Uma Thurman a cougar? Actress stays in character at post-premiere party

Uma Thurmanseems ambivalent about being called a cougar— even in the context of a movie role. At Tuesday night'sPeggy Siegal Companyscreening of"Ceremony,"at the Angelika, Thurman walked away from us when we asked what it was like to play an older woman pursued by a younger former flame, and used the c-word to describe the part. But before leaving us in the dust, the icy blond beauty looked over her shoulder and replied,"Better than being a letch."

We'll take that to mean Thurman, 40, is­ultimately cougar-proud — especially since a source at the post-premiere party atDon Hill's tells us the actress seemed to still be in character when she cuddled up to the film's 27-year-old director,Max Winkler, in a dark corner around midnight. Winkler is the son of veteran comic actor Henry (Da Fonz) Winkler, who was also on hand.

Handy man

Russell Brandis a hands-on kind of guy. At the N.Y. premiere of"Arthur"at theZiegfeld Theater, the cheeky comic treated our female reporter to one of the oddest interviews of her career. He considerately brushed her hair away from her eyes— and then shook her by the shoulders as he said that getting punched in the face by his co-starHelen Mirren"is like fellatio from another woman."Fortunately, both our reporter and her recorder were shockproof.

Miles apart 

Amar'e StoudemireandChris Boshare longtime rivals who have the same taste in restaurants. A source tells us the N.Y. Knick andMiami Heatstars both caught the Butler vs.University of Connecticutchampionship game on Monday at the Ainsworth on W. 26th St., and due to their well-known confrontations, employees of the upscale sports pub kept them far apart. A"blinged out"Stoudemire and his entourage of eight were seated near the front. Bosh sat in back with two pals.

Tropical bash in Union Square 

Barbara Corcoranknows that subtle's no way to celebrate. The real estate mogul, who sold theCorcoran Co.in 2001 for about $70 million, now appears onABC's"Shark Tank,"and she threw a tropical-themed Tuesday night bash in honor of her book"Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 Into a Billion Dollar Business."Glittery shirtless dudes distributed mai tais at theUnion Squarespace while Barbara sat in a throne  beneath a tree of billion-dollar bills bearing her likeness. Co-author Bruce Littlefield wore a costume that made it look like he was being eaten by a shark. And"Today's"Al Rokerwas just being his bad self.

Time for a piece of cake

TheAtkinswidow's low-carb dollars are safe— for now, at least. In February, we reported on the tawdry accusations thatIldiko Vargahad made against Veronica Atkins and her husband,Alexis Mersentes: Varga claimed in a lawsuit that her one-time lover Mersentes had disseminated racy pictures of her without her consent, and called him"a world-class gigolo"preying on wealthy widows. Varga's camp was even moving to add Atkins as a defendant in the suit, but Varga's lawyerGreg Morsetells us both parties agreed to call off the hearing­— although it could be rescheduled."For now,"he said, Atkins is not a party to the suit. Maybe she can celebrate with a muffin?

What's one shy of a troika? 

Singer/songwriterRegina Spektorshowed support for fellow Sovietémigré — and New Yorker"20 Under 40"writer—David Bezmozgiswhen he read at theMcNally Jacksonbookstore inSoHoon Monday night. His new novel,"The Free World,"came out last week. Spektor, whose 2004 album was titled"Soviet Kitsch,"had also attended his reading at the Russian Samovar earlier this year. This time she hung out afterward to chat with the author— in English.

Contact Gatecrasher:
Frank DiGiacomo:fdigiacomo@nydailynews.com
Carson Griffith:cgriffith@nydailynews.com
Molly Fischer:mfischer@nydailynews.com

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