TINSELTOWN SPYWITNESS.

Byline: Joel Stratte-McClure

A NIGHT OF MUSIC: Why were Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard having a midnight meal with conductor Zubin Mehta following the performance of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Monday?

Did the new parents know it was the visiting ensemble's 70th anniversary?

Are they fans of Beethoven, Schoenberg and Berlioz? Or did they simply want to sit at the head table with Mehta, Quincy Jones, Smokey Robinson, George Segal, Arnold Kopelson, Dan Melnick, George Schlatter, Irwin Winkler, Veronique Peck and Barbara Davis?

None of the above.

"This is actually our first real date since Ramona, who's staying with my parents, was born four months ago," Gyllenhaal explained at the gala dinner in the Grand Hall at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

"We wanted to do something memorable."

Were they going to talk overtures, symphonies and suites with the maestro?

"I'm going to make him talk about acting," said Sarsgaard. "If that fails, we'll bring up the baby."

Meanwhile, Robinson clarified his recent criticism of "Dreamgirls." A report last Sunday contended that he feels the actors "have lost sight of their African-American cultural heritage."

"I'm not angry with Jamie (Foxx) or Eddie (Murphy), they're my friends and I love them," Robinson said. "I place the blame for the many inaccuracies in the film, especially regarding the portrayal of Berry Gordy and Motown, on the writers."

What did Quincy think about Paramount's retort that they "take exception to Mr. Robinson's unwarranted attack on the cast of 'Dreamgirls' "?

"Haven't heard a thing about it," Jones said. "I'm just enjoying tonight's music."

GAME FACES:"I'm going home to watch the game," Carl Reiner said as he left the Super Bowl bash at Spago. "There's too much talking here."

The loquacious crowd -- including Gene Simmons, Shannon Tweed, Jose Canseco, Buzz Aldrin, Dick Van Patten, Ed McMahon, Elliot Gould and Jayne Meadows -- feigned interest in the 16 large plasma screens at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in Beverly Hills. And they obviously enjoyed strolling through the kitchen to garnish hamburgers cooked by some of the best chefs in town.

But the 400-plus guests didn't have only football and food on their minds.

No, this annual event, co-hosted by Michael Viner and Kevin Spivak of Phoenix Books, has become a Super Bowl literary salon.

The Israeli-born Simmons discussed his next book, "History of Prostitution," in Hebrew with one group of literati, who also asked him about his earlier "Sex Money Kiss." Nearby, his Canadian-born partner Shannon Tweed was describing her autobiographical "Kiss and Tell," while Michael Levine was pumping "Never," his guide to personal happiness and success.

"We want to celebrate our authors and make the Super Bowl as much a literary as an athletic and cultural event," said Viner, whose authors also include Larry King and Bill Maher. "We're going to get as literary as is possible in Los Angeles."

Meanwhile actor/writer/lecturer Meadows, 87, described the book she's been lured to write.

"I shouldn't tell you, but it's currently titled 'I See It All So Clearly Now,'" Meadows said. "And, no, I'm not talking about the Super Bowl."

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) GYLENHAAL, SAARSGAARD, MEHTA: A night out for the new parents

Bill Aron

(2) REINER: Serious about the Super Bowl

Amir