The Oscar Nominations are in, and yes Heath Ledger – who died one year ago today indecently – is on the list. You’re probably going to think I’m a bitch for saying this, but I honestly don’t think Heath Ledger would have been nominated for an Oscar if he hadn’t died so tragically. But I digress…..the nominees are….. Actor in a Leading Role Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films) Frank Langella... 

Adnan Ghalib Cashes In On Britney Spears – Anything Hollywood The Birmingham-born paparazzo, 35, is said to have received a hefty pay cheque – one source estimates as high as $ 200,000 (£100,000) – from US TV networks that are running interviews on the couple’s romance… Britney Spear[s] Tried To Pick Up Someone’s Kids At An Elementary School – Hollywood Backwash …reporting that on January 7, Britney showed... 

In the Awards family, the Oscars are the stuffy aunt whose opinion the family respects and around whom the family is on their best behavior. Everyone wears their best (or so they think) and they are polite and smile and thank everyone under the sun and lose with grace. Last night was not really any different. Ellen DeGeneres hosted for her first time, and did a swell job. I especially liked her red velvet suit and her “Oscar Carrier”... 

UPDATE: Winning speeches were selected on February 22, 2007. …so many worthy entries that picking just one winner seemed as churlish as Judi Dench’s role in Notes on a Scandal. So the staff at NPR.org picked five winners, along with a few runners-up, and recorded them reading their entries. … winners captured the spirit of the nominees’ characters, if not always their accents. The speeches were limited to 200 words, about... 

- Leonardo DeCaprio, Best Actor for Blood Diamond “I’m honored to receive this nomination from the Academy – especially in a year full of such worthy nominees. … I am also thrilled for Djimon [Hounsou], Mark [Wahlberg] and Marty [Scorsese] who are all so deserving of this recognition.” – Peter O’Toole, Best Actor for Venus “If you fail the first time, try try try try try try try again.” (Peter has been nominated... 

The nominations are in. Here is a short list of the “big ones”. Noticeably absent from Best Picture is Dreamgirls, which many “in the know” thought would be nominated for sure. Looks like they’re not as “in” as they thought. Best Picture: -Babel -Letters From Iwo Jima -Little Miss Sunshine -The Departed -The Queen Best Actor: -Leonardo DeCaprio for Blood Diamond -Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson -Peter O’Toole...