Less than a year after the horse-riding accident that left him a quadriplegic, the “Superman” star Christopher Reeve made a surprise appearance at the 1996 Oscar telecast.

Industry mavens wondered if the huge box-success might deem the film too mass-oriented and too commercial for Oscar “artistic” considerations, disregarding the fact that other blockbusters (Spielberg's “Jaws” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” among them) have also been nominated for the top Oscar.

Born on Nov. 22, 1961, in Ketchum, Idaho, Mariel Hemingway is one of the youngest Oscar nominees in the Academy's history: She received Supporting nomination for Woody Allen's “Manhattan,” in 1979.

Jan 29, 2007–The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will kick off Oscar week with a presentation of “Shorts!,” a program featuring the 10 nominated films in the animated and live-action short categories. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Taylor Hackford (“Ray”) will host the evening, which will also feature onstage discussions with the nominated filmmakers.

Jan 29, 2007–Fox Searchlight's offbeat family comedy, which premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival, won SAG's top trophy Sunday night, beating “Babel,” “Bobby,” “The Departed” and “Dreamgirls” for the ensemble prize at the 13th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium.