TINSELTOWN SPYWITNESS.

Byline: Jenny Peters and Mike Szymanski

HAVANA AFFAIR: ``Let's pray there will be a free Cuba someday,'' Andy Garcia said while walking down the red carpet Monday night at the premiere of ``The Lost City,'' which he directed, produced and starred in after shopping the project around for years. ``But it's not a political movie, it's a love story.''

Set in his home country of Cuba, the film takes a jaded look at the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro.

But the story centers on Garcia as a nightclub owner who falls in love with his sister-in-law (Ines Sastre) after his brother (Enrique Murciano from ``Without a Trace'') joins the revolution. The movie opens April 28 in theaters.

The night got crazier when Bill Murray blurted out jokes as the movie started at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. Having just finished voicing the cat for ``Garfield 2,'' Murray seemed to be channeling his brash, nameless character in ``Lost City,'' heckling paparazzi by shouting, ``They'll be selling photos in a booth outside the party.''

The party, across the street at the Cabana Club, featured beans, rice, shredded pork, plantains, mojitos and many of Garcia's friends. George Lopez came over to listen to Garcia jam with the Cineson All-Stars. ``Andy did the music to this movie, too - it shows how multitalented he is,'' said Lopez.

``Cold Case'' star Danny Pino was happy to see much of his fellow TV cast come to see him portray Garcia's other brother. ``They'll get to see me grow a beard and shave it off in the film,'' he said.

For the tireless Garcia, next up is ``going fishing in the Bahamas.''

OWL ABOARD: ``It's not as easy as it looks,'' said jack-of-all-trades Jimmy Buffett with a big grin on Saturday afternoon at the ``Hoot'' premiere held at The Grove. The singer-songwriter-restaurateur turned thespian plays a science teacher in the big-screen adaptation of Carl Hiaasen's novel for tweeners, an environmental tale about saving endangered burrowing owls that is set in his home state of Florida. Buffett is also the film's composer, and he has written some lively new songs for the flick, as well (he's the producer, too). The movie opens in theaters May 5.

But the real stars of the movie are three buzzed-about teens - Cody Linley, Logan Lerman and pretty Brie Larson - who were surrounded by autograph-hound kids at the after-party held in the town square of the massive outdoor shopping mall in West Hollywood. Luke Wilson, Jessica Cauffiel and Tim Blake Nelson rounded out the cast on hand for the kid-friendly daytime shindig. ''The Shield'' star Michael Chiklis joined other parents in sending his daughter into sugar shock with the dizzying spread of pancakes, lemonade, cookies, ice cream, smoothies and jelly beans. She got an owl painted on her arm, too, and posed with the majestic and very real owl that presided over the festivities. And the happiest camper in the crowd? Definitely Hiaasen, whose previous experience with Hollywood's translation of one of his novels didn't go quite as well as ``Hoot.''

``This was a very different experience than `Striptease,''' the handsome Floridian chuckled. ``This time they didn't change my ending!''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) SASTRE, MURRAY and GARCIA: ``Lost City's stars

(2) BUFFETT: Having a ``Hoot''

Mark Mainz/Getty Images