UPDATE: Stephen Colbert At Head Table For White House State Dinner; JJ Abrams, Bradley Cooper, Viacom’s Philippe Dauman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus & CNN’s Jeff Zucker Also Attend

UPDATE: 7:01 PM: Michelle Obama could have turned to the guy seated next to her at the head table during tonight’s White House State Dinner and asked if he’s heard any good jokes lately. That would be none other than The Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert. Could it be that French-sounding surname earned him some juice with the protocol folks? Meanwhile, according to the White House pool report, Bradley Cooper was seen chatting with Secretary of State John Kerry, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus was asked her what her favorite part of the dinner was. “Look who I’m sitting next to,” she said, pointing to Vice President Joe Biden. The real veep swiftly jumped in with: “Hey, stop screwin’ around, she’s my date!” He promptly burst out laughing and said, “Just kidding.” Meanwhile, Mindy Kaling was tweeting and Instagraming her evening.

PREVIOUSLY: We knew a good grasp of French would come in handy for Bradley Cooper one day. The American Hustle actor will be one of the many Hollywood guests attending the State Dinner tonight at the White House that President Obama and the First Lady are hosting for French President Francois Hollande. Among the cabinet members and government officials joining the sparkling gathering on the South Lawn will also be CNN chief Jeff Zucker, HBO’s Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, HBO CEO Richard Plepler, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, and Star Wars director JJ Abrams and his wife Katie McGrath. Both Abrams and McGrath have been big contributors to Obama and other Democrats’ campaigns. Fox’s The Mindy Project’s Mindy Kaling will also be there as will Ovation chairman Ken Solomon, Comcast’s David Cohen, actress Cicely Tyson and Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert and his wife. Other non-government notables at the White House tonight include New York Times editor Jill Abramson, Canal Plus journalist Laura Haim, who interviewed Obama back in 2009, Space X’s Elon Musk and long time Obama supporter Mary J. Blige, who will be performing later in the evening.

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