Faithful fans flock to Saint Angelina

Talk about Celebrity Worship.

Like pilgrims to Compostella, several thousand faithful fans lined the closed-off Hollywood Blvd. block  in front of the the Kodak Theatre yesterday. All were desperately hoping to get a glimpse, a moment, some kind of physical contact, a photo or an autograph of "Ocean's Thirteen" stars Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon.

Isn't it amazing to see all these people turned out for your premiere?" "Yeah, well, most of them are family, so they don't count,' joked Clooney, adding, "Besides, I think most people came to see Brad."   

Nice try, George. Clooney was the hero of the night. First on the scene, his appearance elicited deafening screams as he ran-walked the whole block-long bleachers, signing, kissing, shaking hands, posing for pix, as his publicist Stan Rosenfield scanned the street like he was searching for crazed snipers.

But Brad wasn't far behind, hopping out of a limo with..  OHMIGOD... Angelina Jolie!! The fans were positively ectastic over the presence of a Versace-clad Angie, who clung to her man initially but broke rank as they split up and did the fan stands solo, signing, shaking, smiling. One girl breathlessly told the actress/mom/humanitarian hottie, "I've been since 4 a.m.!" This was at 7:16 p.m. Now that's devotion.

After the mixing and mingling ended and the stars scooted inside the Grauman's (but still owned and operated by Mann) Chinese Theatre, the crowd did not disperse. They lingered, still in a stunned, almost beatific state. One overwhelmed young woman wept with joy as she stared at the purse Angelina had just signed.

Or she may have been weeping over Clooney's scrawl. Hard to tell.

Photo Credits: Angelina blessed the fans at the "Ocean's Thirteen" premiere last night.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic