February 14, 2008–Oscar plans are ?¢¬Ä¬úfull speed ahead,?¢¬Ä according to Academy prexy Sid Ganis. The show's producer Gil Cates unveiled the list of presenters and performers for the 80th annual Oscars on February 24, 2008.

February 13, 2008–Film Independent announced today that Javier Bardem will serve as Honorary Chair at the 2008 Spirit Awards held on February 23 in Santa Monica. As Honorary Chair, Bardem will be a presenter at the ceremony, which is being hosted this year by Rainn Wilson. A Spirit Award winner in 2001 for Best Male Lead for his role as Reinaldo Arenas in Julian Schnabel?¢¬Ä¬ôs ?¢¬Ä¬úBefore Night Falls,?¢¬Ä Bardem joins a list of previous Honorary Chairs that include Maggie Gyllenhaal and Terrence Howard, who served as co-Chairs in 2007, as well as Halle Berry, Tom Cruise, Benicio Del Toro, Jodie Foster, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Nicole Kidman, Ang Lee, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Naomi Watts.

To the Academy's embarrassment, it turned out that Robert Rich, nominated writer for “The Brave One,” was the pseudonym for blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, one of the Hollywood Ten. Trumbo received his long overdue Oscar in 1975, when producers Frank and Maurice King sent the Academy an affidavit verifying his identity.

More than any other talent group, writers suffered from this rule. Michael Wilson won the writing Oscar with Harry Brown for “A Place in the Sun.” However refusing to answer charges of Communist affiliation, he found himself out of work.

“Broadcast News” was nominated for seven Oscars, including Picture, Screenplay (Original) for James L. Brooks, Actor for William Hurt, and Actress for Holly Hunter, but lost out in each and every category.