These days even Barack Obama says "trailer" instead of "previews." Yes, we've become a nation of Hollywood insiders. And no matter what you do in this town, "there is an award for it." So spoke host Jeff Garlin at the 37th Annual Key Arts Awards presented by The Hollywood Reporter at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza this past week. Handed out were etched glass pyramids for excellence in movie marketing and promotion.

The "key" in Key Art is the "One Sheet," the art from which all related pieces flow. This is the Hollywood insider name for a movie poster. So called because a billboard is a "30 sheet" and size-wise, well, you get the picture. With over 1300 submissions and half as many judges, this is one of the bigger industry events for artists, designers, editors and their producers.

Handing out awards at this big time B-event were a nice group of celebs: Jane Lynch, Jason Segal, Bruce Davison and Loretta Devine. Comic Jeff Garlin hit a few sour notes with jokes about his wife (does he know what decade it is?) and basketball. It didn't much matter to the audience who seemed to be doing more schmoozing than listening.

So, what was everyone wearing? Not your typical lounge crowd, this audience was cas-hip. Translation: sandals, strappy heels, LBD's, sundresses, some suits, jeans, t's, buzz cuts, bobs, shags, hair color not found in nature, and even a tie or two -- all several thousand of that filled the Hyatt Regency's California Ballroom.

But ads, promotions, posters, DVD box sets, and all that ‘stuff' ancillary to movie-making. Is it art? Yes, mos' def.

The Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez rip-off of 70's action movies, "Grindhouse," won for their poster that parodied the genre. This beauty is splashed with blood-red graphics, tinted head shots, and incorporates worn, torn folded edges for a retro effect.

Not surprisingly, the big winners in multiple categories with four each were: "The Simpson's Movie" and "300." Both hit movies and both taken from graphic material -- the well known Fox cartoon show and the Frank Miller graphic novel -- what grown men call comic books.

And the biggest surprise of the night? Well, it was no surprise at all: it helps if you have academy award winning source material. The big multi-winner with four hunks of glass was "No Country for Old Men," the freaky modern western filled with stark images that lent itself to dramatic graphic translation.

VICTORIA JOYCE for la2day.com

victoria@la2day.com