Here are some photos of Denzel Washington at last night’s Hollywood premiere of Flight. I’m also including some pics (at the end of the post) of some of the other stars at the premiere. Have you heard the rumors about Denzel and an Oscar campaign? The buzz is really heavy on this film, and it’s come hard and fast. When people were talking about Oscar contenders five months ago, did Denzel even make it on anyone’s list? And yet here we are… with a possible showdown between Denzel for Flight and Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln. Two of the most respected actors of all time… one is playing a modern commercial pilot who deals with alcoholism and extraordinary circumstances, and the other is playing an American president who led a divided nation through a Civil War. I honestly just got chills. The Best Actor race is going to be epic this year.

Have you seen the trailer for Flight yet? I swear, I get teary-eyed just watching the trailer, so I think I’ll probably be a mess watching this thing. This is a different kind of character for Denzel – a man struggling with unseen factors, a man dealing with his own demons, a man with devastating flaws. Is it worthy of a third Oscar for Denzel?

Who would you choose, between this and Daniel Day-Lewis? Isn’t that an incredibly tough call? If I’m calling it right now, I’d say Denzel might have a better shot.

In other Denzel news, here are some assorted quotes from some of the press he’s been doing to promote the film. That’s how you can tell he’ll really campaign this awards season – the campaign has already begun.

Denzel on watching his performance in Flight: “It was a tough movie for me to watch. It hurt… It took me a few times to get used to it. Now I want to see it with an audience.”

Playing a flawed man: “The more your family wants to help you, the worse you get. In [Whip’s] case, he was smooth in his mind, he was in denial: ‘I can sniff a little coke, I can smoke a joint, I can knock off this brew, I can hit this Puerto Rican – and fly a plane.’ And he was doing it. So what happens next time?”

Advice he gives to men: “What I know now is what I always tell guys. Do whatever you wife says. I don’t know what to tell a woman when it comes to life advice, but this is great advice for men. I just do what my wife says and life works out great. Being kind in life is a great lesson for everyone— especially in a marriage. So add that to the list.

Scary plane stories: “In real life, I had an incident once when I went down a runway and a bird flew in my engine. I had a few aborted take-offs. Yes, it’s scary. But you can’t worry about what you can’t control, which is another good life lesson.”

[From Life Goes Strong & The Insider]

Thoughts on Denzel’s advice to men? Imagine if a celebrity woman had said, “My advice to ladies is to just do whatever your husband tells you.” But that’s too simplistic, I know. And I don’t even buy that Denzel just does whatever Pauletta tells him. I think Pauletta just lets him do whatever he wants.

More photos… why does Denzel look so grumpy? Why is his suit so oversized? Also pictured: Melissa Leo and Kelly Reilly. Does anyone else think Kelly looks like a young Camilla Parker-Bowles?

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.