TINSELTOWN SPYWITNESS.

Byline: Joel Stratte-McClure

TOO HORRIBLE FOR WORDS: When is a premiere not a premiere?

When it's called a Masters of Horror Special Screening and the great names of the genre - including Tobe Hooper, Joss Whedon, Forrest J. Ackerman, Sid Haig, Andrew Bryniarski and Don Mancini - arrive on the red carpet to watch a slimy slugfest between wormy parasites and their disintegrating human hosts.

The nonpremiere of ``Slither'' on Thursday at the classy Vista Theatre in Los Feliz/Silverlake was definitely homage to the gory and gruesome horror genus.

``I'm paying tribute to the movies I grew up in the '80s and '90s with this in-your-face body horror flick,'' said first-time director James Gunn, who wrote ``Dawn of the Dead,'' as he munched on Latin cuisine at the after-party at Malo. ``Tobe Hooper just told me he loved the movie. That made my night.''

``Slither,'' which opens on March 31, will certainly boost the horror-ible reputations of Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Brenda James and Michael Rooker, whose expanding, blobby character resembles an insatiable Jabba the Hutt on an eating binge.

``I hope the horror genre community will embrace me, because I'm a great fan,'' said Banks, who repeatedly watched ``Poltergeist'' when she was growing up. ``Please don't tell them that storms scare me and I freak out in cemeteries.''

``I'm wondering if the 'Firefly' sci-fi cult will cross over to watch me do horror,'' added Fillion, who has an active following called the Browncoats. ``If they do, maybe I'll take them into Shakespeare next.''

In fact, Fillion's got a good shot of expanding his fan base.

``The sci-fi and horror communities are actually part of the same amorphous blob,'' said Whedon, who's working on the fantasy script for ``Wonder Woman.'' `` 'Slither' is a metaphor of what we're all about, and horror fans will eat Nathan up.''

So will Jabba.

RAISING FUNDS FOR ALZHEIMER'S: Don't think that the Hollywood awards season ended with the Oscars. The Abe Burrows Entertainment Award was presented to ``Grey's Anatomy'' on Wednesday night at the Alzheimer's Association 14th annual A Night at Sardi's fundraiser at the Beverly Hilton.

``My name is William H. Macy Jr.,'' said the award's presenter, who left wife Felicity Huffman at home to recover from the Oscar hullabaloo. ``My papa, William H. Macy Sr., has Alzheimer's. And one of the boldest and bravest characters on ``Grey's Anatomy'' is a surgeon battling this disease.''

``This award is particularly meaningful because it speaks to something that we're trying to do that is truly good and positive,'' said ``Grey's Anatomy'' creator Shonda Rhimes as she stood on stage with members of the cast, including actress Kate Burton, whose character is afflicted with Alzheimer's. ``That is to give viewers a look at a debilitating and fatal disease that is impacting an increasing number of people.''

Other presenters - including Victor Garber and Garry Marshall, and emcee Peter Gallagher - shared their personal experiences with Alzheimer's and encouraged contributions. ``Let's keep giving our time and money to make Alzheimer's a memory,'' said Gallagher, whose mother died from the disease after a 20-year battle. ``My heroes used to be baseball players,'' added Marshall, whose mother had Alzheimer's. ``But today they're people who raise money for important causes like this.''

The 1,000 people attending the benefit contributed $1.1 million to the Alzheimer's Association to fund research, support groups and educational programs.

MAKING THE STARS SHINE: Which designers scored highest on the red carpet at the Oscars? It looks like a tie between the Dior fashion house and Vera Wang.

Dior dressed two big names: presenter Charlize Theron and best actress Reese Witherspoon. Theron's forest-green silk gown with a giant bow didn't exactly wow all of the fashion critics, but only because some felt that the bow distracted from her gorgeous face. Witherspoon's truly vintage 1955 beaded Dior frock was the night's big winner.

Vera Wang also dressed two very big names - both best actress nominees - with wildly appreciated gowns. Michelle Williams wore a Wang mustard-colored '30s-inspired chiffon gown, and Keira Knightley looked palace perfect in Wang's fishtail-hem burgundy gown.

Versace came in third, dressing three presenters: Jessica Alba in a gold gown, Salma Hayek in a blue asymmetrical strapped gown and Hilary Swank in a strapless black number.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1) MACY: His dad was his hero.

Mark Main/Getty Images

(2) BURTON: Her character has Alzheimer's.

Mark Main/Getty Images

(3) ROOKER and GUNN: It's him...no, it's him.

(4) BANKS and FILLION: ``Slither''-ing around.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images