Peter Sellers saw his role in Hal Ashby's "Being There," as Chance Gardiner, the simple-witted fool who becomes politically powerful in Washington DC, as an "all-out bid" for the Oscar, which had eluded him several times before.

Elizabeth Taylor, who won her second Best Actress Oscar, for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), was upset that her then husband, actor Richard Burton, lost, believing that he gave the best performance of the year.  Burton knew that he had no chance of winning after Paul Scofield was cited by the New York Film Critics Circle, for "A Man for All Seasons."

It was another triumphant year for films that premiered and were showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival. Among the nominated TIFF films are Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air (2009), Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker (2008), and Lee Daniels' Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (2009), among others.

USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2010-02-03-oscarnom03_ST_N.htm