"We had only just met last year at Harvey Weinstein's pre-Oscar party," Dame Judi said, referring to the chairman of Miramax Films.

On Saturday night, waiting in the valet parking station at a pre-Oscar party on what seemed like the highest pinnacle of Beverly Hills, I heard a woman say to her companions: "I'm a traditionalist.

This week, while the celebrities and any number of hangers-on are making the rounds of the pre-Oscar parties, Mr. Howard and Mr. Grazer are working on their next projects.

While Matt brought his mom as his date, Winona was on his arm at Harvey Weinstein's pre-Oscar party in March of 1998, which put the relationship smack in the middle of the spotlight.

Sir Howard Stringer was in Los Angeles late last month, shuttling among the weekend's pre-Oscar parties given by the likes of Barry Diller, the Hollywood mogul turned Internet commerce magnate, when his cellphone rang.

"I ran into Steven at a pre-Oscar party," Mr. Moonves said.

At the pre-Oscar party, he ended the evening by saying, "We've just begun to fight."

The Award was presented at a pre-Oscar party at the Avalon Ballroom in Hollywood on February 25, 2012.

But just as in politics, a fine art has developed for maneuvering the wiggle room in regulations, in this case those found in 21 paragraphs issued by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which govern everything from pre-Oscar parties to the distribution of videotapes to the 6,000 voters.

Meanwhile the regular assortment of pre-Oscar parties was in full swing this weekend.