Say what you will about the admission prices for the Newseum — the place packs them in for special events. That was certainly the case Tuesday when the museum hosted the premiere of Clint Eastwood’s new biopic, “J. Edgar,” about the longtime FBI director, as well as the fancy-pants invite-only launch of the Talking Points Memo 2012 politics site.

Where else will you find Eastwood, Grover Norquist and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) hobnobbing?

Spotted in the crowd at the film premiere were a wide variety of lawmakers and other Hill types, including Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), a former FBI agent and the current House Intelligence Committee chairman; Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee;  ex-Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), a former state trooper; and Sergeant-at-Arms Bill Livingood, the House’s top cop.

There was even apparently a little cross-pollination of the two events. Former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who now heads up the Motion Picture Association of American, stuck his head into the TPM event briefly before heading back out. Maybe he was looking for Clint?

HOH took the opportunity to ask Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, if he really kept all the hard copies of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge locked in a safe in his office.

It is true, he said.

Um … why? Aren’t they online?

Just in case, Norquist said. Of course it is.

That’s super careful to keep files like that. Kind of like Hoover, no?

Hey, Clint! We’ve got an idea for your next biopic.