The Oscars

Nicole Kidman made a pit stop at the La Brea Tar Pits on the way to the Oscars.

After the brief blip that was her Mrs. Roper Grammy getup, Adele went back to wearing her black dresses to the Oscars on Sunday.

The biggest star at the Oscars ... is Melissa McCarthy's hair.

Not only is Melissa a presenter tonight, but her movie "Identity Thief" is #1 at the box office for a second week.

Looking fabulous in a blue gown, Robin Roberts was all smiles as she readied to cover the Oscar red carpet on Sunday.

On Wednesday, Robin returned to "Good Morning America" after undergoing a bone marrow transplant to treat a blood disorder.

She's back and working overtime.

With the 85th Academy Awards just hours away, travel back in time and check out the best and worst looks from last year's red carpet.

Law enforcement is on extra-high alert for tonight's Oscars ... given the wave of gun violence across the country ... various law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

The LAPD's official position is that they are always vigilant at Oscar ceremonies and security is tight. But multiple law enforcement sources tell us ... there is "an extra knot" in security this year because of all the shootings that have made big news in the U.S..

One LAPD honcho tells us ... the general climate right now is intense: "When someone from the city gets fired, the city manager of the department calls because they're scared the person who was fired will go postal." The source adds, "People are going crazy with fear."

On the stalker front ... we're told the LAPD gives a private security company -- Security Industry Specialists (SIS) -- an information packet of stalkers who are harassing stars who are attending the Oscars. The packets include pictures of the stalkers, which are distributed to security in the field.

The Oscars are here again ... and TMZ users are split on their value. Are the Oscars still relevant? We gotta ask ...

While the votes are in for the 85th Academy Awards, there is still one vote that has yet to be cast ... and the winner's fate is in your hands!

Don't let this handsome duo distract you from the task at hand. Try and spot the hidden differences in the two studly snapshots before you get distracted by the overwhelming sexiness!

We're guessing Oscar, Hollywood's man of the hour, is dying a little inside today ... because somebody invited 18 42-year-old trainwreck Courtney Stodden to one of his pre-parties.

Yes, Tara Reid was busy.

U.S. Customs treated Oscar-nominated Palestinian director Emad Burnat like a NATIONAL THREAT last night at LAX -- putting him and his family in an isolated room and ordering him not to use his cell phone -- so says the director ... but law enforcement says he's exaggerating.

You'll recall ... Burnat's friend Michael Moore flipped out while Burnat was detained at the airport, tweeting like mad about the injustices of U.S. Customs and Border Protection ... and today, Burnat joined us on TMZ Live to discuss his experience.

Burnat -- whose documentary "5 Broken Cameras" is up for an Academy Award -- told us, he was stopped by immigration upon his arrival in the States ... and what followed was nightmarish.

Burnat says the customs officers did not believe him when he told them he was an Academy Award-nominated director ... so they put him and his family into an isolated room to question them, threatening to deport them back to Palestine.

Burnat says he tried to show the agents the email he received from the Academy -- which contained his Oscar invite -- and even tried to show his hotel reservation ... but they weren't having it.

When he tried to text and email friends for help, Burnat says he was instructed not to use his phone. Luckily, Burnat says he was able to slip a message to Michael Moore informing Michael of the situation ... and Michael sounded the alarms, notifying Academy officials who then contacted their lawyers.

Burnat says he was detained for roughly an hour-and-a-half total -- and when he was finally released, he was never given an apology.

But law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Burnat is embellishing the story ... and that he was only sent to a secondary screening area simply to answer questions ... and was only detained for 25 minutes, total.

Director Michael Moore is outraged ... claiming his friend -- a Palestinian director whose film is nominated for an Oscar -- was detained at LAX last night because officials didn't believe the man was REALLY in town for the Academy Awards.

Moore tweeted a play-by-play of the incident ... claiming his friend, Emad Burnat -- whose film "5 Broken Cameras" is nominated for Best Documentary Feature," was held for an hour-and-a-half while officials grilled him about his visit.

Moore tweeted, "Emad, his wife & 8-yr old son were placed in a holding area and told they didn't have the proper invitation on them to attend the Oscars."

He continued, "Although he produced the Oscar invite nominees receive, that wasn't good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to Palestine."

"Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn't understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help."

"I called Academy officials who called lawyers. I told Emad to give the officers my phone # and to say my name a couple of times."

"After 1.5 hrs, they decided to release him & his family & told him he could stay in L.A. for the week & go to the Oscars. Welcome to America."

"'It's nothing I'm not already used to,' he told me later. 'When u live under occupation, with no rights, this is a daily occurrence.'"

Moore concluded ... "He was certain they were going to deport him. But not if I had anything to do about it."

There's supposed to be some epic Bonding at the Oscars -- the buzz is ... all 6 actors who have played James Bond may appear on stage. But now we're hearing one of them may be a no-show, and shockingly ... it could be Pierce Brosnan.

Brosnan confessed yesterday in Malibu, "Well, they'll be missing one."

It's unclear, but his tone and body language seems to suggest he is the one that wants no part of it.

The people who select the Oscar nominees clearly HATE Ben Affleck, 'cause he didn't get a Best Director nod for "Argo" this morning ... but it WAS nominated for "Best Film."

So, did Ben really get snubbed??? Depends who you ask -- here's how the argument is breaking down in the TMZ newsroom:

Matt -- Yes, Ben was snubbed ... "Argo" was as good as the other movies that were nominated. As a director, "Argo" was very well done. I think he was snubbed because of who he is.

Kelly -- No, Ben did NOT get snubbed ... sometimes you're nominated, sometime's you're not ... Ben has a long career ahead of him. He'll be fine.

Shevonne -- No, Ben's not that great.

Max -- I don't think he was snubbed because I know nothing about directing.

Harvey -- Yes, Affleck's being snubbed because people are fawning over him too much ... I think there's a lot of jealously in the Academy.

Van -- HUGE snub ... it was a well-directed film and it was enjoyable, one of his best. Incredibly well paced.

Jumping on the Angelina leg Internet meme trend, Jennifer Lopez did a little Jolieing and flashed her gorgeous right leg backstage at an "American Idol" party in L.A. on Thursday.