LOS ANGELES??She?s a really social creature,? Reese Witherspoon said of her costar. ?Flirtatious? is probably a better description of Tai. While the three of us posed for pictures on the grounds of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, Tai started kissing me. Reese laughed hysterically.

We didn?t mind being planted wet kisses on the face by Tai, who weighs 9,000 pounds. Tai is the pachyderm who plays Rosie, a pivotal character in the movie adaptation of Sara Gruen?s hit novel, ?Water for Elephants.? Tai also flirted with another costar, Robert Pattinson, when it was their turn before the cameras.

In the movie version directed by Francis Lawrence (?I Am Legend?), Tai is the new attraction that a circus owner and ringmaster, August (Christoph Waltz), buys to save his floundering show. The towering animal brings August?s wife, Marlena (Reese), and circus vet Jacob (Robert) together. Hal Holbrook plays the older Jacob who recounts his experience in the 1930s with The Benzini Bros. Circus and of his great love, Marlena, a horseback rider and performer.

?I?m in Hollywood?

Speaking to us earlier in a meeting room at the Fairmont, Reese recounted: ?When I was 14, I auditioned in my hometown for ?The Man in the Moon.? They called me later and said, ?Would you like to fly to Los Angeles for a screen test?? They put me up in this hotel. I had never seen the Pacific Ocean. I?ll never forget walking across to the beach. I was like, ?Oh my gosh, I?m in Hollywood!??

Now, 21 years later, Reese has become a full-fledged Hollywood star. Wearing a red dress that reflected her vibrant mood these days, Reese quipped, when complimented on the extra glow: ?That?s just my make-up.? Actually, she has many reasons to look this radiant.

?This is a wonderful time in my life,? she gushed. After the sad ending of her first marriage to actor Ryan Philippe, which led to a painful divorce, Reese, 35, found a second chance at love and happiness in Jim Toth, 40, a top Hollywood agent. They were wed last March 26.

The actress said, ?The part in the movie that resonates most with me is the sequence where Hal Holbrook is musing about how important it is to fill your life with wonderful experiences. If somebody gives you an opportunity to do something that could be worthwhile, you should jump at it. Sometimes we?re fearful. Fear can crush you. Certainly, I?ve had trepidation about getting into relationships. I never wanted fear to be the reason that I didn?t find happiness in my life.?

No name change

Asked if she would add Toth to her name, she laughed and said, ?My friends like to call me Mrs. Toth.? But no, there would be no name change.

She met Jim ?a long time ago,? she said. ?I always thought he was really nice.?

Volunteered the Oscar and Golden Globe best actress winner, who?s admirably candid and relaxed (but focused) during interviews: ?Courtship is debatable. Jim was like, ?You courted me.? I was like, ?No, you courted me. What are you talking about?? We have the best time together. Your friends tell you, ?It?s nice to see you really being yourself and enjoying your life.? Your friends are the best reflection of how you feel in a relationship.?

How did she know Jim was ?it?? Reese replied, ?When he asked me to marry him, I said yes right away. He?s the right person at the right time in my life.?

Jim had ?no interest? in being her agent, Reese disclosed, although he manages such stars as Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson.

The couple managed to keep their wedding private at her ranch in Ojai, California. ?I have the greatest security team in the world. And I have wonderful friends who understand my privacy and really honor and value that,? said Reese, who wore a gown for the ceremony and then a dress for the party, both by Fil-Am designer Monique Lhuillier. ?The kids really get along with my husband,? she said of Ava (who also wore a dress by Monique at the wedding) and Deacon, her two children with Ryan. ?I wouldn?t have married Jim if they didn?t.?

The proud mom added, ?My daughter is 11. She?s like, ?Mom, don?t talk about me at work.? My son is 7 and obsessed with sports. They?re both great ? I couldn?t be happier,? Reese said. Deacon listens a lot to Fil-Am singer Bruno Mars.

Express elevator

Back to Tai?Reese does some impressive stunts with her in their circus act scenes. ?I met Tai at her farm, where she lives with six other elephants,? Reese said of the coquettish nine-footer. ?They showed me what I was going to do. I was like, ?You?re kidding me!? It took me two months to learn the routine and be comfortable that high up in the air.?

She recounted: ?Francis (Lawrence) thought it was hysterical to take pictures of me when Tai picked me up with her trunk for the first time. He took all of these pictures of me screaming. It was like being in an express elevator with no walls. You just shoot to the top floor.?

One of Reese?s favorite stories about Tai: ?She hangs out with four [she-elephants] at the ranch. Once, I asked the trainers why she looked so tired. They said she was up all night talking. She and her girlfriends communicate by roaring at each other. The trainers said they were roaring until 4:30 a.m.?

(We wondered if Tai ever told her friends about the Filipino journalist she met. They probably roared all night.)

?Tai definitely remembers Rob and me,? Reese said. ?She smells you; she?s like, ?I know you.? I wish I had an elephant. I tried to lure Tai home with jelly beans but she wouldn?t follow me. I do have a farm and I was like, ?I?m not joking. The elephant can come with me.??

Robert played her son in director Mira Nair?s ?Vanity Fair? but their scenes together did not make it to the final cut.

On Robert who?s now playing her lover in ?Water for Elephants,? Reese said: ?That was weird ? I was 27 and he was maybe 17. I remember I was at the end of a hallway and Robert walked down. I told Mira, ?My son is very handsome.? She was like, ?I know.? I was pregnant with my son at the time and I said, ?Maybe that?s what my son will look like.??

Have she and Jim gone on their honeymoon yet? Said the busy actress: ?We?re going shortly after this.?

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com.