LOS ANGELES?Leave it to Robin Williams, who is recovering from his heart surgery last March, to liven up the proceedings at the recent premiere of ?Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian? in Washington, DC.

Robin, one of the returning cast members from the first movie which grossed almost $600 million in 2006, told the media lined up at the Smithsonian?s National Air and Space Museum that ever since his damaged heart valve has been replaced with a cow valve, he now has the urge to eat grass.

With a big cast on the red carpet that included Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Hank Azaria and many more, and a long line of TV, print and online reporters throwing questions to the stars, guests had to wait for quite some time for the screening to begin. Fortunately the wait was worth it, thanks especially to a very funny turn by Hank as an Egyptian pharaoh who seems to have learned his English from Boris Karloff movies; Amy?s spirited take of Amelia Earhart; and clever visual effects that make such iconic artworks like Eisenstaedt?s end of World War II photo, ?The Kiss,? Wood?s ?American Gothic,? Rodin?s ?The Thinker? and Degas? ?Little Dancer? come to life.

After the screening, guests?balancing drinks and finger foods?felt like kids let loose in the museum after it has closed to the public. Except that they stumbled into the likes of Owen and Ben as they checked out the museum?s impressive collection of air and spacecraft from all over the world. Motown music blared instead of tour guides? prattle usually heard when the museum is open to the public in the daytime.

Robin as Teddy

The guides? fascinating stories about the Wright brothers? original plane that made the first powered flight, and the Apollo 11 command module, were exactly what we heard the following morning when we went back to the museum during a break in our interviews with some of the film?s stars.

Robin, who reprises his Teddy Roosevelt role, was one of the common threads in our separate conversations with the cast at the Castle (Smithsonian Institution Building), which, along with the Air and Space Museum, and 17 other museums, make up the sprawling Smithsonian complex. Ben Stiller said, ?I feel very lucky to have had a chance to work with Robin. Also as a person, he is such an amazing guy. He is such a loving, warm and soulful person. It?s more than his talent. That?s what you take away from your experience with him.?

Asked by a reporter about Joaquin Phoenix, whom he spoofed as a dazed hip-hop artist at the last Oscar awards show, Ben replied: ?I don?t know what?s going on with him?going on ?Letterman? like that was pretty ridiculous, I thought (laughter). He?s a brilliant actor. I know him a little bit. As a hip-hop artist, he?s a little questionable but then again, he?s probably a much better hip-hop artist than I would be. He?s free to do whatever he wants. He seems to be in a little bit of a strange place, though.?

Ricky Gervais seemed genuinely enthralled with Robin: ?When you see someone like Robin who?s been doing it for so long ? Like last night, I had to do the red carpet press line. I was jet-lagged. I was flagging and I was thinking, how many have I done? Then Robin bounced in like he was about 10. He was like a shot in the arm. I thought to myself, stop being so spoiled. I want to be like Robin. He?s a real comedian. By that I mean all he cares about is making other people feel good.?

No sexual favors

When our colleague reminded Ricky about his joke as a presenter at the Golden Globe Awards last January?that he slept with many of us to try and earn a nomination?the British comedian was tongue-tied for once and blushed terribly. When the laughter subsided, Ricky said: ?I had a fear I was thinking on my feet. I didn?t know what to say. That was the first thing that came out (of my mouth). I?d like to retract it.? Laughing, he added: ?There were no sexual favors given or taken.?

When a British journalist stood up and began asking his question, Ricky cut in, pointed at him and joked, to more laughter: ?That?s the only person I did have sex with. I forgot. It was his accent.?

The creator of ?The Office??who is remembered for being a one-hit wonder in the Philippines (he chuckled when we reminded him about ?More to Lose? from his early ?80s days as the other half of the Seona Dancing music duo)?also had nice words to say about Stiller: ?Ben is funny and sweet but the thing that comes across on the set is that you can tell he?s got the weight of the world on his shoulders. He?s always worried. I can see him thinking so, that?s why I try and put him off because he?s an easy target (laughter). The more I get to know Ben, the more I like him. He?s what you call a genuine bloke. I?ve never seen him lose his temper.?

Amy Adams admitted to being taken by Ben?s orbs. ?He does have the most beautiful eyes,? she said. ?We were in these close-ups so I was quite taken by him. But he?s such a hard worker, quite serious on the set. When you get him off set, he?s a lot of fun, very alive and engaging. He hosted a lot of evenings where we played Rock Band, the video game. Ben is so good at it that it?s scary. He kept me on vocals because I was so bad that I kept getting the band booed off the stage (laughter).?

Sassy character

Complimented about her sassy portrayal of pioneering aviator, Earhart, Amy reacted: ?It?s funny because the sassy character is actually closer to my real personality (laughter). I?m a bit sassy. I like to give boys a hard time.?

Asked if she has compared notes with Hilary Swank, who also plays Earhart in a biopic, ?Amelia,? Amy answered: ?We have not spoken about both playing Amelia Earhart but I think Hilary is going to be fantastic in the role. They get to explore more of the history and facts about Amelia. We?re showing Amelia as she comes to life for one night but there were so many fascinating things I found out about her in my research. I didn?t know she had a navigator when she was lost so that was new information to me. I really look forward to seeing what Hilary brings to her portrayal because I fell in love with this human being, not just the character.?

?He?s been great,? she said of her fiancé, actor Darren Le Gallo. With film roles offered to her left and right, Amy, who proudly showed off her engagement ring, hasn?t had time to plan the wedding. ?He?s a roll-with-it kind of guy so I?m very grateful for that. I have no desire to have a wedding planner but I probably should get one. Because if I don?t have a wedding planner, I might never get married (laughter) so we?ll see. I?m going to take some time off after filming ?Leap Year.? We?ll see if I have time to plan a wedding.?

Serious moment

The day?s only serious moment came when Amy was asked about the kids? continuing admiration of her as Giselle in ?Enchanted? and of that Disney hit itself. Unexpectedly, Amy choked up when she said, ?My favorite story that I have ever heard is about a girl. A woman sent me a letter with a picture of her little girl dressed up as my character Giselle in ?Enchanted.? The woman wrote about how they were worried about the child. She wasn?t speaking and interacting. She was being tested for autism. But when she saw ?Enchanted,? it clicked with her. She started talking, interacting and singing because of the film. To me, it?s never going to be any better than that.?

Just for fun, this question was thrown at Hank Azaria, who steals this second ?Night at the Museum? as the campy Kahmunrah: What would he swipe at the Smithsonian if he had a chance?

?I would take whatever is the most expensive thing I could get away with,? the actor gamely answered. ?I?d want to take one of the big rockets but it would be tough to smuggle that out in my jacket. Is the Hope Diamond here?? When someone confirmed that one of the largest deep blue diamonds in the world is indeed at the Smithsonian, Hank quickly said, ?I?d take that.?

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport