French fotog draws crowd

WAR photographer Jonathan Alpeyrie can thank casting director Bonnie Timmermann for turning him into an author and a star.

Timmermann, who has cast 83 movies and TV shows, spotted the handsome French-born American in a coffee shop and sensed he had a story to tell.

The result is “The Shattered Lens” (Atria Books), about how he survived 81 days of captivity and torture in war-torn Syria.

At a lunch at the Midtown headquarters of Bernstein Private Wealth Management on Tuesday, the crowd who lined up for Alpeyrie to sign copies of the book included Liam Neeson, Marla Maples, Griffin Dunne, Keegan-Michael Key and FBI special agent Anne Beagan, who was a special consultant for

Dick Wolf’s “Inside the FBI: New York.” Josh Lucas had to leave early to rehearse “The Parisian Woman” with Uma Thurman, now in previews on Broadway. Some came to the lunch to see

Bobby Zarem, the beloved p.r. man, on a rare visit from his home in Savannah, Ga.

Describing his harrowing escape, Alpeyrie spoke about how he punched a woman in the face.

“I’m not a woman-beater. I had no choice,” he said. “She was in my way.”

The shutterbug, who has covered 12 war zones in more than 30 countries, also said that when he got back to New York and contacted a woman he’d been dating, she angrily told him to buzz off.

“She had no idea why I hadn’t called her in five months, and she didn’t believe me when I told her why,” said Alpeyrie, who — judging by the reactions of the women at the lunch — likely didn’t have much trouble finding replacements.