Dustin Hoffman holds court

Kirk Baird

Monday, June 17, 2002 | 10:18 a.m.

They craned their necks and politely pushed their way to the front, all in an effort to see what all the fuss was about in a small roped-off casino area at the Palms.

"What's going on here?" many in the crowd asked.

"A celebrity is playing blackjack," another answered.

"Who?" came the reply.

"Dunno. But it must be someone big."

They were half right. The celebrity in question was Dustin Hoffman -- big by Hollywood standards, but not by the NBA's.

Standing about 5 feet 8 inches, Hoffman still displayed considerable stature as he was in town over the weekend to pick up the inaugural CineVegas Marquee Award for his work in mainstream and independent film.

Hoffman and his wife, Lisa, were participating in the festival's celebrity blackjack tournament Saturday afternoon, a fund-raiser for the event co-sponsored by Greenspun Media Group, which owns the Sun. Other celebrities in the tournament included Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor on "Smallville"), actor Elliot Gould and director Mars Callahan, whose film "Poolhall Junkies," has its world premiere at CineVegas.

But Hoffman was the star of the show.

Dressed in a blue oxford shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and navy-blue jeans, Hoffman gamely played through the first tournament round until he was eliminated.

He smiled and chatted with those seated around him and posed for photos and signed autographs for anyone who asked as his wife played into the next rounds.

"He's a nice-looking man," an older woman said to a friend. "Is that his wife or his girlfriend?"

Later two women in their early 20s seemed starstruck by the actor.

"It's Dustin Hoffman," one said to the other.

"Who's that?" came the friend replied.

"He's a celebrity," the first woman answered. "Isn't he?"

When told yes, they both smiled. After all, a celebrity sighting is a celebrity sighting.

A few hours later the Hoffmans and their four children came by the Desert Willow room in the Four Seasons for the Marquee Award presentation.

Celebrating a lifetime achievement in film is difficult, especially with a high-caliber resume such as Hoffman's.

The actor first drew notice as Benjamin Braddock in 1967's "The Graduate," a darkly comic coming-of-age film that smartly represented the counterculture movement of the late-1960s. His next memorable role came two years later in "Midnight Cowboy"; both Hoffman and co-star Jon Voight were nominated for Best Actor, only to lose out to John Wayne for "True Grit."

In the '70s some of Hoffman's brighter cinematic moments came in "Little Big Man," "Papillon," "Lenny," "All the President's Men" and "Kramer vs. Kramer," for which he won his first Best Actor Oscar.

In the '80s and '90s Hoffman's brightest moments included "Tootsie," "Rainman," which earned Hoffman his second Best Actor Oscar, and "Wag the Dog."

In an interview with the Sun, the 64-year-old Hoffman credited "The Graduate" director Mike Nichols as the man most responsible for the actor's career.

"He went against type and cast me in 'The Graduate' when I should have been Robert Redford," Hoffman said.

The actor also took to task Hollywood executives who are more concerned with box-office totals than cinema as art.

"We only do it for the art form, otherwise it becomes a product-oriented machine, which it is now," Hoffman said. "And at some point, like any virus, there's a limited amount of time before it dies out. Right now the virus in films is product-oriented. It's always first-weekend money, aimed at 13- to 21-year-olds, and at some point that virus will die."

When asked if he would decline to be involved in a film based on box-office potential, the responded:

"I would never say no to something that is going to be too big of a hit, with the caveat that it's not something I feel is destructive or overly violent."

Earlier, in his acceptance speech, Hoffman said it is imperative "to pass on the baton ... the best part of us" to future filmmakers as a means of cinematic evolution."

He said an important part of that evolutionary process is through film festivals such as CineVegas, which, during its nine-day run, featured films from both established and first-time filmmakers.

"These kids have the opportunity because the people involved (in CineVegas) had the chance to see their films on a big screen," Hoffman said. "These are kids who put together these movies out of spit and paste. And we are inaugurating and inspiring them to go on.

"This is a killer art form because it can really destroy your spirit after five years of getting hit on the head."

Was there ever a point when the actor considered calling it quits?

"Oh yeah, many times," Hoffman said, adding that aggression kept him going, "and a desire to beat the bastards."