Los Angeles, Jan. 28, 2006 – Despite the dismissal of at least one of their paparazzi car-chase cases, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe exacted their own form of justice on their nemeses at the Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday. Walking the red carpet, Phillippe kept his eyes on the floor, looking carefully at the clearly marked spots where media outlets were stationed. Halfway along the receiving line, Ryan turned to Reese and said, “Come on, we’re done.” Photographers protested, and the actor said, “You’re the paparazzi. You chase us.” Assurances that they were legitimate members of the press, invited to cover the awards, went unheeded. Phillippe pointed out to his wife a sign bearing the name of photo agency Bauer-Griffin, which, the couple stated, represented one of the paparazzo that chased them. Then they turned and walked off, hand-in-hand.

Heath Ledger arrived at the DGA Awards with baby mama Michelle Williams, but reunited with his Brokeback Mountain costar Jake Gyllenhaal to celebrate Ang Lee’s best director win. With their movie a major contender for virtually all of this year’s film honors, the two onscreen lovers had, until now, not attended any award ceremonies together, including the Golden Globes, where Jake was glaringly absent.