11:13 p.m. PT: The pressroom has been shut down, the winners are off to their afterparties, and I'm finishing the evening from my hotel room. A few odds and ends ...

- Daniel Day-Lewis in the pressroom on milkshakes, given that his line "I drink your milkshake!" in "There Will Be Blood" has spawned Internet videos and a "Saturday Night Live" joke: "I'm very much looking forward to all [the] milkshakes I can drink for the next 25 years or so, yeah. ... I think it's fantastic, yeah. I mean, if people absorb something that you've done, or whatever your reasons are, it's not relevant, but that gets absorbed into the culture in such a way that ... somebody can make something else out of it, that's delightful to me."

- Javier Bardem on his mother, a veteran actress:  "I said, 'Mom, I'm nervous.' And she said, 'Why? They are not going to give it to you.' " He added, "My mother's been working for almost 50 years, and she knows everything about all this; the ups, the downs, the dark, the light. ... [She's] a great companion, to have her on my side, and she always calms me down. She knows the real success is to get a job , trying to fight for that job and try to do it as good as you can every time."

- Finally, a comment from "There Will Be Blood" cinematographer Robert Elswit that should give us all pause. Asked what the film used to create its "oil," Elswit said it's something most of us have imbibed at one time or another: "It was industrial material used by McDonald's to thicken their milkshakes, and I'm not kidding. That's actually true."

"I drink your milkshake," indeed.

9:12 p.m. PT: Here are the Coens backstage. Roderick Jaynes, their "editor" (actually a pseudonym for the brothers), is "probably not happy" at losing the Oscar to "The Bourne Ultimatum's" Christopher Rouse, says Ethan Coen. And Scott Rudin, who's known for producing movies based on renowned books, has now won his first Oscar. "It's a tribute to Joel and Ethan. ... So it's thrilling," he says.

9:03 p.m. PT: Diablo Cody says that she has a fondness for naming things in her life, but out of respect for the Academy, she'll stick with "Oscar" for her trophy. And, contrary to reports, she's not wearing million-dollar shoes - in fact, she was never asked about wearing the Stuart Weitzman jewel-encrusted brogans by anybody before she saw her name associated with them. It was a publicity stunt, she says. As for her current footwear, "They're just regular shoes," she says.

8:50 p.m. PT: Winners usually come back to the pressroom about 10-15 minutes after their win, but several winners have yet to appear (no doubt because they're still being congratulated up front). I'm looking forward to the Coen brothers' comedy routine. Perhaps they'll announce that it's time they make "Henry Kissinger: Man on the Go" for real. 

8:47 p.m. PT:  Biggest shocker of the night: The Oscars clocked in at 3 hours, 17 minutes. I've watched longer Super Bowls.

8:45 p.m. PT: Best picture: "No Country for Old Men." The Coen brothers didn't set a record for filmmakers - they could have won four Oscars this evening - but three is an incredible achievement.

8:42 p.m. PT: The Coen brothers win best director. They're the first pair to pull off the feat since Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise won for "West Side Story" (1961). 

8:34 p.m. PT: Best actor goes to Daniel Day-Lewis.  This was a great category, incidentally. Clooney, Jones, Depp, Mortensen and Day-Lewis? Tremendous stuff.  

8:06 p.m. PT: A question for you movie buffs out there: There's been a lot of criticism of both "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" for their endings. Personally, I liked both: I thought "No Country's" end summarized the film's themes of chance and fate, and the very end was a beautiful grace note on a brutal movie. And the end of "Blood" put me in mind of "A Clockwork Orange" as the most exuberant sick joke finish in years. But I believe I'm in the minority on both. Without giving things away, what did you think? 

8:00 p.m. PT: Robert Elswit gives credit to designer Jack Fisk - along with director Paul Thomas Anderson and actor Daniel Day-Lewis - for his cinematography Oscar. Hard to argue with Elswit's expansive work, though Roger Deakins surely deserves something for his excellent work on "No Country" and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."

7:52 p.m. PT: Leading winner so far? "The Bourne Ultimatum," with three Oscars. "No Country for Old Men" has two. 

7:50 p.m. PT: "Once" had one nomination for best song, against three for "Enchanted." And it's just won. 

7:45 p.m. PT: Cotillard gets a rousing round of applause for singing a snippet of the Piaf song "Padam ... Padam." Beautifully done. 

7:37 p.m. PT: Cotillard on her best actress win: "There's nothing hard about this. There's just joy ... and so unexpected. And I love it." On playing the tragic Edith Piaf: "I dedicated my life to the movie and to Edith Piaf for a few months, so ... when the movie was finished I realized ... I didn't exactly know how to go back. But I love my life so, so it was not hard to go back." She also says she wanted to marry Peter Sellers when she was growing up. Cotillard seems so excited she appears she's about to pass out from joy: "I'm so totally overwhelmed with sparkles and fireworks and everything that goes boom, boom, boom."

7:24 p.m. PT: Cotillard is the third actor to give her performance in a foreign language to be honored with an Oscar. The two others: Roberto Benigni ("Life Is Beautiful") and Sophia Loren ("Two Women").

7:17 p.m. PT: CNN Entertainment producer JD Cargill points out that, so far, the three main acting prizes have been won by a Frenchwoman, a Spaniard and an Englishwoman - and if Daniel Day-Lewis wins, that means Europeans will have won all four awards. It's a sign of the international diversity of Hollywood, he observes. (Check out J.D.'s video on that subject.) Swinton agreed, noting that "Hollywood is built on Europeans!" during her backstage talk. 

7:14 p.m. PT: Swinton is still speaking backstage. She's entertaining and open and absolutely charming. Oh, the Academy rep just said that was it.

7:12 p.m. PT: Best actress: And the Oscar goes to ... Marion Cotillard.

 7:04 p.m. PT: Swinton: Tilda Swinton described her stunned look upon hearing her name announced as best supporting actress winner as a "reverse 'Zoolander' moment." And she asserted that her agent really does look like Oscar, and she's going to threaten to do "another art film in Europe."

6:54 p.m. PT: Variety: Watching Kristin Chenoweth sing the musical numbers reminds me of the death of the variety show on TV. Once upon a time, the kind of thing she's doing was the norm. Now you only see it on awards shows, and it's usually dismissed. And yet, "High School Musical" and musical numbers in shows such as "The Simpsons," "Family Guy" and "The Drew Carey Show" are hailed. Go figure. 

6:48 p.m. PT: Adapted screenplay: Could this be the first of several for the Coen brothers? Their competition in this category includes a number of best picture nominees.  "We've only adapted Homer and Cormac McCarthy," noted Joel Coen.

6:38 p.m. PT: Supporting actress: Perhaps the most competitive category of the night. And the Oscar goes to ... Tilda Swinton. So much for my "Lifetime Achievement Award" theory - at least for this year. But a well-deserved award for Swinton, who did so much with a practically silent scene of laying clothes out on her bed in "Michael Clayton," among other indelible scenes.

6:18 p.m. PT: Bardem: And Javier Bardem wins best supporting actor. 

6:14 p.m. PT: Bird on the line: Brad Bird is in the pressroom to talk about his Oscar. His advice on dealing with people like his discouraging guidance counselor: "[The criticism] did help me. ... Life has a way of smacking you down, and if you get up enough times things happen." And on the lack of animated films being nominated for best picture: Sure, he'd like to see another, "but it's all good. It's the Oscars."

5:54 p.m. PT: Brad Bird does it again: The onetime "Simpsons" contributor and "Incredibles" writer-director wins for "Ratatouille." Nothing against the current best picture nominees, but it's too bad there wasn't room for "Ratatouille" in the big overall category, instead of just animated film.

5:41 p.m. PT: "Does this town need a hug?" : Jon Stewart sums up the bleakness of many of the nominated films - and, later, gets in a knock at "Norbit." (I would say, though, that any film as terrific as "No Country for Old Men" or "There Will Be Blood" isn't bleak at all, but thrilling.)

5:15 p.m. PT: "Sort of the Barrymores of Spain": In the United States, Javier Bardem is recognized for his performances in "The Sea Inside," "Jamon, Jamon" and - now - "No Country for Old Men." But in his native Spain, Bardem is simply the latest in a line of acting and directing Bardems, including two siblings, his uncle, his mother and his grandfather. His mother, in particular, has quite a story.

5:00 p.m. PT: REEGE! : Regis Philbin is co-hosting the red carpet arrivals. The man is irrepressible. (Of course, I've got a soft spot for the guy.) 

4:48 p.m. PT: (Very) short take: Tom O'Neil, who writes for the L.A. Times' awards section TheEnvelope.com, reports that if Ruby Dee wins best supporting actress, she'll have done it for the shortest supporting performance in Oscar history: 4 minutes, 36 seconds. That's almost 90 seconds shorter than the current record holder, Beatrice Straight's "I'm your wife, dammit" turn in 1976's "Network." (Judi Dench's "Shakespeare in Love" performance was just over 7 minutes.)

4:38 p.m. PT: Keeping the press well-nourished: There's an old line about journalists and free food - if you want to keep reporters happy, feed them (and you get between a journalist and his free plate at your own risk) - and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences knows this very well. So, once again, there's a bounty of provisions just outside the pressroom, a ballroom at the Renaissance Hotel. Among the goodies: pasta, satay, salad, cake, cookies and all the sodas and water you can drink. No wonder many reporters leave the Oscars a few pounds heavier than when they arrived.

4:20 p.m. PT: Red is the color ...:Many of the stars, men and women, are wearing black or muted colors. But none of that for Heidi Klum - the host of "Project Runway" knows how to stand out in a crowd. Her dress will be auctioned off after the show to benefit the Red Dress Campaign for Heart Truth. Anne Hathaway is also wearing bright red.

– From Todd Leopold, CNN.com Entertainment Producer

Getting into the Kodak Theatre isn’t easy, even if you have the right credentials. We requested access to shoot “behind the scenes” and it took a few stops and starts - but we finally made it into the hallowed venue to get a glimpse.

Jon Stewart is hosting the Academy Awards for the second time.

The Academy is keeping much of the Oscar telecast under wraps, and made it very clear about what we could and could not shoot. For example, we were able to shoot the placards showing where the stars would sit, but we could not show where the placards were placed in the theater. They did not want people to know where the stars would be sitting in relation to each other and the stage.

The stage itself was also off-limits. "It’s supposed to be a surprise,” the Academy said.

At this point you’re probably wondering exactly what we were able to shoot. Well, we got a surprising amount of material. Brooke Anderson has this guided tour.

– CNN Entertainment Producer Jennifer Wolfe

Notes from around Hollywood with the Oscars two days away ...

Kelly Macdonald gives a fine supporting performance in "No Country for Old Men."

- There's been a lot of talk about how this year's best picture nominees, with the possible exception of "Juno," are "movies nobody has seen." (Of course, the Academy Awards aren't supposed to be about the highest-grossing films, but that's a topic for another day.) But Slate's Dana Stevens makes the case that, for lovers of great film, this is actually an Oscars to care about. Besides, from Hollywood's point of view, the nominations have had their desired box office effect: Variety reports that revenues for the best picture nominees are way up this year, so more people are seeing the movies nobody has seen.

- Supporting performer nominations are nice, but for a number of the nominated movies this year, they don't do justice to all the fine turns to be found. To pick out just one example: the brief but indelible performances by Kelly Macdonald, Barry Corbin, Tess Harper and Gene Jones (the latter as the "Gas Station Proprietor" saved by a coin toss) in "No Country for Old Men." The Academy doesn't nominate casting directors, but many deserve a round of applause this year.

- If you haven't seen this year's best picture nominees, AMC Theatres is once again doing its Best Picture Showcase on Saturday. Five films, 30 bucks. And if you want to catch up with past Oscar winners, Turner Classic Movies (like CNN, a unit of Time Warner) continues its "31 Days of Oscar."

- Oscar weather forecast: An 80 percent chance of rain to start the day, declining to 30 percent by evening. Expected high temperature: 60 degrees.

- And speaking of forecasts, not everyone is going for the favorites. In a People magazine survey of "insiders," 39 percent said "There Will Be Blood" deserves to win best picture, 14 percent more than went with "No Country for Old Men." TheEnvelope.com's Tom O'Neil is going out on a limb and saying George Clooney ("Michael Clayton") will beat Daniel Day-Lewis for best actor, and CNN.com's film reviewer Tom Charity has a hunch Ellen Page may sneak in to win best actress. And I'm thinking the Academy is going to give Oscars to both Hal Holbrook and Ruby Dee - both deserved, but both won also on the strength of the Lifetime Achievement Award Theory.

How about you? Make your picks in our Inside the Envelope game. You could win an HDTV - which, though not an Oscar, is quite a prize in itself.

– From CNN.com Entertainment Producer Todd Leopold

We’re just a couple of days away from the big show here in Hollywood, and the red carpet is really starting to come together. So many tourists - and unapologetic journalists like myself - spent their Thursday taking pictures of the scene.

Workers prepare the red carpet for Sunday's Academy Awards in Hollywood, California.

There are plenty of photo opportunities just within a one-block radius of the red carpet. Right next to the Hollywood & Highland Center, a massive retail hub that includes the Kodak Theatre, dozens of shops and a couple of night clubs, you can find famous landmarks such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. There’s also a perfect view of the iconic Hollywood Sign.

I got a kick out of the lighted columns that lead to the entrance of the Kodak Theatre. As you walk by each column, you see the names of about 10 or so Best Pictures - and every name is preceded by the year it won the award. Someone must have wanted to get work out of the way, however, because they went ahead and filled up all the column space from now until the year 2071.

I don’t know what they’re going to do in 2072, but I hope I’m still around to see it.

Test your Hollywood knowledge: Even if you’ve been there, done that, with regards to Hollywood, I bet you can’t ace this 10-question quiz on Tinseltown. At least not without your friend, Mr. Google.

Worst Pictures of 2007: The winners of the Golden Raspberry Awards, aka the Razzies, will be announced Saturday morning in Santa Monica. Up for the not-so-coveted prize of Worst Picture: “Bratz,” “Daddy Day Camp,” “I Know Who Killed Me,” “Norbit” and “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.”

I can’t say I’ve seen any of these movies - probably wouldn’t admit it if I had - but I’m putting my money on Lindsay Lohan and “Killed Me.” And I’d bet the farm on Paris Hilton's new movie, which made a staggering $25,000 in its debut weekend, “winning” next year.

Last chance: Time’s running out to see the Best Picture nominees and get fully prepared for Sunday’s show. I’ve heard that some theaters are having all-day “cram sessions” where procrastinators can pay around $30 and watch all five movies in a row.

I’m going to check out “Michael Clayton” today and see if I expense it as “research.” It might be hard to lobby for the large bag of popcorn, though.

– From CNN.com Senior Associate Producer Kyle Almond

Javier Bardem has been piling up awards - and major Oscar hype - for his role as hit man Anton Chigurh in "No Country for Old Men."

A display shows the cattle gun used by Javier Bardem's character in "No Country for Old Men."

It’s an unforgettable character. Chigurh is terrifyingly calm, almost nonchalant, as he adds to his body count. He’s got that atrocious ’70s bowl cut. And then, of course, there’s the air-powered cattle gun he carries around - an odd weapon that just enhances his creepiness.

Is it too early to say the cattle gun, pictured at right, is one of the most memorable movie weapons ever? We’ve seen plenty of handguns, chainsaws and samurai swords by now. How many cattle guns have you seen before? Did you even know what it was at first, or were you as clueless as me?

I was able to see the gun up close and personal Wednesday at The Hollywood Museum, which is just across the street from the Kodak Theatre. There’s a special exhibit now featuring memorabilia from "No Country" and other Oscar contenders. You can click here to view photos from the exhibit, which also has props from older movies. My personal favorite might be Hannibal Lecter’s mask from "The Silence of the Lambs" - now that’s creepy.

Down in the basement of the museum, they’ve even re-created Lecter’s plastic cell from the movie. The details are impressive. They’ve got Lecter’s drawings, his clothes and the chair Jodie Foster’s character sat in to talk to him.

Now if only they could pipe in "Hello, Clarice."

First impression: Getting off the plane at LAX, it took me approximately one arrival gate to see advertising for a Best Picture nominee. It was "Atonement."

Right behind that was a poster for "Fool’s Gold," which, judging by this review, probably won’t receive a similar nomination.

The Midas touch?: Be sure to check out Todd Leopold’s story on Hal Holbrook, a dark horse to upset Bardem for Best Supporting Actor.

The last time Todd wrote a feature on an H.H., Herbie Hancock went on to win Album of the Year at the Grammys. If the 83-year-old Holbrook wins for "Into the Wild," award nominees should be knocking down my colleague’s door for an interview.

And the Oscar goes to … Jeff Gordon: Am I still in Atlanta? I think I’ve seen more signs here promoting NASCAR than the Academy Awards (there’s a race Sunday in nearby Fontana).

I know NASCAR has a great marketing team, but I wonder whether this year’s award show is missing the usual buzz.

– From CNN.com Senior Associate Producer Kyle Almond