Julie Christie, who won her Academy Award in 1965, is having a good 2008, with Golden Globe and National Board of Review wins and an Oscar nomination for her performance in Away From Her. But she’s less lucky when it comes to the little things, like walking, talking, and eating. At the Board of Review awards at Cipriani 42nd Street January 15, she tripped over some wires and fell near the end of the red carpet, in full view of a Spanish TV crew. “I’m blinded by the lights,” she said, laughing. “These things are rather evil. They blind me with the lights, and then they take a picture of me stumbling.” Later, as she accepted her award, a stagehand had to adjust her microphone mid-speech because no one could hear her. And finally, back at her table, a menu fell into a candle, burst into flame, and then nearly dropped into her lap. She gasped and then smothered the flames, but not before another set of papers briefly caught fire in front of her. —Jada Yuan