Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem join non-premiere premiere of 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' in New York

It sure looked like a film premiere to me last night when stars Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Patricia Clarkson strutted the red carpet outside Cinema 2 in Manhattan, spinning and mugging for paparazzi minutes before the East Coast debut of Woody Allen's new flick "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

The event was billed just as "a screening," mind you. The official premiere was in Los Angeles on Monday night. But this event was obviously the New York equivalent for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" even though reps for the Weinstein Co. kept downplaying the hoopla.

Hey, when did Harvey Weinstein start downplaying hoopla? He has every right to crow now because it looks like he's back in the Oscar game — at the very least with nominations for Woody's screenplay and an acting bid in the supporting slot for Penelope Cruz as a psycho ex-lover of Javier Bardem's who crashes his love affair with Scarlett Johansson.

And Harvey, yes, did a bit of crowing just before the screening started (20 minutes late) as he welcomed attendees personally, then later presided over a private dinner at the Plaza Athenee Hotel. As I entered the fete, I was blinded by glitterati: Cruz, Bardem and Clakson, plus rockers Eddie Vedder and Anthony Kiedis, John Patrick Shanley (author and director of "Doubt," Oscar winner for penning "Moonstruck"), Nora Ephron (Oscar bids for writing "Sleepless in Seattle," "When Harry Met Sally" and "Silkwood").

Woody and Johansson couldn't make it — they're still lingering (oops, make that "working") in L.A. after the official premiere.

The film unspooled at the Cannes filmfest in May to rave reviews. Back then, Envelope contributor Pete Hammond declared it to be Woody Allen's "funniest film in years" and said that "absolutely hilarious" Penelope Cruz is a shoo-in for a supporting Oscar nod. (See Pete's video report on "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" straight from Cannes here.) Our pal Lou Lumenick of the New York Post was equally enthusiastic. While Lou said Cruz was "already generating Oscar buzz," he thought the performance to watch for may well be that of Rebecca Hall, who "scores a breakthrough as Johansson's neurotic fellow American pal, who succumbs to Bardem's charms even though she's engaged to another man."

Woody Allen certainly has an impressive track record of showcasing supporting players with the following actors winning Oscars for their efforts:
Michael Caine ("Hannah and Her Sisters," 1986)
Dianne Wiest ("Hannah and Her Sisters," 1986; "Bullets Over Broadway," 1994)
Mira Sorvino ("Mighty Aphrodite," 1995)

And then there is the longer list of those who were at least nominated:
Maureen Stapleton, "Interiors" (1978)
Mariel Hemingway, "Manhattan" (1979)
Martin Landau, "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989)
Judy Davis, "Husbands and Wives" (1992)
Chazz Palminteri, "Bullets Over Broadway" (1994)
Jennifer Tilly, "Bullets Over Broadway" (1994)
Samantha Morton, "Sweet and Lowdown" (2000)