The biggest and brightest Hollywood stars gathered in Los Angeles for the movie event of the year.

The venue for the 87th Academy Awards was the Dolby Theatre which has hosted the ceremony since 2002.

Each year the cream of the film industry gather for an awards show that can make or break careers.

Outside the venue, a section of Hollywood Boulevard was sealed off ready for the annual influx of A-listers as well as lesser-known nominees from the other side of the camera.

Security around the event was said to be the most sophisticated yet, with 1,000 police officers on duty and operations being run from an underground bunker.

Camera crews from around the world gathered outside to see the stars on the red carpet hours before the first coveted golden statue was handed over.

The big names included Still Alice star Julianne Moore, whose mother Anne Love Smith was born in Greenock in 1940 and moved with her parents and brother at the age of 10.

Moore became an early front runner for the Best Actress Oscar after winning the Golden Globe and Bafta for her moving performance as a 50-year-old linguistics professor diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's.

But it was not only the stars in the spotlight on the red carpet last night.

The gowns worn by Hollywood's leading ladies will become stars in their own right and will be poured over for days to come by fashion writers.

A total of 17 films received multiple nominations with Birdman and The Theory of Everything top of the leaderboard on nine.

The host last night was Neil Patrick Harris, an American actor, writer, producer, director, magician, comedian, and singer.

He is best known for playing Barney Stinson in the television comedy series How I Met Your Mother, for which he was nominated for four Emmy Awards.

Presenters included Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Travolta, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey, Sienna Miller, Eddie Murphy, Liam Neeson, Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon.

And there were performances from Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Anna Kendrick and Jack Black.