Farfalle -- BOW-TIE (wink-wink) pasta!

Champagne and red velvet cupakes.

This might be fun. Caviar is good for an Oscar party, and lots of these dishes are served at room termperature - smoked fish, vegetable salads, cheeses, meats and breads

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7870158

you can always bring a chafing dish and throw a sterno under it to keep something warm - ie chicken/beef wellington or get one of those nifty insulated serving bowls/dishes that keep things cold (ie grain salad, green salad). Alternately, bring heavy apps - ie filet on mini toasts w/horseradish, chicken satay on sticks, etc. people will eat that first so it won't go bad.

I LOVE the Oscars and usually go all out! What I usually do is a menu loosely themed to the best picture nominees - it might be a food featured in the movie, foods from the country or region where the movie takes place (example - the year Babel was nominated I did Mexican Wedding Cakes, Moroccan spiced chicken phyllo rolls, and a Japanese seaweed salad), a play on names (example - for Little Miss Sunshine, I did an Olive tapenade), or even the title (for Milk, I did a layer cake with milk chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles). There are always a few movies for which it's especially hard to come up with dishes, but that's half the fun.

I usually do heavy apps (with an eye to what can stay out at room temp) plus desserts, and then an assortment of traditional "movie" foods for snacking - popcorn, candies, etc. For drinks, sometimes I do champagne but one year I came up with a specialty cocktail "Celebritini" that I served in low martini glasses and garnished with slices of starfruit. Even the guys drank them.

With your constraints, if you want to do a true main course, what initially comes to mind is doing some sort of chili or BBQ pulled pork or chicken (which you could keep warm in crockpots) plus cornbread - both The Help and The Tree of Life take place in the south, so you could tie it to one of them if you wanted to do the theme thing.

Sadly this year I'm in the process of finishing the basement of my new house, which is where the TV will be, and so won't be having a party.

Crockpot and then bring stew or chili? In your case, I'd go with the Greens Restaurant recipe for black bean chili because it's really really good and it's vegetarian so is a great starting base, then I'd offer a toppings bar inspired by the nominees for Best Film (and I'd offer pre- and post-digestive enzymes, like Beano, for anyone who wants it - hey, it works!):

Hawaiian (The Descendants): pineapple, cubed SPAM (shiver, but, it's a classic) or roast pork, an island-style hot sauce, taro chips (you can get them bagged at health food stores), bia nui (Hawaiian lager).

Southern (The Help - and - don't forget to serve some chocolate pie!): cubed andouille and country ham, chow-chow and/or Tabasco, pimiento cheese or sour cream, cornbread mini-or full-sized muffins, Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale from Lazy Magnolia Brewing.

French: cubed roast chicken (think grocery rotisserie ready-to-go), a dry goat cheese crumbled or grated, caramelized onions, creme fraiche, and a French beer from the Alsace (something like Karlsbräu or Kronenbourg - German-sounding since the Alsace was alternately in Germany & France over the years).

Lots more inspiration from the other films, in case you prefer other cuisines, but that gives you an idea. I usually go all-out formal for Oscar party viewing but realized that people enjoy just plain good food, with some sort of food reference to the movies, and being able to relax since it's such a long viewing. I won't even get to see the ceremonies this year, last year I worked at one of the official post-Oscar parties and I've been invited back this year, last year was a great experience so I'm looking forward to it again (I've been asked back specifically to make my chocolates).

Sounds like you'll have a fun party!

HLG22- you are cracking me up. I bet your parties are a hoot. hey, maybe you need to rent a theater this year.

For non-appetizer food grain and/or vegetable salads with vinaigrette dressings can usually be left at room temp for a long time without a problem. I love nicoise potato salad minus the tuna (boiled red potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, olives in a sharp mustard viniagrette) for picnics, so it would work well here. Ditto pre-made quiche-type-things, especially if they start out chilled. Most kinds of cheeses can be served at room temp as can some kinds of cured meats. Bean- or vegetable-based dips are also good room temp, so long as they don't contain too much dairy.

Tamar Adler's "Everlasting Meal" spends nearly a whole chapter on eating foods at room temperature, if you're looking for more inspiration.

For cold things you could also serve them on bowls of salted ice. Salting ice brings the temp down below freezing, which helps the ice from melting too quickly and keeps food colder.

Meatballs or chicken wings in a slow cooker could be nice too.

Ooh, or a pan bagnat? You could do a meat one and a veggie one.