Daily Rushes

1. Unlike Scott, I was one of those who found Sally Hawkin's Poppy intensely annoying. Like Scott, I think it was a lovely performance: a lovely performance of an intensely annoying character. But her omission doesn't rank on the same scale of criminality as Kristin Scott Thomas being snubbed for I've Loved You So Long, for which someone should call the Hague, or at least commission a truth and reconciliation council or something.

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was too long, too self-important and too reminiscent of another certain ageless-naif-who-inspires-love-and-life-lessons-in-all-he-meets created by Eric Roth. Surely its 13 nominations just reflect its good showing in the technical / costume / make up /set design stakes rather than any genuine frontrunner status?

3. Ok, so it seems Slumdog has it pretty much wrapped up at this stage, even if it's inspiring the mother of all backlashes in India.

4. Sean Penn deserves the Oscar over Mickey Rourke. If people got handed Oscars just because their roles resembled their own arduous life journeys then Madonna would have gong for Evita, Courtney Love for Larry Flint, and Howard Stern for, well, Howard Stern.

5. If Anne Hathaway gets the Oscar over Kate Winslet, there is no justice. And yes, Hathway was good in Rachel Getting Married, but Oscar needs to get over its fetish for young hot mentals (Tomei in My Cousin Vinny; Angelina in Girl, Interrupted; Theron in Monster) and let someone develop their acting chops a little more before honouring them too soon and then watching their career slide into Lancombe ads and action movie B-parts (see: Paltrow, G.)

6. I do hope Kate wins, but I also hope she KEEPS IT THE HELL TOGETHER. Stiff British upper lip, my ass. Her SAG speech was a nice riposte to the Globes disaster.