And the winner is . . .

It was a dry run for the Oscars at the American Society of Cinematographers 22nd Annual Outstanding Achievement Award ceremony on Jan. 26 at the grand ballroom at Hollywood and Highland. Casey Affleck bestowed feature film honors upon Robert Elswit for “There Will Be Blood,” but in a few weeks, the same nominees, including Roger Deakins, Seamus McGarvey, and Janusz Kaminski, will have another shot at snagging a statue next door at the Kodak Theatre. For 1. Annette Bening, with hubby Warren Beatty by her side, the wait is over. She showed off her Board of Governors Award, which honored her artistry in front of the camera.

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A night they’ll never forget

There were plenty of gasps to go around at the 60th annual Directors Guild of America Awards on Jan. 26. Of course, the most You-Tubed has been Sean Young’s now-famous heckling of director Julian Schnabel, who picked up a nominee medallion. While Young was tossed out of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, presenter Amy Ryan made a quick recovery when she nearly announced winner Alan Taylor’s name before listing the nominees. “See, this is why actors need directors!” she explained to the crowd. Thankfully, there were plenty in the audience, including Martin Scorsese, who gave the Coen Brothers the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film award, the same one the “Departed” director won last year. To celebrate, 3. Joel Coen pledged to . . . well . . . bring on the Pledge for brother Ethan, who he said, “spit shines his medals for an hour or two” when he’s feeling down. It might be time to buy more polish, as the DGA winner usually goes on to win the Oscar. Presenter 4. Marion Cotillard turned her head (and several others in the process), while 5. Chi McBride reenacts the lift he gave to his pint-size “Pushing Daisies” costar Kristin Chenoweth, who could not read the teleprompter during their presenting stint.

-- Jenny Sundel

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No blush needed here

On Jan. 24, ART LA kicked off its contemporary art fair with a bash at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to support emerging artists as part of the Hammer Museum’s Hammer Projects. About 1,000 bigwigs from the art community checked out the installations from more than 60 galleries from Berlin to Tokyo. 2. Two days later, guests watched a white-faced dancer at a performance of “On Her Dress She Wears a Body,” hosted by artist Andrea Zittel’s “Smockshop.” Collector Eugenio Lopez snatched up a 35-seat crushed bus created by Italian artist Piero Golia.

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They’re keeping the dream alive

At the 10th annual “I Have a Dream” Gospel Brunch on Jan. 27, Sara Ramirez, James Berk and Hill Harper received the Dream Keeper Award for helping the foundation’s “Dreamers” achieve their goals. The “Grey’s Anatomy” star sent in a video acceptance speech. All the more Southern-style grub for 6. J.J. Abrams and host Jennifer Garner. Garner joked that she went from humble beginnings in West Virginia to winning the People’s Choice Award for Best Hair. “Nobody needs to tell me what it means to dream!” Also inspiring: gospel singer 7. Sylvia St. James who had attendees at the House of Blues seeing the white, all right!