Let battle commence: Pre-Oscars lunch gallery

It was Tinseltown smiles in Los Angeles as the nominees gathered to pal around and pretend they don't care if they lose out on Oscar night.

Bob Jnr seemed to be taking it in his stride with wife Susan Levin, knowing full well the late Heath Ledger is odds on to win Best Supporting Actor instead of the Academy rewarding his hilarious Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder.

Has there been a paparazzi shot of the Cruz Control over the years that hasn't looked simply amazing? No need to answer. Genetically blessed Pen turned up to tub thump her supporting turn in Woody's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

The Spanish-set flick opens this week in the UK, so you can check out for yourself whether she deserves to pip the likes of The Wrestler's Marisa Tomei in the Best Supporting Actress stakes.

It's not often that brooding leading man Sean gives the pearly whites a workout, so we thought it best to let you see Penn in this rare state.

His joy quota could be boosted even more come February 22 with the former winner getting rave reviews for his turn as gay activist Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant's moving biopic. Can he fend off old pal Mickey, though, come Oscar night?

Well, it seems as though the anti-Kate brigade have been given even more ammunition thanks to Revolutionary Road's less than stellar UK release.

Thankfully, the former Titanic heroine has been nominated for her star turn in Nazi drama The Reader. After bagging the Golden Globe, she looks in pole position with surprise contenders Anne Hathaway and Melissa Leo close behind.

All hail, the Mickster! He's pulling out all the stops on the glad handing Hollywood circuit to bag his first ever golden guy, especially with old chum Sean getting mesmeric notices.
One thing in Rourke's favour, though, is his jaw droppingly unique clothing style which could yet prove the difference in his Comeback Kid quest. I mean, check out those slippers. Who else could get away with that? Awesome.

Is there any genre that this gal can't pull off? The Bride Wars star has already knocked the box-office for six with her Kate Hudson wedding feud comedy, but it's her troubled turn in Rachel Getting Married that's snagged her a nom.

She acts the likes of Debra Winger off the silver screen as a woman straight out of rehab, who causes chaos at her big sister's nuptials. Whether she can see off Winslet on February 22 for Best Actress, is a big Oscar ask though.

One of the more recent Hollywood success stories, Mr Brolin seems happy as Larry to be amongst the nominees for his supporting turn in Van Sant's Milk this Oscar year.

After being part of the No Country for Old Men winning circle last time around, he's no stranger to Oscar glory but, like Downey Jnr, he looks set to suffer from the Ledger tribute bandwagon for The Dark Knight's eerie Joker.

Just like Josh, Miss Adams is very much on the upward curve career wise following her Enchanted, hehe, rise to stardom. OK, that wasn't very funny. Neither is her classy turn as Sister James in intense clerical angerfest Doubt.

Pitted against another Best Supporting Actress contender from the very same film in Viola Davis, Amy faces a battle royale to triumph later this month. Especially with the Benjamin Button gravy train helping Taraji P. Henson.

One of the audible gasps when the Oscar nominations were read out by former winner Forest Whitaker was the nod for this humble character actor from Kentucky, on the basis of his Revolutionary Road role.

His quality turn as John Givings opposite Kate and Leo is a bright spot in the pretty depressing drama that Sam Mendes brought to the screen. We wish him luck, even though he looks like he's auditioning for The Karate Kid remake.

What, you think we're going to an Oscar gallery without mentioning British sensation Slumdog Millionaire. Do me a favour. This time, wordsmith Simon Beaufoy was all smiles for the LA camera crews.

He's hot favourite in the Best Adapted Screenplay category, despite the presence of fellow Brit literary heavyweights David Hare and Peter Morgan and could well be one of several golden guys for the little Brit film that could.