Filming love scenes with Angelina Jolie seems like a dream job — unless you’re Angie’s Wanted co-star James McAvoy! “I can tell you what it was like to kiss her on a film set: It was awkward, sweaty and not very nice,” says the Scottish actor. “There was angst involved in that, as always. I don’t think Brad Pitt felt threatened for one moment.”

Though Angelina and James lack chemistry together, they’ve each found lasting love with a co-star: Angelina fell in love with Brad on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and James met his wife, Anne-Marie Duff, when they played a couple on the BBC drama Shameless!

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James McAvoy refuses to advertise products because he wants fans to concentrate on his movies – and not be sidetracked by promotions.

The Atonement star is suspicious of thespians who associate themselves with a certain brand, insisting that actors are not salesmen and he won’t compromise his career to make extra money.

He says, “As soon as you start to try and sell people stuff then surely you contravene some contract with the film-going public? Even if they (the public) know the type of clothes you like to wear – then it becomes funny for them watching you wearing a tux. I know those are tiny little things but I do think that makes a difference.”

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WENN

WENN

WENN

Katherine Heigl

Helen Mirren

Tilda Swinton

James McAvoy

Jennifer Hudson

Penelope Cruz

Laura Linney

Cameron Diaz

Hilary Swank

Amy Adams

Daniel Day-Lewis

Anne Hathaway

Jessica Alba & Cash Warren

Keri Russell

Jennifer Garner

Heidi Klum & Seal

Miley Cyrus

John Travolta & Kelly Preston

Heidi Klum, Seal, Miley Cyrus, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Jessica Alba & Cash Warren arrive for the Oscars tonight.

WENN

UPDATE: More pictures!

From Vanity Fair:

Alfred Hitchcock created some of the most arresting images in film history. For this year’s Hollywood Portfolio, the heart of our 14th annual Hollywood Issue, 21 of the finest actors working today have joined with four regular Vanity Fair photographers to re-create 11 of Hitchcock’s most iconic scenes.

“What makes these scenes so impressive is that they don’t last long in the movies, but they have become classic,” says photographer Art Streiber, who shot two of the portfolio pictures. “They hold up 50, 60 years later, as stills, without dialogue. You know immediately what it is.”

One reason the images endure is that Hitchcock was such a stickler about getting things on set exactly the way he wanted them, and everybody working on the Vanity Fair shoots was mindful of making sure the details were correct this time, too. That wasn’t always easy. Given the lack of phone booths today, it was impossible to find one the right size for the picture inspired by The Birds (with Jodie Foster in the Tippi Hedren role). So senior photography and beauty editor SunHee Grinnell, who oversaw the portfolio, had a 1960s-vintage phone booth built for the occasion.

Getting the man-versus-biplane scene from North by Northwest right began with a suit. Knowing it was important to match the one worn by Cary Grant in the original, Grinnell handed the assignment to senior style editor Jessica Diehl, who styled all 11 photos. “I asked Jess, ‘Can you find out who made Cary Grant’s suit in that film?,’ and it turned out to be Norton & Sons, on Savile Row, which still exists,” Grinnell says. After a phone call to the London clothier, and a set of measurements for Seth Rogen, who took on the Cary Grant role, a replica was on its way. Meanwhile, Streiber found a piece of unplanted farmland northwest of Los Angeles, rented the right plane, and hired a pilot. Things got tricky when an official on the ground, charged with making sure no aviation regulations were violated, demanded that anyone within 500 feet of the plane be sent away. “There were farmworkers just north of where we were shooting,” Streiber says, “and we had to clear them out. Then we had to track down the owner and pay their salaries for the day.” The next challenge was Rogen. “We probably did a dozen passes where Seth was actually running,” Streiber says. “At each go he probably ran for about 20 yards at a full sprint, which is not something Seth Rogen does on a regular basis.”

The Lifeboat still was taken in the water tank of a Hollywood back lot. Contributing photographer Mark Seliger had a dock built so that he could lean in with his camera when the light was just right. “It was a perfect Hollywood moment,” Seliger says. “The weather was great, we were outdoors, and the water was controlled. Everything is perfectly orchestrated by Hitchcock, so my job was remarkably easy.”

The stars didn’t merely model, but engaged in some real acting. Especially notable was Renée Zellweger, who stood in for Kim Novak’s Vertigo heroine. “Renée was watching the scene over and over while getting her hair and makeup done,” says Grinnell, “and when she came on set she started breathing really hard, almost hyperventilating.” Says contributing photographer Norman Jean Roy, “She just absolutely exploded on the set and truly became that character like I’ve never seen before. We were in awe.”

Features editor Jane Sarkin had the grand task of figuring out which actors would not only be right for the parts but also give readers a Hollywood Who’s Who for 2008. The performers who were kind enough to take part include six Oscar winners: Zellweger, Foster, Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julie Christie, and Eva Marie Saint. Other participants had breakout performances in 2007: Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Tang Wei (Lust, Caution), Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma), Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Rogen (Knocked Up), Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), James McAvoy (Atonement), and Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose). Still others have proved themselves masters of two domains, doing huge box office while pleasing critics: Naomi Watts (of Eastern Promises and the Ring movies) and Keira Knightley (of Atonement and the Pirates of the Caribbean series). There’s also a go-to character guy, Omar Metwally (so good in Munich), and two “actor’s actors”: Jennifer Jason Leigh and Robert Downey Jr. Throw in a talented beauty to rival any Hitchcock heroine—Scarlett Johansson—and you’ve got the entire, ridiculously star-studded cast.

VF Go here to watch a behind-the-scenes video from this photoshoot.

These pictures are so good, that I didn’t want to crop them down. Click on each picture to see them in full view. They are amazing – amazing pictures. Annie Leibovitz never fails.

Atonement, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, has won the best film award at this year’s Orange British Academy Film Awards.

The movie, adapetd from Ian McEwan’s novel, was nominated for 14 awards, but only went home with two, Best Film and Best Production Design.

James McAvoy lost out on the best actor award to Daniel Day-Lewis’s towering performance in There Will Be Blood, and Keira Knightley was beaten by Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose.

The Best British Film category was won by Shane Meadows’s 1980’s drama This Is England, beating off strong competition from The Bourne Ultimatum and Control.

The full list of winners:

Best Film – Atonement

Best British Film – This Is England

Best Actor – Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

Best Actress – Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose)

Best Supporting Actor – Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)

Best Supporting Actress – Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction – Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country For Old Men)

Best Original Screenplay – Juno (Diablo Cody)

Best Adapted Screenplay – The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (Ronald Harwood)

Film Not in the English Language – The Lives of Others

Best Animated Film – Ratatouille

The Carl Foreman Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Matt Greenhalgh (writer of Control)

Orange Rising Star Award – Shia LaBeouf

Music – La Vie En Rose

Cinematography – No Country For Old Men

Editing – The Bourne Ultimatum

Production Design – Atonement

Costume Design – La Vie En Rose

Sound – The Bourne Ultimatum

Special Visual Effects – The Golden Compass

Make Up & Hair – La Vie En Rose

Short Animation - The Pearce Sisters

Short Film – Dog Altogether

Red Carpet: Amanda Peet and husband, James McAvoy and wife,  Javier Bardem,  Jessica Biel, Kate Hudson, Keira Knightley, Kevin Spacey, Rosamund Pike, Samantha Morton, Sienna Miller and boyfriend Rhys Ifans and Viggo Mortensen.

Backstage: Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Daniel Day Lewis, Daniel Radcliffe, Emily Blunt, Eva Green, Harvey Keitel, Hugh Laurie, Ian McKellen, Javier Bardem, Marion Cotillard, Orlando Bloom, Paul Dano, Rosamund Pike, Thandie Newton and Tilda Swinton.