Oscars red carpet pictures

Chef Wolfgang Puck prowls the red carpet with a plate of Oscar-themed hors d'oeuvres. Photograph: Stephen Shugerman/Getty

Jessica Biel arrives, wearing a fetching, but it seems insubstantial, purple number. Photograph: Amy Sancetta/AP

Forest Whitaker and wife Keisha. (You can't see it here, but Keisha's dress is quite daring at the back). Whitaker has won best actor for his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Meanwhile, the woman behind him calls out for pizza. Photograph: Hector Mata/AFP

Cate Blanchett shows off her usual impeccably elegant outfit. News on whether this will be stocked in New Look by next week, as soon as we get it. Photograph: Hector Mata/AFP

Helen Mirren, who has now won best actress for her eponymous role in The Queen, shows off her dress. She arrived on the red carpet waving a union flag. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Sacha Baron Cohen and his girlfriend Isla Fisher present a rather solemn face to the baying wolf-fans. Baron Cohen's Borat was nominated in the best adapted screenplay category. Adapted from what, exactly? Viz? Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Rachel Weisz in - we understand - Vera Wang. Weisz is presenting this year, which is code for 'not nominated'. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Jennifer Lopez and husband Marc Anthony wave to crowds. Photograph: Hector Mata/AFP

Mexican actors/dreamboats Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna pal up outside the Kodak Theatre. It's like Y Tu Mamá all over again. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Former vice president Al Gore and his wife Tipper. Mr Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth won in the documentary category. Needless to say, he didn't do a Michael Moore. Photograph: Amy Sancetta/AP

Almost certainly the cutest nominee on the carpet, Abigail Breslin lost out in the best supporting actress category for Little Miss Sunshine. Photograph: Amy Sancetta/AP

Anne Hathaway, also proving that it's a bit nippy over in LA today. See also: Jessica Biel. Photograph: Amy Sancetta/AP

Kate Winslet was nominated against Dame Judi Dench and Dame Helen Mirren (to mention only the knighted British nominees) in the best actress category. She lost out to Dame Helen. Photograph: Amy Sancetta/AP

Gwyneth Paltrow has left Chris and Apple at home, it seems, and slipped out in the first diaphanous off-salmon wrap that came to hand. Photograph: Amy Sancetta/AP

Eva Green, the most recent Bond girl, arrives. Casino Royale was nominated mostly in the technical categories, but we're glad Eva's made the trip over from France. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Peter O'Toole was hoping finally to be the bride rather than the bridesmaid, but lost out to Forest Whitaker for best actor. The young woman with him is his daughter, he says. The old rogue. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Penélope Cruz shows up in a curious dress, inspired by artex decoration of the late 1970s. Photograph: Stephen Shugerman/Getty

Nicole Kidman and her friend Naomi Watts, who it seems are each other's date. Not like that, you at the back. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Kirsten Dunst; surely there are rules of thumb that tell pale ladies not to wear silver? Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP