TINSELTOWN SPYWITNESS.

Byline: Joel Stratte-McClure

CHOICE VOICE: What does ``Happily N'ever After,'' the animated and satirical retelling of Cinderella that opens today, have in common with ``Open Season,'' ``Chicken Little,'' ``The Wild,'' ``Family Guy'' and ``Hoodwinked''?

They all feature the distinctive voice of Patrick Warburton who, for the record, is also ``Patrick ... your flight attendant'' on the ``Soarin' Over California'' ride at Disney's California Adventure. As the voice of the Prince in ``N'ever,'' the 42-year-old actor displays a lot more range than he would if he were physically on screen.

``I can play a blond, effeminate princely character that's 20 years younger than me when I'm just a voice,'' said Warburton, who was accompanied by his wife, Cathy, and their four kids at the premiere in Westwood last month.

Why is Warburton at the top of everyone's list when they need a reliable voice?

``He has great projection, a unique interpretive range and can be straight and funny at the same time,'' said ``N'ever'' producer John H. Williams, who will also bring out ``Shrek the Third'' in May.

Who knew? ``Actually I was attracted to both his muscles and his great sexy voice when I first met him,'' admitted his wife.

Warburton's not all that impressed with the way he sounds.

``The muscles dwindle, and doing the voice stuff is a happy accident,'' he said before the after party at the Napa Valley Grille. ``Actually I don't think I've got a great voice and feel like a fraud because I can't sing.''

But he is versatile. As a police car raced by before the premiere, Warburton successfully imitated the sound of its siren.

TAKING OFF: Avant-garde director and visual artist Robert Wilson left L.A. before today's opening of ``Absolute Wilson,'' the intriguing documentary about his life.

``I'm going to some very remote spots in Bali and (Papua) New Guinea where there're no phones or e-mail,'' said Texas-born Wilson, who's considered the rock star of the stage in Europe but is virtually unknown to the general public in the U.S. ``I've never really talked much about my work or my private life. And I'd rather not be here when others start discussing it.''

But one day last month Wilson underwent a Q&A session at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, attended the premiere of ``Absolute Wilson'' at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills, and enjoyed a post-screening dinner with 130 guests at Mr. Chow.

``I was fortunate enough to get Robert to describe his life in intimate detail after we met six years ago while sneaking cigarettes in a bathroom at a party,'' said German filmmaker Katharina Otto-Bernstein, who put together the documentary that includes rare archival footage with comments by David Byrne, Susan Sontag, Philip Glass and Jessye Norman. ``And I'm pleasantly surprised that he's helping promote the film.''

Fans at the premiere and after-party, many who've seen Wilson's local productions of ``The Black Rider'' and ``Madam Butterfly,'' included Cheryl Tiegs, Lauren Hutton, Victoria Tennant, HBO's Colin Callender, Ed Ruscha, Arianna Huffington, Peter Asher, Mary Kay Place, Robbie Robertson, Ed Begley Jr., Dani Jannsen and ``The Good German's'' Christian Oliver.

``The stuff Wilson does is remarkably revolutionary,'' said Oliver.

``Every German actor dreams of working with him. It's amazing that he's less known in the U.S. than anywhere else.''

Except perhaps Papua New Guinea.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) WARBURTON: A distinctive voice that has everybody listening.

Frazier Harrison/Getty Images

(2) WILSON: Visual artist finally in the spotlight in the U.S.

(3) OLIVER: This `Good German' finds Wilson's work revolutionary.

Kevin Parry