It's The Most Wonderful Day of the Year!

Oscars Day is finally here! I'm going to be live blogging tonight during the show, so if you're online while watching the show - check in! I'd LOVE to hear your comments. I'll be with lots of fun girls so I'll be sure to report all of the catty things we say! ;-)

I'm getting ready to fill out my ballot. I've already asked this on Facebook, but I wonder what you guys think: Mickey Rourke or Sean Penn for Best Actor? I really want Sean Penn to win - I LOVED Milk, but so far the consensus is that Mickey Rourke will take it.

I have a hard time casting my Oscars ballot - it's such a struggle between what I want to win and what I think will win. But right now the burning questions I have are: What will Angelina wear? Will she bring it? Who will win the red carpet couples showdown? Brad & Angie or Jen & John Mayer? Is there even a doubt that The Jolie-Pitts will kick John Mayer's ass? John Mayer might be borderline hot, he might even be talented - but he is no Brad Pitt.

See you tonight! And again tomorrow morning for a recap on the fashion and the winners.

xoxo

Oscar Winners Leaked?

The internet is abuzz with speculation that this year's Oscar winners have been leaked. Personally, I hope this is fake. Sure, sure - the "winners" here are totally plausible but really? Aren't the winners names gaurded fiercely? Well, here's hoping it's not real - but if you believe it's real, mark your ballots now! Imagine all the winners in the office Oscar pools!

Actor in a leading role: Mickey Rourke
Actor in a supporting role: Heath Ledger
Actress in a leading role: Kate Winslet
Actress in a supporting role: Amy Adams
Animated Feature Film: Wall-E
Art Direction: The Dark Knight
Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
Costume Design: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Directing: Slumdog Millionaire
Documentary feature: Man on Wire
Documentary short: The Conscience of Nhem En
Film editing: Milk
Foreign language film: Departures
Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Music (Score): Defiance
Music (Song): Down to Earth (Wall-E)
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Short film (animated): Presto
Short film (live action): Auf Der Strecke (On The Line)
Sound editing: Wall-E
Sound mixing: The Dark Knight
Visual effects: Iron Man
Writing (Adapted screenplay): The Reader
Writing (Original screenplay): In Bruges

Good Morning!

What a weekend! What a LONG weekend. I was actually happy for today to roll around. I never quite know what to do with my 3-day weekends. I saw Hotel For Dogs for the second time and to offset the wholesome goodness that is kids and dogs I'm going to see The Wrestler today. Lots of nudity and hopefully some gross wrestling stuff! Mmmmm

Did you hear that Chris Brown has hired a crisis management expert? It's about time! Apparently he's hired Alan Nierob who salvaged Mel Gibson's career after he told police in Malibu that Jews were to blame for all of the world's wars. Mel survived...I guess, altho his career hasn't been the same since. Still just not sure what can be done for Chris Brown.


On a happy note, Salma Hayek and her baby daddy, Francois-Henri Pinault were married at City Hall in Paris on Valentine's Day. I guess that's happy news, altho the last I heard she had called off her engagement to Francois and might have been making out with Colin Farrell at The Golden Globes. Did you hear that, too? Colin Farrell + Salma = HOT, but I guess we'll have to put that on hold for awhile.

Is it just MY guy, or do all men dislike Colin Farrell?

Later this week I'll be unveiling a new giveaway and also a new blind item. Check back for both!

xoxo
Nikki

Evan Rachel Wood Disrespected

Looks like Evan Rachel Wood is a little miffed over the rumors that she and Mickey Rourke have hooked up. Evan gave Rolling Stone her comment on the accusations, saying:

"I’m upset because I feel disrespected by the press and by Mr. Rourke," she told us. "Just because I’m single doesn’t mean that you can take advantage of me. It’s unfair that the performances might suffer because of all of these distractions."

And regarding her alleged affair with Mr. Rourke, Wood says, "I'm not attracted to him, he's too old for me. Nothing ever happened and nothing ever will."

Wow! That's a pretty strong statement! She feels disrespected by Rourke, as well as the press. Laineygossip.com today also reported that "infallable" sources told her that NO hook-up occured at the SAG Awards afterparty at The Four Seasons last Sunday.

This doesn't bode well for Mickey Rourke's bid for Best Actor. He can't afford any negative press.

Mickey Rourke & Evan Rachel Wood

I reported awhile back that tongues were wagging regarding a hook-up between Mickey Rourke and Evan Rachel Wood. The two play father/daughter in "The Wrestler." Seems as though several people saw them wagging their tongues with eachother at a SAG Awards afterparty.

The two attended Grey Goose’s Official SAG after-party at the Shrine on Sunday evening but were spotted leaving together enroute to the later after party at the Four Seasons Hotel. According to Pop Tarts spies, the actress went upstairs with Rourke (whose second marriage ended over a decade ago) when he suddenly grabbed her for a lip-lock in the outside area of the swanky five-star hotel.

Who's more gross - Mickey Rourke or Marilyn Manson?

(Source: Fox News)

Oscar Roundtable: Blah, Blah, Blah

In between running here and there today I've been watching Newsweek's Oscars Roundtable discussion with Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Jr, Frank Langella, Sally Hawkins and Mickey Rourke. If you have the time to spend you must watch it. Talk about self-important and pukey! But seriously, I loved it. I LOVE actors and how important their work is. And who am I to disagree? I love all of this sh*t!

Can you believe that Mickey Rourke actually seems the LEAST self-righteous?! Well, not including Sally Hawkins, God love 'er.

Here's the first video

Click here for the more.

Hot Mess Hook-Up: Rourke & Ling

Mickey Rourke and Bai Ling? BEST couple EVER! I'm praying he takes her to The Oscars.

MICKEY Rourke (above) is already reaping the benefits of his comeback. The star of "The Wrestler" was at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood the other night with Sean Penn and his long-suffering wife, Robin Wright Penn, when, our witnesses said, Rourke was accosted by fame-craving Bai Ling. Rourke was only too happy to oblige the Chinese-born actress and the two "made out and partied pretty hard."
(Source: Page Six)

A Game For All

There's this game I like to play with my people called "There's Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend." It's not a nice game. Basically you're walking along (or riding in the car) with someone and if you see a person who might be repulsive to your friend/mom/husband, whoever is with you, you have to call out "There's your boyfriend!" When your friend sees the boyfriend you've chosen for them - expect retaliation.

Wanna play? It's more fun that you might think.





There's your boyfriend!

Evan Rachel Wood & Mickey Rourke?!?!

This was the first I heard of rumors that Evan Rachel Wood and Mickey Rourke are dating. My reaction: "Oh dear lawd!" (accompanied by a gasp)

Gossip Web sites are abuzz with sightings of the newly single Evan Rachel Wood and Mickey Rourke, her much older costar in The Wrestler. But the actress – who split from rocker Marilyn Manson last month – wants the world to know that they're just friends.

"Spread the word – I'm not dating Mickey Rourke," Wood told PEOPLE at Sunday's Hollywood Life 3rd annual Behind the Camera Awards in Hollywood. "Everybody thinks we're dating and we're not."

That's a sentiment the 21-year-old actress reiterated in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE: "Mickey and I bonded while shooting The Wrestler and we became friends, but nothing more. I guess, because of my recent break up, I will be linked to many people, but I am not interested in pursuing a relationship at this point in my life. Any such rumor should not be taken seriously."

She continued, "We are proud of the film we made together and I hope people will focus on the film and not get distracted by any nonsense."

Rourke, 56, also denied the so-called romance. When asked Saturday if they two had begun dating, he told PEOPLE, "No, no. I'm a big fan of hers and she's a big fan of mine." (Although the costars – along with the rest of The Wrestler cast – were in Las Vegas Saturday, Wood did not join Rourke at Tao's three-year anniversary party.)


Rumor Control
It's been a tough few days of rumor control for Wood, who, on Friday, also refuted gossip surrounding her breakup.

"Manson and I both decided to take some time apart so we could concentrate on work," the actress told PEOPLE at the time, addressing stories that they'd fought bitterly about her brother. "Someone used that opportunity to kick us while we were down and sell a completely false story."

On Sunday, Wood insisted she's coping well with the split.

"It's not the nasty thing everybody thinks it is. I'm doing fine, as best as can be expected ...," she said. "Right now, I'm just enjoying being on my own."
(Source: People.com)

Mickey Rourke Saved By Priest & Pups

I'm dying to see Mickey Rourke's big comeback movie, "The Wrestler." He seems like a Best Actor shoo-in.

MICKEY Rourke was once on the verge of ending his life in a gory murder-suicide - and wrote a heart-wrenching farewell note to his estranged wife, Carré Otis.

"I was about to commit two mortal sins," the grizzled actor, who's set for a big comeback in "The Wrestler," tells Steve Garbarino in next month's Maxim. Before killing himself, he was planned to snuff out "a guy who raped Carré when she was on heroin and beat her up."

But Rourke dropped his twisted plot after an 11th-hour visit to Father Pete Colapietro, the famed Times Square priest who's a longtime pal. "He admitted he had [bleep]ed up his relationship with his wife," Colapietro says. "[He had] a letter he'd written to Carré - a note of a conciliatory nature. I told him, 'Let's fold it up and put it behind the statue of St. Jude.' " The duo then retired to the rectory to drink red wine, smoke and help Rourke work things out.

The childless, twice-divorced star - who claims his face needed plastic surgery because of boxing injuries - says one of his saving graces in life is his family of three chihuahuas, Loki, Bella and Peppino; a pug, Fat Bastard; a Pomeranian, Ruby; and a terrier, Jaws the Enforcer.

And the dogs eat better than Rourke does, getting daily gourmet meals prepared by his chef-roommate, J.P. Parlavecchio, including ground sirloin, grilled pork chops, boiled chicken breast, and tuna with mixed veggies. Once a week they're treated to McDonald's cheeseburgers minus the buns and pickles.

Of Loki, who travels with him everywhere, Rourke gushed: "She's like a giant Xanax, you know? I'm not going to get religious on your ass, but I truly believe God created dogs for a cause. They are the greatest companions a man could ever have." He adds: "My bed's never empty."

Neither is his bedroom. It's stocked with sex toys and a stripper pole. He said, "I'm waiting for the right girl to come in and [I'll] say, 'You wanna see something?' "
(Source: Page Six)