Elephants at Chinese; Long Wait at Academy

Usually when you see elephants on Hollywood Boulevard, it’s time to ask the bartender at Musso & Frank’s to get you a cab. But the seven Asian pachyderms (six adults and one very popular baby) and 120 Thai dancers in front of the Mann Chinese Theater on Wednesday evening were very real and part of one of the most elaborate spectacles Hollywood as seen in a while. The occasion was the world premiere of “Anna and the King,” which stars Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat in the title roles.

“If they ever do a remake of ‘Elephant Walk’ I’m ready,” joked director Andy Tennant about working with the giant extras.

At the post-screening reception at Les Deux Cafes many of the women remarked about the appeal and sexiness of Chow, heretofore known for his Hong Kong action flicks. On Chow’s new leading man status, co-star Foster fully concurred. “He deserves it, don’t you think?”

Chinese-born actress Bai Ling, who plays one of the king’s concubines, wore a slinky gown of orange silk that revealed a snake “tattoo” on her left breast and navel, which her beau (musician-actor Chris Isaak) had stenciled earlier in the day.

So many people showed up at the Tuesday night premiere of director Julie Taymor’s Shakespearean adaptation “Titus” that several hundred people were left standing outside the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when the screening started.

Among those to make it inside: The film’s stars--Anthony Hopkins, Alan Cumming, Harry Lennix, Angus MacFadyen and Laura Fraser--as well as Taymor and her partner, composer Elliot Goldenthal.

At the after-party at the cavernous new WeHo club the Factory, Cumming, the delightfully fey Scottish actor, enthused about the recent spate of theater directors who have transferred their skills to film (including Taymor and “American Beauty” director Sam Mendes, who, with Rob Marshall, directed “Cabaret”). And he playfully described his outfit, a robin’s egg blue suit with pink jersey knit sweater as “Prada, head to foot . . . except for my Gucci underwear.”

Some of Hollywood’s most talented young stars turned out for the Sunday debut of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”: Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon, who star in the film, as well as pals Ben Affleck, Winona Ryder and Tobey Maguire.

The atrium of the Armand Hammer museum was transformed into a Mediterranean paradise with tangles of vines, blush-hued roses, striped pastel tablecloths and obscene amounts of food.

The Monday premiere of “Simpatico” at the Egyptian Theater raised nearly $60,000 for the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Sharon Stone, who stars in the film and chairs the group’s fund-raising campaign, called for a moment of silence in honor of those who have died of AIDS.