My, film premieres seem like the classiest of soirées don’t they? Stars dressed up to the nines, the paps snapping away, and reporters grabbing a scoop with their insightful questions. Well, ironically, that’s what it’s like in the movies; in the real world – the one we live in right now – it’s a slightly different prospect.

Sandra BullockSandra Bullock's character - Dr. Ryan Stone - is explored while she's stuck in space.

Try celebs taped together in case a hungry photographer grabs a picture of a private part then sells it to a magazine. Try a hoard of angry men shouting at another human being to ‘face their way’, and try fake interviewers wielding dildos in the face of moviestars, while a dangerously underpaid intern holding a clipboard spots the jibe way before the overpaid celeb.

Cuaron’s Gravity – a spellbinding effort if those trigger-happy critics are to believed – suffered no such ignominy. George Clooney and Sandra Bullock graced the red carpet like kindred swans, swapping stories with a sedated press pack, no doubt under the influence of their effortless charms.

See these are the Hollywood elite. They move in small circles but know and are known to everyone. Their tables get stopped by on an annoyingly regular basis at the Oscars and fellow movie stars treat them like silver-screen royalty. If the business is making movies – which, as you’ve probably guessed, it absolutely is, then these two are silent yet influential partners.

And now the one-time TV star and the one-time kitsch-thriller rom-com actor are set to be recognized by the most prestigious institution of them all: the Academy.

George ClooneyGeorge Clooney in Gravity

Gravity has been lauded beyond refute, unanimously, by the critics. And the confidence shows in the film’s remarkable double act. As we stand – firmly entrenched in Oscars season – Gravity stands tall as a favourite for numerous categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actors, both male and female and Best Cinematography, to name a few. And last night’s NYC premiere seemed like more of a precursor to Academy rather than a glitzy attempt at showboating.