nutty Professor II’

More than 3,000 people filed out of Universal Amphitheatre and, accompanied by fireworks from the “Waterworld” ride, slowly wended their way through the studio’s theme park to the post-screening gala at “The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps” premiere. “It’s like being on the 405,” one guest said of the stop-and-start pace Monday night.

The procession was greeted by the Inglewood-based Faithful Central Bible Choir, featured in the film, and was offered beakers of neon-colored drinks evocative of the precious “youth serum” concocted by the movie’s protagonist.

On one side of the “Terminator 2: 3D” attraction stood the Klump Family Disco, where the hipper element converged and star Eddie Murphy held court. On the other, guests piled their plates with Klump-size portions of fried chicken, ribs, peach cobbler and macaroni and cheese--or seafood brochettes and veggie burgers for the faint of heart.

Director Peter Segal called the event a no-win proposition from a “social” point of view.

“It’s like throwing a wedding for 3,500 of your closest friends,” he said. “When it comes to the guest list and the [amphitheater] seating arrangement, you [manage to offend] everybody. Still, it was great to hear the movie played in front of a rock concert-size crowd,” Segal added. “Going from a 200-seat theater in which you’re judging the laughs to a place like this is like leaving the Bakersfield farm club and walking out in Dodger Stadium.”

Who Was There: Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson, producer Brian Grazer, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Martin Landau, Samuel L. Jackson, Eriq LaSalle, Vivica A. Fox, Jasmine Guy, Jamie Foxx, Universal President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Meyer; Jean-Marie Messier, chairman and chief executive of Vivendi (presumptive parent company of the studio); Stacey Snider, chairman of Universal Pictures.

The Buzz: Folks called the film a tour de force for Murphy, who played the portly professor, his monstrous nemesis and six other roles. “To come up with such singular, delineated characters through all that makeup is unbelievably hard,” Landau observed. “Eddie often had only himself to play against,” added Wayans. “In one scene, he even kissed himself--it’s an Oscar-worthy performance.”

Doubtless: Co-star Janet Jackson hadn’t seen the film in its entirety before the premiere. Still, she maintained, she was calm and confident based on the strength of the film’s 1996 predecessor. “My friends and I used to sit around and watch the movie,” she said. “We’d act out the dining room scene--each playing a different Klump. I couldn’t believe it when they called and said they were casting a sequel--and I was up for a part.”

Proceed With Caution: Sequels have their downside, Grazer noted, and should be embarked on selectively. “They asked me to do a sequel to one of my first films--’Splash,’ ” he recalled. “I said ‘no’ because it was self-contained and there was nowhere else to go. In this case, the audience liked the Klump characters so much they wanted to see more. Giving them their own subplots energized the comedy of the movie. We should start an Oscar campaign for each of the characters Eddie plays. He could win best actor for Professor Sherman Klump and best supporting actress for Granny.”