Kisses & Cocktails: Backstage at Critics' Choice

01 of 08

MAKE-OUT SESSION

Locked out of the televised show after arriving late, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – who was up for best actress for A Might Heart – killed time by... kissing! After being ushered to their table during a commercial break, Pitt and Jolie (in Dolce amp Gabbana) continue to make the most of their date by staying cozy all night.

02 of 08

HOLDING COURT

Later in the evening, the couple show off their social skills, greeting friends like Queen Latifah, who won a best ensemble award for Hairspray, and George Clooney, who was up for best actor for Michael Clayton.

03 of 08

AGE APPROPRIATE

Hairspray best ensemble winners Brittany Snow and Amanda Bynes show off a pretty palette of colors. The Narciso Rodriguez-clad Bynes tells PEOPLE she had a hard time finding a dress for the event because "a lot of the gowns can make me feel like I’m 80. I wanted to look 21 and feel it."

04 of 08

BACKSTAGE BANTER

Daniel Day-Lewis – conservatively dressed for two events in a row! – chats up presenter Marcia Gay Harden backstage. Day-Lewis was named the best actor for There Will Be Blood.

05 of 08

FRIENDLY PLAY

Old friends from the Ocean's trilogy, Casey Affleck and Don Cheadle, roughhouse at their table – dangerously close to a glass of champagne! Affleck was a supporting actor nominee for ; Cheadle was given the inaugural Joel Siegel Award, which honors those whose work "contributes to the good of humanity."

06 of 08

DESIGNING WOMEN

Dishing about designers? The Diane von Furstenberg-clad Allison Janney and presenter Kyra Sedgwick, in Oscar de la Renta, compare notes backstage at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Janney had a big night – she was part of the winning Hairspray ensemble and appeared in best comedy Juno.

07 of 08

PARTY TIME!

After winning for his supporting role in No Country for Old Men, Javier Bardem – with best director nominee Sean Penn, who helmed Into the Wild – tells PEOPLE he was celebrating by "getting drunk."

08 of 08

THE NEXT GENERATION

George Clooney takes rising star Emile Hirsch (a best actor nominee for Into the Wild) under his wing backstage. Like Clooney, Hirsch will tackle a political film – Milk, about assassinated official Harvey Milk – after his action-adventure Speed Racer.