That’s right, Penelope’s best friend Salma Hayek has once again done another big thing for her BFF. These two are so cute it’s not even funny. CHeck out the article below.

Also, thank you for the well wishes – I’m off to the hospital but I DID manage to upload 72 photos last night to the gallery.

The stars aligned for Penélope Cruz last night at best friend Salma Hayek’s L.A.-area home.

Hayek and the Weinstein Company threw a party to toast Cruz and her Oscar nomination for her work in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

The guest list was pretty impressive…

First up, Cruz’s VCB costar Scarlett Johansson. She now has dark red hair. Nope, she didn’t change the color for anything like work. “She just said she wanted an autumn color,” her rep tells me.

Now, back to the rest of the guest list.

The celeb-studded bash included Johansson’s hubby, Ryan Reynolds, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Drew Barrymore, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Eva Mendes, Aaron Eckhart, Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Adrien Brody, Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith, Josh Groban, Bob Balaban, Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, Quincy Jones, Penny Marshall, directors Paul Haggis and Brett Ratner and execs Harvey Weinstein, Steve McPherson, Ryan Kavanaugh and über-agent Kevin Huvane.

Hayek served tapas and sangria. The party decor resembled a photographer’s darkroom, with pictures of Cruz clipped onto wires suspended from the ceiling.

And Ms. Johansson wasn’t the only one with a new ‘do. Sexy man Colin Farrell had a newly shaved head. He chopped it off for his work in The Way Back, director Peter Weir’s film about a group of soldiers who escape a Siberian gulag in 1940.

Penelope attended the, 2009 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and I believe she was honored as the, Chopin Outstanding Performer of the Year! I’ll triple check on this to make sure and once I find out for sure I’ll also be adding tons of photos from the event. Penelope looked amazing, as usual.

I’m so sorry that I can’t upload them all now, this cough and throat business is killing me, I’ve got to take another nap before class tomorrow.

The Envelope, a part of the L.A. Times website has compiled together some of the hottest Oscar nominees and their reactions. To view more click here.

Also, I have received your inquiries for affiliation with Penélope Fan, and I absolutely plan on getting back to you in the near future but I’m incredibly sick right now – so once I’m feeling back to my old self… you will hear back from me. I’m Qua, not Sarah (but that’s not your fault you didn’t know); I believe she had the site way back in Nov. of 2008 but the site as since been adopted out and my wonderful host Ms. Gertie granted me permission to maintain, Penélope Fan. I haven’t had the chance to do A LOT of behind the scenes work and sidebar work, so that is all my fault.

Penelope reflects and looks back on Oscar nominated role, Maria Elena, in Woody Allen’s, Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a comedy.

But when newly minted Oscar nominee Penélope Cruz was working on the film, she didn’t find anything all that funny about her character. She plays Maria Elena, a gun-wielding, whack job who gets mixed up in a relationship with her ex-husband (Javier Bardem) and American tourist Cristina (Scarlett Johansson).

“When we were in the middle of shooting, I felt like I was doing the most intense and disturbing drama I ever did in my career,” Cruz told me earlier today. “I never laughed until months later, when I saw the movie with an audience. At the beginning, I remember feeling like, ‘Why are they laughing?’ ”

Cruz watched the Oscar nomination announcements this morning with best friend Salma Hayek. “I did work on myself not to expect it because everyone has been screaming, ‘Yes, you will get the nomination,’ ” Cruz said. “There’s thousands of people voting, so then it’s more of a surprise if you get it.”

Cruz is up for Best Supporting Actress with Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler), Taraji P. Henson (Benjamin Button) and Doubt’s Amy Adams and Viola Davis.

Cruz, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for Volver, recently wrapped her work on Rob Marshall’s upcoming movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Nine opposite Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, Fergie, Judi Dench and Sophia Loren. (It hits theaters Nov. 27.)

“It was very scary because I had not danced in, like, 14 years, and I’ve never sang before in my life,” Cruz said. “I had to train for many, many months, but it was incredible.”

As Carla Albanese, Cruz sings and dances while hanging from a rope in the sexually charged number “Call From the Vatican.” The routine may have caused painful blisters on her hands, but it was worth it.

“I had so much fun doing it,” Cruz said. “I cried when it was all over because I had been doing it for months every day, and I don’t get to do it anymore. I think I have to have some ropes in my house for everybody that comes by.” [Source]

Congratulations, Penelope!

The awards ceremony will kick off next month on, Feb. 22, 2009.