With tickets ranging $250 to $1,000—and tables up to $25,000!—Saturday’s Picture House “Cinema Soiree” was a little too rich for my blood. But that didn’t stop me from mooching some hors d’oeuvres and drinks at the pre-dinner media hour … and then sheepishly accosting as many celebrities as I could talk to.

A slew of photos, my two-second takes on the evening’s honorees (including, from left to right above, Dan Futterman, Glenn Close, Leslie Holleran, and Bennett Miller), and the scoop on the Picture House’s new fall film series, headed by Peter Travers, are all after the break.

Held the Rye Town Hilton, the event attracted some 825 guests—a truly amazing number given (a) the price, (b) that it had little publicity and© that this is only the fundraiser’s second year. To help heighten the “Hollywood on the Hudson” concept (also one of our proposed titles for this blog!), the hotel’s lobby area was decked out with movie posters, red carpets, and mock papparrazi photographers. The goal of the evening, of course, was to raise cash money for the Picture House’s proposed two-screen expansion.

But much more interesting than this—or the silent auction of sports, theater, and Martha Stewart Show tickets—was an announcement from Peter Travers (left), film critic for Rolling Stone, that he’ll be launching a new film series at the theater this fall, complete with indie movies, famous guests, and post-film discussions. Raised in White Plains and now a Mamaroneck resident, Travers has become one of the chief driving forces behind PPH’s new Film Advisory board, which includes Whoopi Goldberg, producer Leslie Holleran, and studio head Bob Berney, among others.

• Dan Futterman, the “Capote” screenwriter and star of the forthcoming Daniel Pearl biopic “A Mighty Heart,” explained that he aspires to be “a Jewish Tom Cruise.” Incidentally, if that falls throught, the role of Jewish Michael Richards is still open.

• Jane Alexander, a four-time Academy Award nominee, lives in Dobbs Ferry. Who knew? Score one for the river town celebrity rolls.

• Glenn Close, a Bedford resident, is just about to start shooting her new F/X legal thriller and her costar is going to be—drumroll please—Ted Danson. Yes, that’s right, after “Ink” and “Becker” and “Help Me Help You” and that bizarre blackface incident a few years back, Ted Danson still manages to get TV work. Thank God everyone knows his hame.

• Steve Tisch, a Scarsdale native and the mega-producer behind “Forrest Gump,” “Risky Business,” “American History X,” and “The Pursuit of Happyness,” is now also the chairman of the NY Giants. Think of him as Mark Cuban’s bizarro pro-sports-movie-mogul arch nemesis.

• Bennet Miller, Futterman’s platonic life partner and the director of “Capote,” says that he didn’t know the Dillon brothers (Matt and Kevin) all that well, but that they were at Mamaroneck High School around the same time as he and Futterman (class of ‘85). Kevin was supposed to be a year ahead but “was sorta held back.”

Alright, so maybe the celebs didn’t share anything especially earth-shattering. But on a weekend when “Norbit” and “Epic Movie” were the alternatives, supporting indie films—and our local celebs—was just the right thing to do. And, from the taste of that “Fatal Attraction” martini, the tasty way to do it.

Check out the Pelham Picture House website for more info on their expanison plans and how you can get involved.

Left: Glenn Close at the cocktail hour; Right: Producer Leslie Holleran, of Mamaroneck, and director Lasse Hallstrom, of Bedford

Left: Jane Alexander and Peter Travers; Right: Bennett Miller and Dan Futterman on stage

Glenn Close addressing the cinema soiree audience.

(all photos by Jay Ackerman, courtesy The Picture House)