The best one-liners from the Palm Springs gala

Let's just say the two-hour drive from Los Angeles to the annual awards season kick-off black-tie gala in Palm Springs was more than worth it. Brad Pitt sang, Reese Witherspoon wore loads of Michael Kors pearls and Benedict Cumberbatch flew all the way in from the set of Sherlock, where he'll be working hard all week until he jets back to Hollywood for Sunday's Golden Globes (how does he do it?). Here are a few of our favorite one-liners from the stars as they took the stage.

Robert Downey Jr.

Iron Man was there to present to Duvall, his co-star in The Judge, and brought his Tony Stark best: "I've got to get through this," he cracked. "My chopper's idling on the roof."

Laura Dern

"She's a really good therapist," said Dern while introducing Reese, who plays her daughter in Wild.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Cumberbatch revealed the cast's nickname for Tyldum: "The honey monster" (a reference to the British cereal mascot).

Birdman director Alejandro Iñárritu

Move over, McConaughey -- we now want to party with Michael Keaton. "He's cuckoo. He's great. To get drunk with him is the best," said Iñárritu, picking up his best director award from his Birdman star.

Rosamund Pike

Guess who had the last laugh? That would be Amazing Amy. On stage, the Gone Girl actress revealed that years ago she was told "David Fincher doesn't cast Bond girls." (You may recall Pike starred in 2002's Die Another Day). So much for that theory.