Jeremy Irons is back in the Oscar race playing famed mathematician G.H. Hardy in Matthew Brown’s “The Man Who Knew Infinity.” Last night producers Ed and Annie Pressman– who worked with Jeremy when he won the Oscar for “Reversal of Fortune”– tossed Irons a swell dinner at Bagatelle in the Meatpacking district for about 50 of their closest pals. I sat between the young Princeton math whiz who consulted on the film and Tony winning composer Stephen Schwartz of “Wicked” fame.

(At the next table, by the way, was beautiful Devika Bhise, who co-stars in the movie. She is quickly becoming a star. Last winter I met her at Lynn Hirschberg’s It Girl lunch for W Magazine in Los Angeles. Attention casting directors: she lives in New York and could be the next Priyanka Chopra– or better.)

Across the table were Neil deGrasse Tyson aka “The Man Who Knows Everything” and his wife Alice.  I asked Alice what its like being married to the Man Who Knows Everything. She replied, “I know more.” Good answer. Later, I overheard DeGrasse Tyson quizzing the Princeton math whiz,  Manjul Bhargava, about prime numbers. It was like a scene out of “The Big Bang Theory.”

Lots of New York actors were also in attendance including Bob Dishy and his wife Judy Graubart, Rutanya Alda, and so on.

Before we get to “Infinity,” what about about the upcoming “Justice League” movie? Irons is back as Alfred, loyal butler to Bruce Wayne. Alfred, who used to serve martinis and dust the Batcave, has become a lot more active in recent Batman movies.

Jeremy said: “It’s the same Batcave as in Batman vs. Superman, we used the same set and costumes. There’s not a lot for Alfred to do because there are many superheroes this time. But I do have a thing for Wonder Woman. That’s clear.”

Does she return Alfred’s feelings, I asked?

“No, well, she doesn’t say much,” Irons said with a sigh. “None of them do.”

Irons really makes Hardy come alive in “Infinity,” and he’d be a neat Best Supporting Actor nominee.

What really shows is that he’s very convincing as Hardy while in real life Irons knows absolutely nothing about math. During a short Q&A during dinner with deGrasse Tyson, someone in the audience actually asked a math question. Irons, charming as ever, and accompanied by his little white dog called Smudge, blithely answered: “I don’t know, but I do know my martini is kicking in.”

“Paramount is back” is studio chief Brad Grey’s mantra, and he may be right. Grey unveiled a clip reel last night at the New York Viacom screening room of upcoming Paramount films– and it was impressive.

Acknowledging that lately Viacom had been in the news for reasons “other than films and TV,” Grey did something very important to restore confidence and show pride in his upcoming slate. (The “other” is the Sumner Redstone family and corporate soap opera, which can’t be of much interest to regular filmgoers.)

The clip reel included a small bit from Martin Scorsese’s passion project, “Silence,” that looked terrific. Grey told me Scorsese is “still editing” but we should see something soon of the finished film starring Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver.

Also in the reel was a longer clip from Denzel Washington’s much anticipated adaptation of August Wilson’s “Fences.” The clip left no doubt that Washington, Viola Davis, and the great (but lesser well known) Stephen Henderson are at the top of their respective games. “Fences” also boasts a really interesting look from Danish cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen (“The Girl on the Train”).

There was also a funny scene from “Office Christmas Party” with Jennifer Aniston battling her brother, played by T.J. Miller from “Silicon Valley” that looked hilarious. Aniston can be very, very funny, and this looks promising. Kate McKinnon, now hotter than ever, and Jason Bateman, are also featured.

We also got to see Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard in a bit of “Allied,” Robert Zemeckis’s World War II thriller that looks more complex than previously thought.

And, of course, there was a scene from “Arrival” — a movie I’ve written about here before– featuring Amy Adams. She’s really great in this mind blower of a brainy, sci-fi alien adventure.

Really intriguing: an advance look at Scarlett Johansson in “Ghost in the Shell,” directed by Rupert Sanders. The presentation certainly whetted appetites, and looks like this may be a surprise hit.

Grey has run Paramount steadily for the last several years– and he’s made it a much more inviting place than in the past, that’s for sure. The next year or so looks pretty exciting– and my guess is, he’ll really bring the 104 year old studio “back” and more!

Tom Hanks and Ron Howard have cracked the Da Vinci Code again!

Their new Dan Brown movie, “Inferno,” racked up $94.3 million this past week around the world, one week before its US opening.

“Inferno” was most popular in Italy, Brazil and Russia. The thriller featuring Ben Foster, Irrfan Khan. Omar Sy and Felicity Jones hasn’t opened in China yet.

This was a smart move on Sony’s part since “Inferno” has a very weak 27% here on Rotten Tomatoes, and may not be so much of a blockbuster. But if they can clean up abroad before the October 28th American premiere ushers in a lot of negative reviews, American box office numbers will be irrelevant.