Stars Aligning in Gubernator Race

Sylvester Stallone is in Arnold Schwarzenegger's corner. So are Paris Hilton's grandfather, Steven Spielberg and the King of the World.

Stallone, Hilton Hotels chairman William Hilton, Spielberg and director James Cameron are among the bold-faced contributors to Schwarzenegger's reelection campaign for California governor, records show.

Barbra Streisand, West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin and Curb Your Enthusiasm social observer Larry David, meanwhile, are kicking in for the former action star's opponent, Phil Angelides.

Paris Hilton herself has yet to weigh in financially. Thankfully, she still has time: The election is Nov. 7.

The last time Schwarzenegger was on a ballot, in 2003, he was the lone $25-million-a-movie movie star in a historically crowded, 135-candidate field that included former child star Gary Coleman, adult film actress Mary Carey, publisher Larry Flynt and Gallagher. He won. By a lot.

Today, Schwarzenegger, 59, is three years past his last major film role in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. In other words, he's a plain-old incumbent, albeit one who warranted a cameo last week on Monday Night Football.

"They [voters] forget you're Ronald Reagan the actor or Gopher or Cooter--or the Terminator...because you have the record," says Ron Gunzburger, founder and publisher of Politics1.com.

With Schwarzenegger, the Republican, currently outpolling Angelides, the Democrat, in a state that typically shades very blue, the Terminator's star power appears to be outshining his record--one that took a hit last year after voters rejected a slate of his reform initiatives.

"His celebrity gives him a little bit more Teflon," Gunzburger says.

Perhaps more important to winning elections, his celebrity gives him celebrity friends--and their celebrity money.

Says Anthony York, editor of the California politics and government magazine, Capitol Weekly, "Traditionally, Democrats do well in Hollywood, [but] Schwarzenegger is a little bit different."

While Schwarzenegger's list of contributors doesn't quite read like an Oscar
night seating chart, it's definitely more star-studded than your typical
pancake breakfast.

Stallone's down for a $15,000 contribution to Californians for Schwarzenegger; Spielberg, through the Spielberg Family Living Trust, is in for the maximum single donation of $22,300.

Some of Schwarzenegger's Hollywood contributors are also former Hollywood coworkers: Cameron ($22,300), his Terminator and T2 director; Jonathan
Mostow ($2,500), his T3 director; and Brian Grazer ($10,000), his Kindergarten
Cop producer.

But most, like Stallone and Spielberg, have no Internet Movie Database credit connection to the governor. The group's heavy hitters include former talk show host/mogul Merv Griffin ($22,300), actor Dennis Hopper ($2,000), power producer Jerry Bruckheimer (who contributed $10,000 as an individual and some $20,000 through his production company) and Spielberg's DreamWorks partner Jeffrey Katzenberg ($22,300, through the Katzenberg Family Trust).

Other financial backers include: William Hilton ($22,300), the Paris Hilton forerunner, and Maria Shriver (two contributions of $22,300 each), the only self-described journalist on the lengthy list of donors--and the only one married to
the candidate.

Angelides' big-name backers tend to have backed him with smaller amounts. Streisand shows up on ElectionTrack.com with a pair of $1,000 donations; Sorkin, with a total of $4,500 in donations; and David Geffen, Spielberg and Katzenberg's third DreamWorks amigo, with a lone $1,000 contribution. Larry David, by comparison, shows up twice, with two $10,000 donations.

All told, Schwarzenegger has racked up $33.6 million in contributions to his main campaign fund; Angelides, $27.5 million, per ElectionTrack.com's count.

Comparing the Schwarzenegger campaign sequel to 2003's cast-of-thousands epic, York says, "The money hasn't changed, but I think the frenzy may have."

Trying to infuse a bit of 2003 into the 2006 race is Carey, who has declared herself intentions to renew her run for the governor's office as a write-in candidate.

Her slogan: "Finally, a politician you want to be screwed by."