The backlash against David Beckham may have already started in the American press – one columnist described the footballer’s voice yesterday as recalling “a beseeching Oliver Twist” – but his love affair with Hollywood’s Alist has only just begun.

After managing only 12 minutes on the pitch during his debut as a $250 million (£125 million) player for Los Angeles Galaxy, Beckham celebrated on Sunday night by rubbing shoulders with some of Hollywood’s biggest names at a “welcome to LA” party. It was held at the Geffen Contemporary, a branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art, in the city’s gritty but fashionable central district.

Beckham and his wife, Victoria – the star of a much-derided “reality” television show on NBC that was broadcast last week to poor ratings – arrived with Tom Cruise, the actor, and his wife, Katie Holmes, both of whom have been subjected to ridicule over recent years for their support of Scientology. Cruise flew in from Germany, where he is shooting a film about the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler, and where he has been described as the “Goebbels of Scientology” by a spokesman for the German Protestant Church.

In spite of such inflammatory language, film-makers in Germany have spoken out in support of Cruise, and the German film board has quietly sponsored the project.

The director Ron Howard – who adapted The Da Vinci Code for the big screen – was among the first to arrive. Also in attendance was Brooke Shields, the actress who was infamously criticised by Cruise for taking medication to treat postpartum depression (Cruise, who is critical of psychiatry, later apologised).

Less controversial guests included the actor Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who were co-hosts for the evening along with Cruise and Holmes.

The event had all the theatrics of a postOscars ceremony: a red carpet (decorated with American and British flags), police cars, bodyguards, paparazzi, helicopters overhead, limousines, television cameras, assistants and a phalanx of clipboard-holders.

Sports stars who walked the red carpet included LeBron James, the brightest star of American basketball, and the tennis star Venus Williams, fresh from her Wimbledon victory.

The warehouse-like gallery was transformed with sofas, loud music and elaborate lighting. The menu had a transatlantic theme: burgers and fries and bangers and mash.

The guests were not able to celebrate an on-field victory for Beckham, as his new team lost on Saturday to Chelsea 1-0. The game was attended by Victoria Beckham, Eva Longoria, one of the stars of the show Desperate Housewives, Holmes, Suri Cruise – her daughter with Cruise – and the Beckhams’ three sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz. All were crammed into the Beckhams’ VIP box.

Other celebrities scattered throughout the ground included the comedian Drew Carey, the starlet Mary-Kate Olsen, the actress Alicia Silverstone and the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Beckham’s 12 minutes on the field did not dampen the enthusiasm of partygoers. When the crowd kept cheering, Beckham said that he felt “a little embarrassed”.

A-list guests

Tom Cruise
Katie Holmes
Will Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith
Ron Howard
Brian Grazer
Brooke Shields
Wesley Snipes
Quincy Jones
Bruce Willis
Demi Moore
Ashton Kutcher
Jim Carrey
Jenny McCarthy
Vivica Fox
Eva Longoria
Simon Fuller

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