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LOS ANGELES - It was movie stars celebrating movies, as Sean Connery, Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey, Jodie Foster, Dustin Hoffman and a host of others gathered in Hollywood for the American Film Institute's annual "AFI Night at the Movies."

It was also movie stars voicing concerns for an ailing nation, following the Senate's approval Wednesday of the US$700 billion economic bailout plan.

"Well, it's great," said Annette Bening, who arrived at ArcLight Hollywood with husband Warren Beatty.

"I think we all need to be educated more about why it's important to pass the bailout. And from everything that I understand, it's a way of us moving forward. I'm glad that the Senate did that and I hope that the House follows."

Bening was at the AFI event, which screened 12 classic American films in a single night, to introduce "American Beauty," the Academy Award winner in which she starred with Kevin Spacey.

Jim Carrey, there to introduce "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," walked the media gauntlet with girlfriend Jenny McCarthy, who commented, "People are going to be relieved a little bit that there is going to be some help. But then there is the other side that thinks the rich are only going to get richer." The high-profile gathering reunited actors with some of their famous films: Cameron Diaz introduced "There's Something About Mary"; Shirley MacLaine, "The Apartment"; Steve Martin, "The Jerk"; Denzel Washington, "Glory"; Rita Moreno, "West Side Story."

Connery introduced "The Man Who Would be King"; Reeves, "The Matrix"; Hoffman, "Tootsie"; and Foster, "The Silence of the Lambs" -- a rare thriller that went on to both commercial and artistic triumphs.