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12:35 PM ET, January 22, 2009

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 Top News: 
Simon Reynolds / Digital Spy:
‘Benjamin Button’ dominates Oscar noms  —  The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button has secured 13 nominations at the 81st Academy Awards.  —  The love story, about a man who is born old and ages in reverse, leads this year's Oscar pack, with British movie Slumdog Millionaire close behind with ten nods.
Discussion: Access Hollywood and omg!
RELATED:
Associated Press:
‘Benjamin Button’ leads Oscars with 13 nominations  —  BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The romantic fantasy “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” led Academy Awards contenders Thursday with 13 nominations, among them best picture and acting honors for Brad Pitt and Taraji P. Henson, and a directing slot for David Fincher.
Discussion: INF Daily and Starpulse
Mandi Illuzzi / Us Weekly:
Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt Score Oscar Nods  —  Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt both scored Academy Award nominations for their dramatic leading roles, it was announced Thursday.  —  In the Best Actress category, Jolie will face off against Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married); Melissa Leo …
Ramin Setoodeh / Newsweek:
Which Actor Googles Himself?  —  At our 13th Oscar Roundtable, six of this year's most-talked-about performers reveal more of themselves than they'd sometimes like.  —  From the magazine issue dated Jan 21, 2009  —  And the Oscar goes to ... who knows?  But at least by Thursday morning we'll know who the nominees are.
Discussion: OH NO!!
Hellomagazine.com:
Kate receives best actress nod as Oscar nominations are announced
Discussion: Access Hollywood
Marc Malkin / E! Online:
New Moon Casting Scoop!  Dakota Fanning as Jane?  —  Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Peter Sorel / Summit Entertainment  —  Dakota Fanning...with fangs?  —  It's possible.  I can exclusively report that the 14-year-old child star—she turns 15 on Feb. 23—is in talks to play Jane opposite …
RELATED:
Perez Hilton:
Dakota Fanning To Join Twilight Sequel???  —  Twilight will be getting some more “star” power for part two of the film franchise!  —  According to reports, set to play Volturi vampire Jane, opposite hottie Robert Pattinson in the upcoming sequel, will be Dakota Fanning.
PEOPLE TV Watch:
George Clooney Headed Back to ER  —  George Clooney has agreed to come back to the show that launched his career: ER.  —  Sources close to the series tell PEOPLE that ER co-creator John Wells has ordered a closed set to keep Clooney's appearance under wraps.
RELATED:
ETonline:
GEORGE CLOONEY'S ‘ER’ FATE REVEALED  —  ET has the details...  Sources confirm to Entertainment Tonight the future of George Clooney's role on “ER.”  —  Sources confirm to Entertainment Tonight that George Clooney will be filming scenes for an appearance on “ER” this week.
RELATED:
Us Weekly:
Lawmaker Confirms Extortion Attempt Against Travolta Family
Discussion: TMZ.com
X17 Online:
Heath Ledger, Brangelina Top The List Of 2009 Oscar Nominees!  —  We've all been chomping at the bit waiting for the 81st Academy Awards nominations, and here they are:  —  Best picture  —  “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”  —  “Frost/Nixon”  —  “Milk”  —  “The Reader”  —  “Slumdog Millionaire”
RELATED:
Mandi Illuzzi / Us Weekly:
Heath Ledger Gets Oscar Nomination on First Anniversary of His Death
Discussion: New York Post
Access Hollywood:
Heath Ledger Earns Oscar Nom A Year After Death
Discussion: INF Daily
John Coles / The Sun:
Heroine Amy  —  A TOURIST told yesterday how recovering junkie AMY WINEHOUSE became her heroine — as she performed a Baywatch-style rescue on a beach.  —  Louise Williams, 39, was having a sailing lesson in the Caribbean when she was thrown out of her boat by a 6ft wave.
RELATED:
Style Watch:
Source: Jennifer Hudson ‘Knew it Was Time’ to Perform Again  —  After dropping out of the public eye following her family murder tragedy, Jennifer Hudson now has the strength and the will to give three high-profile performances next month, a source close to her tells PEOPLE.
RELATED:
TMZ.com:
Jennifer Hudson Emerges, Smiles
Discussion: Celebrity Smack!
Pareene / Gawker:
Diane Sawyer Still Obviously Intoxicated  —  The Inaugural Balls went on all night and it looks like Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer enjoyed the open bars.  Thanks, ABC, for not pulling her off the air despite all this slurred nonsense.  —  Thanks to hero intern Bette Bentley for compiling …
Discussion: The Dish Rag and dailystab.com
Karina Longworth / SpoutBlog:
Sundance Fistfight!  DIRT Gets Dirty.  —  About an hour ago, text messages started to fly around Park City, regarding an altercation between film critic John Anderson and producer (and Big Lebowski inspiration) Jeff Dowd in the restaurant at the Yarrow Resort.
RELATED:
 
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 More News: 
GotCast.com:
MTV Paris' BFF Season 2
TMZ.com:
P!nk — Ex Marks the Spot
Discussion: Backseat Cuddler
New York Post:
LEAVING TOWN  —  HUGH Hefner may be old, but his Playboy Enterprises …
Discussion: Jossip
Michael K / Dlisted:
When Vicki Falls, My Tivo Remote Pays The Price
Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: Keira Knightley signs to play reclusive actress …
 Earlier Picks: 
Brendon Connelly / /Film:
New Up Clip From Sony Keynote
Discussion: Backseat Cuddler and Cinematical
Associated Press:
Peter Falk's wife opposes conservatorship
Discussion: Digital Spy, TMZ.com and Perez Hilton
Lindsay Powers / Us Weekly:
Jessica Alba: Bill O'Reilly Is “Kind of an A—hole”
Discussion: Socialite Life, Dlisted and TMZ.com
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Arasu Kannagi Basil / Reuters:
OpenAI and Reddit partner to bring Reddit content to ChatGPT and more via Reddit's Data API, bring new AI tools to Reddit, and make OpenAI a Reddit ad partner

Mia Sato / The Verge:
Memo: Gannett is adding AI-generated summaries to the top of some stories, with a disclaimer at the bottom; some USA Today stories already show the summaries

Steven Waldman / @stevenwaldman:
The California Senate Appropriations Committee approves a bill imposing fees on Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon to pay for local news through employment tax credits

 
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