TINSELTOWN SPYWITNESS.

Byline: Lilliam Rivera and Elizabeth Snead

PLAYING THEIR PARTS: Hair seemed to be the talk of the day when Benicio Del Toro, Tommy Lee Jones and Connie Nielsen strutted the red carpet for the premiere of their thriller ``The Hunted,'' which opens today.

The surprise of the night had to be Jones' very long ponytail he had gathered back with a rubber band. The ponytail is for the Ron Howard Western ``The Missing'' that he is gearing up to start filming.

Co-star Nielsen flashed her long legs with a short yellow mini dress, but her lime green trench coat might have been a bit too much. What is the one thing the actress can't do without? ``My hairstylist. Look at this hair - I have to always smack it down with gel to tame it.''

Del Toro must have had the same problem. He topped his curly locks with a brown ``The Hunted'' cap matched up with a casual blue suit.

WHERE TALENT RETREATS: This year, the Screen Actors Guild Awards after-party was hosted by People magazine, which meant that: A) no other print press were permitted into the bash to steal People's exclusive celeb coverage, and B) not every celeb wanted to hang out and schmooze with People reporters.

So where'd they all go? Just about everyone - Richard Gere, Allison Janney, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood showed up at the Talent Retreat created by Karen Wood's Backstage Creations. It's a place to chill and relax and where scads of cool products and services were offered gratis to the grateful stars.

Everyone sipped Ginger Rogers, a hot (literally) new Hollywood cocktail made with Makers Mark bourbon, ginger beer and chunks of mango, while lounging on Louis XIV-style furniture courtesy of Lois Esforme, who has an interior design shop on Robertson Boulevard.

Edward Norton and Salma Hayek took two hesitant steps into the People party, then fled to the Talent Retreat, joining Kidman and Streep.

``We've had the Backstage Talent Retreat for three years now,'' says Kathy Connell, the show's producer. ``All of the presenters get a prepared SAG gift bag, and the presenters and nominees can also come in the retreat and choose their own gifts and individualize this gift bag. It's really a thank-you to them for their work on the show. Then the companies involved in the talent retreat offer one item for the gift bag which is auctioned off on eBay, and the money is donated to SAG.''

Angela Bassett fell for a Kenneth Cole black leather bag. Eastwood grabbed a brown suede Kenneth Cole satchel, a Carson-style felt Stetson cowboy hat (like he doesn't have enough?) and a powder blue pooch pouch from PETote.

Billy Crudup stocked up on Sony gadgets. ``The West Wing's'' Janney picked up a pair of Charles David pumps. Size? Very large.

And the stars didn't even have to lift a finger to lug the bags of swag. ``Their limos are waiting,'' explains Connell. ``They have their minions to carry the bags straight to the car.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) JONES: Do we ever get tired of guys in their 50s with ponytails?

Lester Cohen/WireImage.com

(2) NIELSEN: Skin is in for ``The Hunted'' co-star.

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage.com

(3) EASTWOOD: Free cowboy hat makes his day after the SAG Awards.

E.J. Flynn/WireImage.com