HOLLYWOOD’S MOST COVETED MAN

What's really curious about "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is that most Oscar pundits give the lead star of the film with the most nominations virtually no hope of winning best actor. Among the five contenders in that category, Brad Pitt is usually ranked fourth or fifth by prognosticators. Why?

Most likely it's punishment for his good looks. Look at other top male stars who haven't won Oscars despite working in Hollywood for years: Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Richard Gere. They're all heartthrobs - just like previous matinee stars who got snubbed in years past: James Dean, Steve McQueen, Tyrone Power and Robert Taylor.

While a few handsome male stars have managed to win now and then in the past, most have been denied. There's a clear pattern of it.

Consider the case of Tom Cruise, who lost the 1989 best actor Oscar to Daniel Day-Lewis. Both men played wheelchair-bound real-life heroes in "Born on the Fourth of July" and "My Left Foot," respectively. Cruise had won the Golden Globe while Day-Lewis had taken most of the critics prizes. When the British born Day-Lewis prevailed over the all-American Cruise many Oscarologists attributed this to another instance of the Slap the Stud Syndrome.

And while there are the usual exceptions to the rule - both Clark Gable ("It Happened One Night," 1934) and Marlon Brando ("On the Waterfront," 1954) won Oscars at the height of their careers - many more leading men have been slapped through the years, never winning Oscars for acting:

Warren Beatty (four lead nominations)
Charles Boyer (four lead nominations)
Montgomery Clift (three lead and one supporting nominations)
James Dean (two lead nominations)
Leonardo DiCaprio (two lead and one supporting nominations)
Kirk Douglas (three lead nominations)
Clint Eastwood (two lead nominations)
Albert Finney (four lead and one supporting nominations)
Peter Fonda (one lead nomination)
Harrison Ford (one lead nomination)
Cary Grant (two lead nominations)
Rock Hudson (one lead nomination)
Jude Law (two lead nominations)
Marcello Mastroianni (three lead nominations)
Steve McQueen (one lead nomination)
Robert Mitchum (one supporting nomination)
Nick Nolte (two lead nominations)
Robert Redford (one lead nomination)
Burt Reynolds (one supporting nomination)
Will Smith (two lead nominations); and
John Travolta (two lead nominations).

By the time Oscar voters finally rewarded Paul Newman, he didn't care anymore. Even though he was widely favored to win best actor for the 1986 film, "The Color of Money," the 62-year-old actor skipped the ceremony. At that point he'd lost seven times and was tied with Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole as Oscar's biggest loser. Disgusted by the whole game, Newman told the Associated Press that his pursuit of the statuette had been "like chasing a beautiful woman for 80 years. Finally, she relents and you say, 'I am terribly sorry. I'm tired.' "

The 2009 Oscar-nominated actresses ran the gamut in age, experience and past nominations. On one end there was 15-time nominee (two-time winner) Meryl Streep and six-time nominee Kate Winslet, and on the other there was veteran actress Melissa Leo right there with fellow first-time nominees Anne Hathaway, Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson.

Only two women over the age of 50 have nabbed an Oscar over the past 15 years: Judi Dench ("Shakespeare in Love," 1998) and Helen Mirren ("The Queen," 2006).
And it didn't happen this year, 2009.

A Pace University study of the years 1975 to 1999 revealed best actor winners were, on average, five years older than their female equivalents. And seven years separated male and female nominees. Though this age bias is less blatant in the category for supporting actresses, older women still triumph there only now and then. Before Dench won her supporting Oscar in 1998, it had been 11 years since 56-year-old Olympia Dukakis prevailed for "Moonstruck." And the last woman over 50 to win lead actress before Mirren had been Jessica Tandy ("Driving Miss Daisy") in 1989.

Poor Kate Winslet, 33, needed to play it smart this year. After five previous defeats, she could end up tied with Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter as Oscar's biggest-losing actresses if she is snubbed one more time. Happily for her, she won!

ACADEMY AWARDS HISTORY
This is the first Academy Award nomination for Christian Colson.

FILM SYNOPSIS
An eighteen-year-old from the slums of Mumbai finds himself competing on the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," where the questions he must answer offer a look back at his earlier life. The show's host, however, insists that he must be cheating and takes steps to force young Jamal to admit that a boy from such an impoverished background could not possibly possess the knowledge necessary to win the show's top prize.

NOMINATED ROLE
Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk, the camera store owner whose decision to campaign for a place on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors becomes a landmark event within the gay rights movement.

ACADEMY AWARDS HISTORY
This is the fifth Academy Award nomination for Sean Penn. He was previously nominated for:
......MYSTIC RIVER (2003) Winner, Actor in a Leading Role
......I AM SAM (2001) Nominee, Actor in a Leading Role
......SWEET AND LOWDOWN (1999) Nominee, Actor in a Leading Role
......DEAD MAN WALKING (1995) Nominee, Actor in a Leading Role

Sean Penn files for legal separation from his wife

Sean Penn and Robin Wright apparently tried to make it work but now, it seems their marriage might be over for good. Penn and his actress wife are separating after 13 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.

They attended the Academy Awards together in February. Penn, 48, won an Oscar for his role in the drama "Milk," and neglected to thank his wife in his acceptance speech. (This is probably not the reason for the pending divorce .. but it may indicate marrital discord.)

Penn met Wright on the set of the 1990 Irish mob movie "State of Grace." The famously brooding actor, who previously married and divorced first wife Madonna, seemed to find the yin to his yang in the luminous actress, whose serene demeanor tempered his macho swagger. Wright, who was married once before to former soap star Dane Witherspoon, has said Penn helped her gain confidence and stand up for herself.

Penn launched his acclaimed acting career as the stoned surfer dude Jeff Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." His other, much heavier, roles include "Dead Man Walking," "21 Grams," "I Am Sam," "All the King's Men" and "Mystic River," for which he won a best actor Oscar in 2004.

Penn's second trophy came after he showed surprising warmth and humor as slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk. Despite his reputation as a serious actor, he recently agreed to play Larry in the Farrelly brothers' big-screen update of "The Three Stooges."

He has also directed several films, including 2007's "Into the Wild" and 1995's "The Crossing Guard," which co-starred Wright and Jack Nicholson.

Wright, 43, is best known for her role in "The Princess Bride" in 1987 and "Forrest Gump" in 1994 opposite Tom Hanks. Her other credits include "Beowulf," "Breaking and Entering" and the new Russell Crowe drama "State of Play."

NOMINATED ROLE
Heath Ledger portrays the Joker, a psychopathic criminal mastermind who will stop at nothing in his scheme to outwit and humiliate Batman.

ACADEMY AWARDS HISTORY
This is the second Academy Award nomination for Heath Ledger. He was previously nominated for:
......BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005) Nominee, Actor in a Leading Role

NOMINATED ROLE
Kate Winslet plays Hanna Schmitz, a German woman in her thirties whose teenage lover is unaware of the dark secret in her past.

ACADEMY AWARDS HISTORY
This is the sixth Academy Award nomination for Kate Winslet. She was previously nominated for:
......LITTLE CHILDREN (2006) -- Nominee, Actress in a Leading Role
......ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004) -- Nominee, Actress in a Leading Role
......IRIS (2001) -- Nominee, Actress in a Supporting Role
......TITANIC (1997) -- Nominee, Actress in a Leading Role
......SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1995) -- Nominee, Actress in a Supporting Role

NOMINATED ROLE
Penelope Cruz portrays the fiery Maria Elena, a divorced woman still locked in a complex relationship with her ex-husband.

ACADEMY AWARDS HISTORY
This is the second Academy Award nomination for Penelope Cruz. She was previously nominated for:
......VOLVER (2006) -- Nominee, Actress in a Leading Role

What a beautiful acceptance speech.

Penelope made history! She is the first Spanish actress EVER to win an Oscar. She dedicated the Oscar to her people in Spain and all spanish actors.