Daniel Radcliffe is letting it all out there today, guys. First up, the NY Post quotes the actor as saying, "I don't think the Oscars like commercial films, or kids' films, unless they're directed by Martin Scorsese. I was watching Hugo the other day and going, 'Why is this nominated and we're not?' I was slightly miffed." more ›

Madonna: Material Girl, mother of terrifying biceps, Kabbalah enthusiast, and now...potential Oscar-winning director? It's a possibility, after reports that The Weinstein Company, which recently acquired Madonna's new movie, W.E., plans to release it "smack in the middle of Oscar season." more ›

Seventy-two-year-old songwriter, film director and one-time Oscar winner (for penning schmaltzy '70s pop tune "You Light Up My Life") Joseph Brooks was previously indicted on 91 counts for allegedly luring at least 13 young women to his apartment via Craigslist ads and raping and sexually assaulting them. And now prosecutors claim that's just the tip of the iceberg. more ›

LAist is liveblogging the Oscars, but a couple notes: Neil Patrick Harris did a Vegas style show number to kick things off—perhaps the producers wanted him to add some magic, given his great work as host of the Tonys and Emmys.... Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have a great rapport, cracking wise and throwing zingers out. It was cute that Martin referenced The Jerk—Gabourey Sidibe and her mom got a kick out of that (they love The Jerk). more ›

Last year, 72-year-old songwriter, film director and one-time Oscar winner (for penning "You Light Up My Life"), Joseph Brooks was charged with a 91-count indictment after luring girls to his apartment via Craigslist ads. He conned many into taking cross country trips to his casting couch, with promises of stardom and a part in his next movie. Except there was no movie, and when the young girls would arrive he would allegedly sexually assault and rape them. more ›

Songwriter and film director Joseph Brooks was charged with a 91-count indictment yesterday for using his status as a onetime-Oscar winner to lure women with dreams of stardom into his apartment so that he could allegedly rape and sexually assault them. Brooks, 71, primarily used craigslist to advertise parts in "his next movie" that led to sexual assaults on at least 11 women at his apartment on East 63rd Street, mostly over the last two years. An investigator told reporters, “The Oscar was used as a prop. This could be you, this could be you holding this Oscar. If you do what I say.” more ›

Hey, cheer up bankrupt, war-weary America! The nominees for the 81st Academy Awards were announced this very morning in Beverly Hills at 5:30 in the freaking morning—of course, everyone over there is always up at dawn doing yoga and colonics anyway. And it's a big day for local Off Broadway star and Red Hook denizen Michael Shannon, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Revolutionary Road. He'll no doubt lose to Heath "Know How I Got These Oscars?" Ledger, and rightfully so, but it's nice to see a local boy (yes, via Chicago) make good. (We most recently caught Shannon in Lady.) more ›

Before going for the gold, French actress and Oscar winner Marion Cotillard made some remarks in a 2007 interview regarding 9/11, and some aren't as charmed by her words as they were by her Oscar speech. Nonetheless, Cotillard sides with the conspiracy theorists when it comes to 9/11...and the moon landing! BBC News has a partial transcript:

"We see other towers of the same kind being hit by planes, are they burned?" she asks. "There was a tower, I believe it was in Spain, which burned for 24 hours. It never collapsed. None of these towers collapsed. And there [in New York], in a few minutes, the whole thing collapsed." more ›

At 8:30PM (following a half-hour red carpet special), the 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony will begin, finally putting an end to the "There Will Be Oscar" or "Oscar Country for Old Men" type headlines. more ›