LOS ANGELES?THE MOTION PICture Showman of the Year crystal trophy that James Cameron received two days before the Oscars turned out to be the last prize that he would receive in the just concluded awards season.

In his acceptance remarks at the 47th Annual Publicists Awards luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel, James thanked several folks, including his wife Susan for going with him to 18 red carpets ?in 18 different dresses.? He quipped: ?We only have one more red carpet to go.? With that last red carpet event that the ?King of the World? attended on Sunday, he will probably retire his tux which he wore to all 18 special occasions.

Publicists? power

Yes, even the Hollywood publicists give out awards. And do not underestimate the power of these creative men and women who promote the movies in media and its evolving forms. As host Mario Lopez of ?Extra!? TV show said, publicists do have a lot of power in this town.

In his remarks, James stressed that point when he expressed gratitude to Fox?s publicists for pushing ?Avatar.? He emphasized that a year ago, his film was an unknown product.

?They did such a great job getting the word out,? said James, citing such Fox publicists as Tim Menke and Hilary Clark. ?We went into trying to promote ?Avatar? with no brand name awareness. It wasn?t based on anything else; it wasn?t a sequel and yet, we had to compete at the highest level. We didn?t have Brad Pitt in the film. Our publicity team got us out there, not only here but around the world.?

Meanwhile, George Clooney made a surprise appearance onstage as he carried a lot of gift bags on both hands. And we mean about 10 swag bags or more. It was a dig at former Akaska governor Sarah Palin who reportedly got her hands full at the Silver Spoon Oscar swag suite last week. George, a famous prankster, apologized for his excess loot, saying he ran into Sarah in the gift room.

The ?Up in the Air? actor presented the Les Mason Lifetime Achievement Award which went to his own publicist, Stan Rosenfield. George pretended that he did not know how to pronounce Stan?s last name.

Stan humorously recalled how his publicity career did not start very well. But he quipped that this luncheon started promisingly when a waiter at his table asked him, ?Would you like to see our wine list??

This being a luncheon, the ladies came in simple outfits. Even in a modest black get-up, statuesque Sigourney Weaver stood out among guests waiting to enter the ballroom. The actress, an iconic part of James? career, presented the award to the director with these words: ?This year we honor one of the most innovative, daring and creative talents in the industry who has broken new ground in the cinema arts with all of his films. He is leaving his imprint on all areas of filmmaking in which he excels?as producer, director, writer and editor.?

Disney Studios big boss Rich Ross presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to another pioneering director-writer, Robert ?Bob? Zemeckis. Bob said that watching clips of his films (which were shown before he went up the stage) made him appreciate the privilege he?s had of making the movies he has always wanted to do.

Lifetime achievement

The lifetime achievement honor made Bob recall his days as a child ?who watched a lot of movies on TV.? He idolized Jules White, who directed many of those Three Stooges comedies. The ?Back to the Future? director said he sat up and listened intently when Jerry Lewis said in a TV show that he taught a graduate course in film direction at USC (University of Southern California). Bob, then a kid in Chicago, said he thought in amazement: ?So there?s a school where you can go to learn how to make movies!? He remembered going to the library and looked up books on the USC film school.

Well, Bob did go to USC and went on to direct such movies as ?Who Framed Roger Rabbit,? ?Cast Away,? ?Forest Gump? and ?A Christmas Carol.? He?s helming a 3-D adaptation of ?Yellow Submarine,? the classic Beatles animated feature. Bob shared that if a kid is inspired to make films after watching his work, he will feel fulfilled.

Actress Doris Roberts presented the Special Award of Merit to her friend, Ernest Borgnine. Doris said that Ernest ?acts like he?s 60.? She added, ?At age 93, he is still going strong with 204 movies under his belt. He has two films in post-production, two more in pre-production and a recurring role in the popular kid show, ?Sponge Bob Square Pants.?? Sharp and sprightly, Ernest, who got a standing ovation, also recalled his early acting breaks and gave special thanks to his lovely wife, Tova.

Our favorite acceptance speech was by USA Today?s Anthony Breznican, who won the Press Award. The journalist said that he felt unworthy of the prize because he was out-scooped by his wife. Fifteen minutes before Anthony?s name was called as the winner, she already texted and congratulated him for winning.

The International Media Award went to the UK?s Chris Hewitt. Shane Brennan, the executive producer of ?NCIS? and ?NCIS: Los Angeles,? received the Television Showman of the Year Award from his series? actors, LL Cool J and Michael Weatherly. The publicists of Shane?s shows also earned the Maxwell Weinberg Publicist Showmanship Award for TV. The Warner Bros.? team for ?The Hangover? won the award for film.

Pamela Golum of the Lippin Group cinched the Bob Yeager Award, which cites a publicist for community service, while Andrew Cooper won the Excellence in Unit Still Photography Award.

The other presenters were Heather Tom (?The Bold and the Beautiful?), Dean Morris (?Breaking Bad?), Joel David Moore (?Avatar?), Eric Braeden (?The Young & the Restless?), and Merle Ginsberg (?Launch My Line? and ?Drag Race?).

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com.