LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ahead of a big fundraising event next week, many Hollywood power players are rallying behind Barack Obama in his bid for U.S. president, pledging money and starpower after lending early support to his one-time rival Hillary Clinton.
Experts say that since Clinton conceded defeat earlier this month in her bid to be the Democratic candidate, celebrities have quickly united behind Obama.
The result, they said, could be a campaign cash windfall for the senator from Illinois, but star support doesn't necessarily transfer directly to votes.
A Tuesday fundraiser in downtown Los Angeles is expected to attract a host of Hollywood stars and feature a performance by the singer Seal at a cost of $2,300 per ticket.
Director Steven Spielberg and his partner in the Dreamworks movie studio, David Geffen, and Dreamworks Animation Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg are organizing another Obama fundraiser for later this year, said Andy Spahn, a consultant to the Hollywood power-trio.
"If a Hollywood celebrity puts his or her mind to it, they're good money raisers," said analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior scholar at the University of Southern California.
"Barbra Streisand, you put her in concert and you raise fortunes for Democrats, or Bruce Springsteen," Jeffe said.
Mitchell Schwartz, who was Obama's California campaign manager through the primary election season, said Obama's appeal in Hollywood had been limited, until now.
