Accents and myriad languages swirled around the massive restaurant. Mexican actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna chatted in Spanish next to Bernal's one-time paramour Natalie Portman, while Spanish starlet and best actress nominee Penelope Cruz milled.

"It doesn't have to be overwhelming, there are simple things we can do," he said. The party also drew such celebrities as Penelope Cruz , Chevy Chase, James Blunt and members of Maroon 5.

It's an awesome spectacle to behold. BEST ACTRESS Nominees: Penelope Cruz , "Volver"; Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"; Helen Mirren, "The Queen"; Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"; Kate Winslet, "Little Children.

"He proved he did have those depths of anger and paranoia and terror in him. " Mirren, 61, beat out a strong field that included Dame Judi Dench ("Notes on a Scandal"), Penelope Cruz ("Volver"), Kate Winslet ("Little Children") and Meryl Streep ("The Devil Wears Prada").

" The best-actress category featured a 14th nomination for two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, padding her record as the most-nominated actor ever, this time as a demonically demanding boss in "The Devil Wears Prada. " Joining Mirren and Streep as best-actress nominees were Penelope Cruz as a woman dealing with bizarre domestic crises in "Volver"; Judi Dench as a scheming teacher in "Notes on a Scandal"; and Kate Winslet as a woman in an affair with a neighbor in "Little Children.

" Mirren brings marvelous haughtiness and humanity to the maligned monarch as she blindly ignores -- then awkwardly acknowledges -- her subjects' pleas for royal reassurance and comfort over the death of Princess Diana in 1997. If there's a best-actress dark horse, it's Penelope Cruz , who delivers a career performance full of heart and humor in "Volver," playing a woman coping with bizarre -- and possibly supernatural -- crises in her domestic life.

Jackson: director Craig Brewer's "Black Snake Moan," in which Jackson plays a Southern bluesman who becomes protector for a promiscuous abused woman (Christina Ricci), and Rod Lurie's "Resurrecting the Champ," with Jackson as a former boxing champion now living on the streets. Other premieres include Tamara Jenkins' "The Savages," starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney as siblings forced to care for their ailing father; Mike Cahill's "King of California," with Michael Douglas as a man just out of a mental institution and reuniting with his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood); Jarrett Schaefer's "Chapter 27," a portrait of the killer of John Lennon that features Lindsay Lohan and Jared Leto; and Jake Paltrow's "The Good Night," with Penelope Cruz , Martin Freeman, Danny DeVito and the director's sister, Gwyneth Paltrow, in the story of a man whose ideal woman exists only in his dreams.

" Will Smith rounded out the lead-actor field as a homeless dad in "The Pursuit of Happyness. " Joining Mirren for lead-actress nominations were Penelope Cruz as a woman with bizarre family crises in "Volver"; Judi Dench as a scheming teacher in "Notes on a Scandal"; Meryl Streep as the boss from hell in "The Devil Wears Prada"; and Kate Winslet as a woman having an affair with a neighbor in "Little Children.

Their daughter was born April 18. Cruise, who was divorced from Kidman in 2001, also was previously married to Mimi Rogers and had a high-profile romance with Penelope Cruz .

He is famous for the classic, well-tailored look and ventured into the rarefied field of couture only two years ago. His Armani Prive collection has since won over leading ladies from Beyonce Knowles to Penelope Cruz , Cruise's former girlfriend.