Los Angeles, January 12-14, 2007 – Wow, our heads are spinning from the award galas and other events leading up to the Golden Globes. In addition to the Australians, this weekend brought the Critics Choice Awards, the L.A. Film Critics Association Awards, and BAFTA/L.A.’s tea party, where in addition to those on this year’s awards circuit like Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren and Penelope Cruz, hunky Scot Gerard Butler and Welshman Ioan Gruffudd were openly British.

English funny man Sacha Baron Cohen finally showed his face on a red carpet – at Friday’s Critics Choice awards, and not, surprisingly, among his countrymen at the BAFTA tea. Ryan Gosling was finally with his girlfriend Rachel McAdams; with her hair colored pink, leaving her at home during his recent promotional outings in New York seemed a wise decision. Maria Bello wore her politics, with the message “Peace in Darfur” scrawled across her back. Also at the Critics Choice bash: Leo DiCaprio, Jessica Biel, Melissa Etheridge, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, and Clint Eastwood.

Eastwood, Mirren and Forest Whitaker also hit the more intimate L.A. Film Critics awards on Sunday, just the day before the Globes.

BAFTA photos: Michael Williams/Startraks

L.A. Film Critics photo: Andy Fossum/Startraks