Oscar Lunch: Spin and Shine

It was billed as a chance for Oscar nominees to relax together before the nerve-wracking "big night," but Monday's Oscar lunch in Beverly Hills was anything but laid-back.

An annual event since 1982, the luncheon was a time for the glitterati to burnish their images and for each studio to put its own spin on the competition.

Dressed casually, more than 100 Oscar contenders, the largest number of nominees to ever attend the pre-ceremony event, practiced a stroll down the red carpet at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. A good number of them stopped to make statements or take reporters' questions.

Javier Bardem, a Best Actor nominee for the first time, predicts he'll be "sitting alone" on Oscar night because "I don't know anybody."

At the other end of the spectrum is Best Actor nominee Ed Harris who says the ceremony is no big deal in his household.

"The one big concern is my wife (actress Amy Madigan) and what she is going to wear," he told reporters.

"I needed it after all that drama that I've done, " she said.

Best Supporting Actor Jeff Bridges revealed who was the model for his character of the American president in The Contender.

"The person I modeled it after was my father...who always had a presidential air about him." Bridges said.

Best Supporting Actress Nominee Kate Hudson described what it was like growing up with an Oscar in her home. Her mother, actress Goldie Hawn, won an Oscar in 1969, or Best Supporting Actress for her role in Cactus Flower.

Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks, another Best Actor nominee, said his house will probably be chaotic on the morning before the Oscars.

"It's like a wedding day. There's a spirit of excitement that never ... that goes on for 18 hours and you're exhausted at the end of it," he said.

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