New York, January 14, 2009 – At the National Board of Review awards gala to accept the best supporting actress award for her pal, Penelope Cruz, who could not be there, Salma Hayek revealed a delicious tidbit about the gorgeous Vicky Cristina Barcelona star: “Woody Allen – when I found out that they were going to be working together, I knew that was a match made in heaven, because he is the only person that I know that is almost as hypochondriac as Penelope.”

The evening’s big champ was Slumdog Millionaire, with several awards including best picture.  The movie’s young star, Dev Patel, said that being at the Golden Globes among Hollywood royalty was overwhelming.  “These people that had been winning Oscars before I even contemplated acting or touched my first script, up onstage in front of them, accepting an award was just…it’s a blessing,” Patel said.  His big thrill Wednesday night at the NBR gala?  “I just met Anne Hathaway and she loved the film!” he gushed.

Best supporting actor Josh Brolin cracked a lot of jokes at the NBR dinner, but then had this to say about the expletive-laden speeches he’s been making on the awards circuit for his performance in Milk: “At these awards shows I try to come across as an irreverent guy who tries to mix things up and all that, but in all honesty, I’m so humbled, I’m so afraid to do this kind of stuff because I like to just be on the set, and I love to be in theater and work with incredible people.  And these incredible people now have given me these accolades, so I thank you very much.”

Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber, Amy Adams, Alec Baldwin, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tim Robbins were among the high profile attendess at the NBR awards gala.