The mood was subdued, yet the passion with which the crème de la crème of the acting and recording worlds approached the evening’s efforts was an underlying force to be reckoned with.

From George Clooney’s opening sentiments from Los Angeles, where he spent the past week pulling together the two-hour Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, to Anderson Cooper’s dispatches from the earthquake-torn nation to Wyclef Jean’s closing message of hope for his fellow Haitians to each and every musical performance, there really wasn’t a moment that didn’t ring heartfelt and true.

The only times we glanced in disbelief, perhaps, was when we saw who was populating the front row of phone banks: Jenna Elfman, Tobey Maguire, Meg Ryan, Tim Robbins, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Eric Dane, Kate Beckinsale, Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, Cindy Crawford, Ben Affleck, Sigourney Weaver, Noah Wyle, Ringo Starr, Jack Nicholson, Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Robin Williams and more.

Just sitting there, one right next to the other, animatedly engaging donors who were giving anywhere from $5 to thousands to the cause. (And we didn’t even mention Tim Allen, Billy Crystal, Colin Farrell, Pierce Brosnan, Gerard Butler, Neil Patrick Harris, LL Cool J, Selena Gomez, et al. sitting in the second row.)

Read the entire coverage at E! Online

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