What: 18th annual British Academy of Film & Television Arts Britannia awards

When: Thursday night

Where: Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles

Guest list: Honorees Kirk Douglas (Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment), Robert De Niro (Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film), Colin Firth (BAFTA/L.A. Humanitarian Award), Emily Blunt (Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year) and Danny Boyle (John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing) joined presenters Benicio Del Toro, Amy Adams, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Ewan McGregor, Dev Patel, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Arnold Schwarzenegger and designer Tom Ford.

Also in attendance: Slumdog Millionaire co-stars Freida Pinto and Anil Kapoor, Rick Springfield and host Stephen Fry.

Crowd favorite: De Niro, a two-time Oscar winner, commanded the most applause and longest standing ovation of the five honorees. Notoriously shy and low-key, he also drew laughs throughout the event when cutaway shots showed him at his table wearing a stone face during the gala. Yet, he dabbed his eyes after busting a gut during Stiller's hilarious intro. The honoree even tried his own hand at humor. When accepting his award he thanked BAFTA and told the British-heavy crowd, "The special relationship between the U.S. and England is famous and it has been ever since that little unpleasantness surrounding the Revolutionary War. Okay, I'll say it. Maybe we overreacted a little. It wasn't very nice of us to throw all that tea in the water. We know how you feel about your tea." The guests howled in delight.

Slumming it: Slumdog stars Pinto and Patel, who are a couple in real life, have been spotted spending plenty of time together, but admit they don't see much of their Oscar-winning director, Boyle. "We haven't seen him since the Oscars," said a Valentino-clad Pinto before heading to the Beefeater 24 VIP lounge to chat with him. The director, whose film won eight Academy Awards, said, "It's lovely that they turned up here. It's nice to be back together again. ... They give an award to a director tonight, but you know really it is about actors. That's the main driving force in cinema and probably why 95% of us go to the cinema is to watch actors tell stories. We're the guys who help them do that." Next up for Boyle is 127 Hours, based on the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston who amputated the lower part of his right arm with a dull knife after becoming trapped by a boulder during a mountaineering trip in Utah. "We're hoping to start (filming) in the spring," Boyle said. "We're here doing some budget meetings. Hopefully it will all come together. ... It's a great story that we've been entrusted with. It's quite intense, but very inspiring as well."

Blunt force: Blunt, in a ruby red Basil Soda dress, jetted in the night before from New York, where she is shooting The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon. "It's a really extraordinary night for me," she said on the red carpet. "It's great company. It's a bit insane that I'm amongst them, to be honest. You go through your life and you have that life outside of this job that's so far removed from any kind of acclaim or recognition. I live a very normal life, so when nights like this happen, it's a bit of an out-of-body experience." Adams, who co-starred with Blunt in Sunshine Cleaning, presented her friend with her award, saying the actress is "warm, loyal, fierce and kicks ass."

Surprise guest: Schwarzenegger's appearance caught the black-tie crowd off guard, including Douglas. "If I had known the governor was going to give me this award, I would have worn a tuxedo," the veteran actor joked onstage. "I have a tuxedo. I used to be a waiter." He was gracious, however, in thanking the actor-turned-politician for coming down from Sacramento. "I mostly thank Maria (Shriver) for letting him leave the house," he quipped. Schwarzenegger returned the favor, saying, "The reason I accepted this invitation right away is because I am a big, big admirer of Kirk Douglas. I have been since I was a kid. He was one of those people that inspired me to come to America and get into the movie business. I was very fortunate that one of the first movies I ever did was with Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret called The Villain. ... It was a great experience working with him because he was so kind and helpful. He knew that I was just starting out."

Hunk heaven: A couple of men got an ego boost from their female friends onstage. Blunt, who worked with Del Toro on the upcoming Wolfman, said her co-star kept on-set temperatures on the rise. "Women would come to work and say, 'I dreamt about him again,'" she said. Driver told the crowd that when she mentioned to a friend that she was presenting Firth a humanitarian award, the friend responded, "Being so handsome, he really does make the world a better place."

Enlarge By Phil McCarten, Reuters The Devil Wears Prada star Emily Blunt received the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year.