It's an Oscar countdown! The biggest night in Hollywood is only a few hours away and i am on the edge of my seat already!
Sure, it's the winners that make me want to watch ... but the Oscars red carpet is something not to be missed! And because the writers' strike is over, the stars of Hollywood will be arriving at the Kodak theater with ease. But, which of the stars will be there?
I already know that Charlize Theron has chosen her coach and her PJ's, so she won't be there ... but I bet most of the nominees will! Yepee!
George Clooney, Daniel Day Lewis, Cate Blanchett and her baby bump and Ellen Page for her baby bump in Juno!
Oh! The presenters also are going to be at the red carpet! Cameron Diaz and Nicole Kidman with her tiny baby bump are only three of the presenters.
How can i forget the host! Jon Stewart will hopefully light up the theater with his piercing jokes.

There's more to The Oscars than meets the eye!
I came across some fun facts about the most important award in Hollywood ... They're pretty interesting.
Did you know that recipients of Oscars cannot sell the Golden Boy and neither can their heirs, without first being offered back to the Academy for the sum of $1 ?!
Back in 2006 -which isn't long ago- nominees for the best actress award were given gift bags of Victoria's Secret lingerie worth ... get ready ... $15,000. You mya wonder what was in those bags? The underwear sets were adorned with diamond brooches! Yup, no wonder!
In 2003 the Golden Boy won by Orson Welles for his writer credit on Citizen Kane in 1942, came up for auction at Christie's. Orson's youngest daughter, Beatrice, was trying to sell the statue for an estimated $300,000 to $400,000, but Christie's were reluctant to go against the Academy's wishes. The statue was withdrawn from the auction!

The Oscars this year have really gathered the cream de la cream of actors, actresses and movies! Sometimes, the choices aren’t so great, you find one or two movies that really deserve an Oscar and the rest are just there … and then the best one wins! It’s sometimes predictable!
This year, it’s different! The movies chosen for Best Movie are all stunning and I can’t make up my mind as to which one to vote for or which might have a bigger chance of winning!
If I may say, 4 of the 5 films are astonishing ( Atonement, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men and There will be Blood ) … but the 5th; Juno … it’s a great movie and is worthy of recognition, but is it big enough to be an Oscar winner? I’m not sure!
As for Best Actor, The 5 nominees are strong … really strong! Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Viggo Mortensen and Tommy Lee Jones were stunning in their roles, but Daniel Day Lewis was a tad bit stunning-er! So, I expect that he may have a bit more chance to sweep away the Golden Boy in this category.

The biggest night in Hollywood is only a few weeks from ... everyone is one their toes now in anticipation of the long list of 2008 Oscar nominees.
Their waiting won't be long, because tonight this list will be announced! But, then another sort of waiting will start; who will actually win?
Maybe the three most important categories are the: Best Motion Picture of the Year - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role ... So, who will the lucky ones be?
I have three movies in mind for the Best Motion Picture ... No Country for Old Men, Atonement and Sweeney Todd. I'm not sure that Sweeney Todd will be to everyone's liking ... maybe too much blood mixed in with the musical notes?
As for the Best Actor ... Hmmm ... I guess Daniel Day-Lewis and George Clooney are strong candidates ... no? The performances in There Will be Blood and Michael Clayton were outstanding!

What's your say?
More after the jump ...

Ellen is a funny gal ... but how did she do last night at The Oscars?
It was Ellen's first time hosting the Academy Awards ... she had lots of jokes up her sleeve ... but were they funny enough ... does she get 10 out of 10?
She wasn't sharp ... but her warm & low key jokes were what relaxed the audiences & made them at ease.
One of the funniest things she said was: "hosting the Oscars has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. Let that be a lesson to you kids out there - aim lower."
Then there was that ironic parallel between Jennifer Hudson, a losing contestant from American Idol & former US Vice President Al Gore, who lost an election for president despite winning the popular vote.

The Red Carpet is always an exciting place to be ... The stars arrive, the cameras start flashing away & the reporters get their chance to ask the stars all the questions, whether silly, funny or burning questions ... They just fire away!
Last night the red carpet was bubbling & sizzling ... Wish I was there!
In all cases, the best moments of the red carpet arrivals -in my opinion- were when Nicole Kidman & Naomi Watts stood side by side for an 'Aussie' moment! Kidman looked smashing in a red dress, while Watts looked elegant in a cream dress ... She did look like she had a baby bump underneath that dress!

Hey! I was waiting to see Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie hand in hand on the red carpet at the Oscars' arrivals! Where were they?
Well, believe it or not, Angelina Jolie missed The Oscars to be in Africa! Yup! She went there yesterday to monitor & raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.
All this is part of her role as United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.
Jolie will be staying in Africa for a few days, four or five & she is due to visit refugee camps near the border of Sudan. Wow!
As for Brad Pitt, he's in New Orleans ... Taking care of the kids & working on his latest movie Mysterious Case of Benjamin Button.

So many stars, so many categories, so may nominations ... But who won the real golden boy? Which stars can really say they ruled the Oscars last night?
In my opinion, Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren & Jennifer Hudson were in control! Oh! I cannot forget Martin Scorsese ... He won! At last he won! Not only one awards, but four! Most importantly one for Best Director & another for Best Adapted Screenplay & both are for The Departed. He must have been ecstatic!

Hey! There will be no Borat segment at The Oscars tomorrow! Waa!
Sacha Baron Cohen was to present an award during The Oscars ... on one condition that he doesn't let Borat out! So, he refused to present the whole thing!
Well, wait a minute! Borat would be able to appear ... ha! ha! yes! If Cohen wins an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Borat will be out there on stage to recieve the golden boy! Yepee! That would be something worth seeing!
Does he have a chance at winning? ... That's the real question!

Hollywood actresses have been gearing up for The Oscars for some time now ... Exercising, choosing dresses & accessories for the big night.
Actresses Penelope Cruz & Reese Witherspoon have really toned up to look their best on the red carpet & on the sparkly stage.
Penelope is up for Best Actress in Volver ... & Reese will be presenting this year's Best Actor award.
Do you think Penelope Cruz will take home an Oscar this year?
Just a tiny tip for ya, if you want their bods, you'll have to change your diet to fresh veggies, fruits & whole grains ... & you'll have to step up your exercising.

The long search for a host for the most important night in Hollywood isn't over yet! At least as far as we know!
Jon Stewart did a great job last year & if he cracks the jokes at the 79th Academy Awards on February 25th, it would be fantastic!
Billy Crystal was the host 8 or 9 times ... he surprised us every time with new jokes & great punch lines. I wasn't so excited about Chris Rock the other year ... but last year Jon made the event worth watching even more!
Who would you like to see hosting The Oscars this year? ... Me, i'd give my vote to Jon Stewart!

Ellen Degeneres has hosted the Emmys & Grammys before, but she hasn't done the Big O yet!
So, it seems her time has come to show what she's really got for the Oscars next year in February.
The producer of the Oscars, Laura Ziskin says: Ellen was born to host the Academy Awards, I can really tell she is going to set the bar very high for herself and therefore for all of us involved in putting on the show.
As for Ellen, she says: When Laura Ziskin called, I was thrilled, there's two things I've always wanted to do in my life. One is to host the Oscars. The second is to get a call from Laura Ziskin. You can imagine that day's diary entry.

Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Garner & last but not least, Reese Witherspoon. They were beautiful, natural, funny & sexy. Some have great dresses on, others fantastic make-up, while others looked so cute being themselves.
Here is a bunch of photos of my favorite actresses during the Oscars.

My Favorite Actresses During at Oscars

The Academy Awards is Hollywood's biggest night, no doubt!
Millions of people watch this huge event each year in hopes that their favorite actor, actress, director and movie might win top honors.
We all saw Clint Eastwood's labor of love, Million Dollar Baby, receive the top awards last year (including; Best Picture, Best Director for Clint Eastwood, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Hilary Swank, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Morgan Freeman)
And who could forget The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King's 11 Oscar sweep back in 2004?
You gotta love the Oscars!
With the Academy Awards ceremony only hours away, people are still wondering who is going to walk away with the Oscar tonight, while others have already placed their bets.
Many have predicted, some are conflicted, but at the end of the day... It's not about who we want to win, it's about who is going to win!
This year it looks like a close race in all the major categories...