“Hollywood is strong for Kamala Harris’ LA fundraiser.”

Hollywood celebrities made a grand entrance this afternoon as Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Los Angeles for the first time since running for the Democratic nomination.

Today’s gathering, held at the JW Marriott Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, was a mix of major donors willing to pay nearly $1 million to attend and those who donated as little as $500, with prices sold out by this morning.

About 1,500 people were crammed into a hotel ballroom for the event, with more expected, sitting around a simple stage with the Harris Walz logo and a large blue curtain as a backdrop. As Deadline exclusively reported on September 28, Alanis Morissette and Halle Bailey were booked to perform at the event. Morissette took the stage earlier in the afternoon and Bailey was scheduled to appear later.

Among the speakers was Keegan-Michael Key.

“This is truly the most important election of our lives,” Key said.

Attendees included campaign co-chair Jeffery Katzenberg, Lily Tomlin, Guardian Boss and long-time Democratic donor Damon Lindelof and wife Heidi. In a guest column for Deadline on July 3, Emmy winner Lindelof became the first major Hollywood donor to publicly call for President Joe Biden’s resignation following his June 27 debate debacle with Donald Trump on CNN. The exLost The showrunner was soon followed by the likes of Rob Reiner and George Clooney as campaign donations ran out.

According to a source, Sterling K. Brown was also in attendance. Harris was scheduled to speak later in the afternoon after mingling with generous donors at a reception and photo station at the hotel.

A few agents and industry publicists were also spotted, including Kristina Schake, Jeff Tobler, Alison Rou, Scott Rowe and Kelly Bush. On the political side, notables such as former California Governor Gray Davis, Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) were in attendance. Padilla also spoke and Butler was scheduled to address the crowd in the afternoon.

There was also tight security and participants were greeted by armed secret service agents.

Today’s fundraiser, which began just after 2 p.m. PT, was expected to be a big draw since Harris has yet to headline an event in her adopted hometown since her presidential run began on July 21. In fact, the venue was just around the corner from where a visibly exhausted POTUS appeared with former President Barack Obama and Jimmy Kimmel at the Peacock Theater on June 15th. This was the 81-year-old Biden’s last LA visit before the viability of his candidacy faces a crisis for Democrats.

That’s a far cry from the enthusiastic campaign that Harris and his Lt. Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota are currently waging in what remains a tight race.

Last night, as the vice president flew in on Air Force Two from San Francisco, where Harris was district attorney for six years, she checked in with her and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff at their Brentwood home before racing downtown for the fundraiser . With just over 30 days until Election Day, the vice president is leaving Sunday’s fundraiser in LA to fly straight to LAX and head to Las Vegas for a rally tonight.

Although most of the election attention is focused on battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, this weekend’s double-dipping in the Golden State is both an opportunity to save big financially and to give some wealthy donors some face time.

There is also an increasing focus among donors on voter voting. With Democrats just a few seats away from regaining the House majority, races in California and New York could determine whether Hakeem Jeffries becomes the next speaker. Congressional candidates will likely seek a photo or two with Harris, as she is expected to lead California by a wide margin.

Harris’ campaign events come as Walz prepares to debate Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), in her first and only matchup on Tuesday. After a very successful debate against Trump on September 10th, Harris asked the ex-president to meet her for a second round on October 23rd on CNN. Trump has so far rejected this.

The event raised money for the Harris Victory Fund, a joint committee of her campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties.

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