Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama raised an estimated $1.3 million at a 600-people Beverly Hills Hilton fundraising dinner last night, with the help of Hollywood actors and other film industry rich.

"Don't sell yourselves short," Obama told them in a 25-minute address. "You are the storytellers of our age."

Tickets were $2,300, the maximum individual donation to a federal campaign. A later, private dinner at David Geffen's home was being held for fundraisers who brought in at least $46,000 for the evening.

About a year from now, California will hold its primaries in the run-up to the November 2008 presidential elections. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers have agreed to advance the state's primary to Feb. 5. Other big states are also taking steps to move their primaries to Feb. 5.

"There's a mood in the air. There's a sense that the way we've been doing business for the last couple of decades has to change, that we are at a crossroads in this nation's history," Obama said.