Stars behind the camera

Jodie Foster and Sean Penn showed up to an award show and walked away empty-handed. But no hard feelings, as it was Hollywood Life’s Behind the Camera Awards, which gave props to some lesser-known names at the Highlands on Nov. 11. 1. Charlie Kaufman took his eyes off the prize, all the better to hand it over to production designer Mark Friedberg, while 2. fellow bespectacled presenter Seth Rogen goofed around with Judd Apatow, who took home best screenwriter honors. 3. Foster gave it up for her “The Brave One” cinematographer Phillippe Rousselot, while Penn praised his “Into the Wild” editor Jay Cassidy, whom he says gets “a good eight hours a year of sleep!” Getting no respect at the award show: presenter James Woods, who took gentle ribbing from Rainn Wilson and Penn in stride.--

Remembering Peter Boyle

Doris Roberts and Patricia Heaton hit the Wilshire Ebell Theatre stage Nov. 10 at “Celebrating Peter Boyle: An Evening of Comedy With Family & Friends,” but they left the stand-up to the pros, including 4. Jeff Garlin, Martin Short, Richard Lewis, and Ray Romano. 5. Heaton pledged allegiance to her “Everybody Loves Raymond” costar, as did 6. Romano, who reached out for laughs. For the finale, Boyle’s widow, Loraine, and daughter Amy thanked the crowd, which helped raise $650,000 for the International Myeloma Foundation’s Peter Boyle Memorial Fund.

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Writers get their due

Helen Mirren put her Oscar-winning talents to good use at PEN USA’s 17th Annual Literary Awards on Nov. 6 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where she read Sahal Abdulle’s award-winning account of getting car-bombed in Somalia while on assignment for Reuters. She ended with these words from the Somali Canadian journalist: “But if we all leave, there will be no one left to tell the story.” That prompted emcee Larry Gelbart to crack that in other parts of the world, a whole lot more than residuals is at stake. 7. Freedom to Write recipient Abdulle hobnobbed with Kerry Washington, who upped the glam quotient at the affair, as did Mirren’s hubby Taylor Hackford. The onetime Santa Barbara News-Press paperboy presented the First Amendment Award to Jerry Roberts, the former executive editor of that paper who recently resigned in protest over a question of journalistic ethics.

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Funny men enjoy the green

After signing sweet syndication deals, how have Ray Romano, George Lopez and Tim Allen been spending their post-sitcom days? Putting around! 8. Allen hitched a ride with former “Tool Time” buddy Richard Karn at Golf Digest’s Celebrity Invitational on Monday, while Lopez got into the swing of things on Nov. 5 at the Callaway Golf Foundation Challenge, benefiting cancer research, where 9. Cheech Marin made googly eyes at his lucky club. Romano, who made the rounds at both events, lamented his handicap, but Bruce Jenner had no complaints. He won a Mercedes C-class during Callaway’s “Hit a Car, Win a Car” contest!