UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. -- Hundreds of fans lined a city block in this St. Louis suburb to catch a glimpse of stars like Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds at a Sunday evening premiere of "The Longest Yard" movie to benefit rap star Nelly's charity.

Nelly, who has a role in the film, requested the event. Proceeds will help his JesUs4Jackie campaign, a national bone marrow initiative in honor of his sister Jacqueline "Jackie" Donahue, who lost her battle with leukemia on March 24 at age 31.

In March 2003, Nelly and his then-ailing sister formed the campaign to find donors for her and to encourage more people, particularly blacks, to join the registry.

Nelly, who emerged from the theater dressed in white with a popcorn box in hand, spoke about the importance of the marrow drives and greeted screaming fans, who stood 10 deep in places. A few enthusiastic fans sat on the shoulders of others or peered out from the upper levels of a parking garage for a better view.

A donor was never found for Donahue, but Nelly said her legacy continues and others have been helped through the drives.

"We're going to continue, you know, to push and help save lives," he said. "You know, no matter what happens in my career, I know that I've helped to save a few lives and no one can take that from me."

Both Burt Reynolds and Chris Rock said the film's stars had known that Nelly had a family member fighting leukemia during the filming and so wanted to attend the St. Louis-area event, which was held at the Tivoli Theater.

"The Longest Yard" is a movie about a group of inmates who take on prison guards in a football game. Comedian Rock said actors made good friends on the set.

"A lot of guys just came out to support our good friend, Nelly," Rock said.

"One thing about the movie is we're a team in the movie, and it's weird, when you do the work for three months with a group of guys, we actually became a team. There actually became a point where we're not acting as a team anymore. We are a team, and we look out for each other, and we try to be at each other's premieres and, you know, support each other's causes."

Professional athletes and musicians also walked the red carpet, including baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, at least seven St. Louis Rams players and Portland Trail Blazers basketball player Darius Miles.

Members of the St. Lunatics rap group and the band Story of the Year also attended.

More than 700 seats sold to the screening. Chalena Mack, executive director of Nelly's 4Sho4Kids foundation, which helps children with developmental disabilities and born addicted to drugs, said it was not yet known how much money the event raised.

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On the Net:

JesUs4Jackie: www.jesus4jackie.com