Venice film festival: On the red carpet with Michael Moore, Nicolas Cage and George Lucas

Michael Moore and his wife arrive at the gala for his Capitalism: A Love Story. Wonder who makes his suits? And how long it takes. Photograph: Claudio Onorati/EPA

Christopher Lambert in the house! As of course you would expect him to be, as he is immortal Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP

Claire Denis, director of White Material. Here she is in the middle of telling a delightful anecdote Photograph: Graham Whitby Boot/Allstar/Graham Whitby Boot

On the right is Jacques Rivette on the left is Jane Birkin. In the air is the langourous spirit of Serge Gainsbourg. They are all attending the premiere of 36 vues du Pic Saint-Loup Photograph: Tony Gentile/Reuters

Michael Moore and Oliver Stone attend the directors' lunch at the Quatro Fontani Hotel. Moore, by the way, is the one who's eating Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Edoardo Gabbriellini and Tilda Swinton promote their movie 'Io Sono L'Amore'. Such is the strength of their acting you could believe they're really in love Photograph: Venturelli/Venturelli/WireImage.com

George Lucas joins characters from Up, the latest Pixar movie. If you can tell which is which please email us, as we can't. Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP

Hugo Chávez and Oliver Stone practice their synchronised marionette impressions at the premiere of South of the Border Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters

Oh you! You're a one in a million! Photograph: HO/Reuters

Thumbs up if you're sitting on substantial oil reserves! And you like world cinema! It's Chávez again Photograph: Claudio Onorati/EPA

Ok, stop it now. It's getting boring Photograph: Claudio Onorati/EPA

Back at the White Material premiere, Isabelle Huppert is bemused. She only asked for the bill, and now this! Photograph: Fillipo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images

John Lasseter of Pixar, right, receives the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award from a character from Up. Photograph: Venturelli/Venturelli/WireImage.com

And now, a shot from the Venice festival, 1996 where the Spice Girls ... Oh, hang on, this is actually 2009. And Mel B is at Venice. Her husband, it says here, is the producer of Werner Herzog's latest. Naturally Photograph: Venturelli/Venturelli/WireImage.com

That film is a remake/boot/invention of Bad Lieutenant. It stars Nicolas Cage alongside Eva Mendes, and here they are with Herzog at the premiere Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP

With their director having mysteriously disappeared, Cage and Mendes talk about the movie and how much fun it was to wallow in corruption Photograph: Luca Ghidoni/Luca Ghidoni/FilmMagic.com

Where's Herzog? Here's Herzog! Turns out the old ace has two movies to promote. Here he is alongside Michael Shannon plugging My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done Photograph: Claudio Onorati/EPA

At the premiere of The Informant, Matt Damon contemplates a digital camera and wonders whether he could use it to kill a man with a single blow Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters

Also at the Informant premiere were Steven Soderbergh and his wife Gina Carano. Which was fortunate, as Soderbergh directed it and it would have been considered a snub had he stayed at his hotel Photograph: CLAUDIO ONORATI/EPA

What better way to finish a gallery than with a picture of Paris Hilton. Here she is in some dress with some bloke, as per usual Photograph: Elisabetta A. Villa/Elisabetta A. Villa/WireImage.co

Actually, we've thought of a better way to end. Here's lefty firebrand Tariq Ali! Now that's what we're talking about Photograph: Claudio Onorati/EPA