Barbara Streisand wants anybody but President Bush. Donald Trump wants to keep his options open. Ben Affleck wants to be known as both an actor and a writer.
Such are the tidbits that can be had for a few keystrokes at FundRace.org, the Web's latest, greatest way to suck hours from your life.
"It is addictive," says Jonah Peretti.
Peretti is director of research and development at the New York-based Eyebeam, a non-profit, tech-minded arts organization. Last fall, Eyebeam launched FundRace.org, a site devoted to humanizing the stone-cold world of campaign finance.
About three weeks ago, FundRace.org introduced a search engine allowing users to look up presidential donors from the recent primary season by ZIP code or last name.
The idea was, Peretti says, to "let people search, let people connect with something they're familiar with."
Turns out what we're familiar with are celebrities.
"People started--especially in New York and L.A.--[going], 'Oh, my God, I didn't know I lived next to Christopher Guest," he says.
For the record, you live next to the A Mighty Wind director if you live in an office building in Santa Monica, California. That's the address of record for Guest's three contributions ($2,000 each to Democratic contenders John Kerry, Howard Dean and Wesley Clark) as found on FundRace.org.
And in case you're wondering, Guest's wife, Jamie Lee Curtis, wrote a lone $2,000 check (the maximum contribution an individual can make to a candidate) to Kerry.
It's the curiosity factor--what stars have given how much to whom?--that has brought Netizens to Fundrace.org, fingers at the ready to type in any and every conceivable celeb name.
Some names we typed in so you won't have to:
A-listers Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts didn't cough up any money, at least not through the Jan. 1-Feb. 29 reporting period compiled on the site. The Hanks household, though, was represented by wife Rita Wilson who gave $2,000 to Kerry and $1,000 to the Massachusetts senator's chief intra-party rival, John Edwards. A-lister Barbra Streisand coughed up lots of money--$1,000 each to Dean, Clark, Al Sparpton, Richard Gephardt and blink-and-you-missed-him campaigner Bob Graham. (All are Democrats, natch.) The perennially hyper Robin Williams spotted "I Have a Scream" Dean $2,000. So did Robert De Niro. So did fellow Oscar winner Helen Hunt. So did Hunt's former Mad About You husband Paul Reiser. Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David showed enthusiasm for Kerry, Edwards, Dean and Gephardt, giving $2,000 to each. West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin gave $2,000 each to Edwards, Clark and Gephardt, and $1,000 to Dean. West Wing president Martin Sheen didn't give anything to anybody. Star Trek science officer Leonard Nimoy beamed $2,000 to Dean. Star Trek captain William Shatner left his checkbook on stun. (Well, he is Canadian...) Old Navy cruise director Morgan Fairchild gave $600 to Gephardt, $500 to Edwards and $250 to Dean. Fairchild, who once dated Kerry, gave the soon-to-be Democratic nominee approximately nothing. Conservative radio talker Rush Limbaugh sat out primary season as did newly minted liberal radio talker Al Franken.
If you're looking for Hollywoodistas who backed President Bush, good luck. Celeb-friendly enclaves, such as the 90264 ZIP code (for Malibu, California), yielded not a single Republican contributor. And high-profile GOP supporters, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, didn't write checks.
Arguably the Industry's most prominent Republican backer was Fox chieftain Rupert Murdoch, who signed over $2,000 to Bush.
That Murdoch didn't hedge his bet with a like contribution to Kerry made him a man among moguls.
"Actors seem to be giving to the candidate, or a couple candidates, they would like to see win," Peretti says. "But some of the moguls are giving to all the candidates."
Case in point: Donald Trump, who balanced his books by giving $2,000 each to Bush and Kerry.
Then there's the case of Ben Affleck, who with a listed occupation of "actor" gave $2,000 to Clark, and with a listed occupation of "writer" gave $1,000 to Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
"Some people were joking that he's richer as an actor than a writer," Peretti says.
Judging by Affleck's recent box-office record, maybe not for long...