Caught in the Web

For a moment, the towering presence of Laker Coach Phil Jackson upstages “Spider-Man” stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst at the film’s Westwood premiere Monday night.

Hordes of star-struck fans roar as the 6-foot-9-inch Jackson steps onto the red carpet. One man waves a Lakers jersey. (The team beat Portland last weekend and is poised to play in the Western Conference semifinals Sunday.) Teen reporter Fred Medill scrambles with his microphone when he spots Jackson. Then, he pitches a question on game strategy. “Find a way to win the first game,” Jackson says sagely. “It’s always important to start a series that way.”

A trio of girls in baggy clothes and braces on their teeth stands a few feet away behind a metal barrier. When a bejeweled Steven Tyler lopes by, they stare so intensely that the rock star shouts out to them: “What’re you looking at?” The bravest of the group shouts back, “Nothing!” and then dissolves in a fit of giggles. Moments later, the girls devise a plan to impersonate reporters. “We could say we’re from Nickelodeon,” one suggests. They slip past the barrier and cozy up to a British TV crew. No one seems to mind. “Here comes someone!” one girl shouts as Cliff Robertson heads their way.

Meanwhile, Maguire stands on a platform with the E! network crew, talking about the fateful decision at age 12 that led to his career. “I was going to take home economics, because I liked cooking,” Maguire says. Instead, he opted for acting class.

Inside the Mann Village Theater, industry people crowd the aisles, although the film is about to start. “I want that job more than any other job in the world,” one gray-haired, suited man tells another. “Oh!” says a woman to a friend. “You smell like Hawaii!”

Gene Simmons walks in with an armload of popcorn. Jon Voight greets Cuba Gooding Jr. as he and his children find their seats. Next to Gooding’s family, a young actor from Australia recites the four lines from his first film, a Jerry Bruckheimer picture called “Down and Under.”

Soon the lights dim. The actor ceases his impromptu performance as the previously self-absorbed crowd erupts into loud cheers, marking the start of yet another successful movie premiere in Los Angeles.

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Turning Restaurants Into His Stage

Chef Mario Batali’s fantasy week includes a stay at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in West Hollywood (for its “air of rock ‘n’ roll”), two days at the Getty Museum (browsing), a Thursday at La Brea Bakery (for its grilled cheese night,) and a visit to Santa Monica (for a peek at the ocean.) But for real Los Angeles flavor, this New Yorker’s first stop would be Pink’s for hot dogs.

Unfortunately, when Batali breezed through town last weekend, his stay included none of these sensory experiences.

Rather, Batali spent his days promoting “The Babbo Cookbook” at the L.A. Times Festival of Books, and his nights doing what he does very well--which is cook.

His appearance at Campanile on Friday drew hundreds of food lovers who came to sample his take on Italian cuisine.

“Food has become one of our intellectual and mental pursuits,” said Batali, via cell phone, while en route to Seattle. “It used to be that people would go to the symphony and get a bite, or go to the theater and get a bite.” Now, he said, “the bite” has become the main event.

Batali cut his teeth at Le Cordon Bleu in London, and after a stint cooking at a trattoria in the Northern Italian village Borgo Capanne (his “three years in heaven”), Batali opened his first restaurant, Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, in Greenwich Village.

In addition, he opened Lupa, a Roman-style trattoria, a wine shop and Esca, a southern Italian seafood trattoria. He also hosts “Molto Mario” and “Mario Eats Italy” on the Food Network.

“There’s a very hungry public for the new, the old, the traditional, the intensely bizarre experience,” he said. Diners, he said, want to be amazed--”just as the theater might thrill you.”

Batali is a good example of how the restaurant has become a stage, the chef a celebrity.

Before becoming a star chef himself, Batali apprenticed with British chef Marco Pierre White.

The British public adored White’s rebellious attitudes, and his good looks didn’t hurt either, said Batali, comparing him to punk rocker Sid Vicious. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

“I’m not a bad-boy chef,” explained Batali. “I’m more of a family guy.”

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Quote/Unquote

“It’s tough to make a movie--particularly if you’ve got something better to do.”--Warren Beatty in this week’s Variety.

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City of Angles runs Tuesday through Friday. E-mail angles @latimes.com