• nine number of nominations for “Avatar,” the James Cameron megahit that’s already in record territory
• nine number of nominations for “The Hurt Locker,” the war film directed by his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow

Other major nominees

• eight nominations for Quentin Tarantino’s Nazi-killin’ “Inglorious Basterds”
• six nominations for “Up In The Air,” the George Clooney airline flick
• six nominations for “Precious,” including one for the usually-funny Mo’Nique

Best Picture changes

• This year is a weird year for the Best Picture nominees. Rather than the usual five nominations, the Academy has switched to ten, widening the field to the point that the types of movies that never get nominated somehow did this time around, including:

• pixar “Up” got a nomination, finally validating the consistent levels of commendation the 3D animators get.
• sci-fi “District 9” got four nominations, including one for Best Picture – not bad for a director’s first movie.
• popular “The Blind Side,” which had garnered praise for Sandra Bullock’s performance, got one too. Wow. Surprising.

Who got burned this time?

• » The well-reviewed Jeff Bridges/Maggie Gyllenhaal flick “Crazy Heart” got nominations for the stars (and for best song – we called it!), but not for Best Picture.
• » Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” got just one nomination (for Colin Firth’s performance), despite the crazy level of arthouse hype it got. The Coen Brothers’ “A Serious Man,” however, did get a Best Picture nomination, which (despite their recent Best Picture win) is somewhat surprising.
• » “The Lovely Bones” scored just one acting nomination – that’s to be expected, as it wasn’t a critical hit – but it didn’t get anything for its fairly solid visual effects, which really sold the film. Peter Jackson did produce “District 9,” however. source

• $33
  million the amount of money IMAX lost in 2008, one of a series of rough years due to its films mostly being nature documentaries
• $150
  million the amount of money “Avatar” has made on IMAX screens alone – they’re headed towards a big profit this year as a result source

• It’s not just stopping abortions. Tebow wants to convert people, like his father does in Muslim areas of the Philippines. Until now, he’s been subtle in his outreach.
• Slate sports columnist Jason Fagone • Regarding the soon-to-be-infamous Super Bowl commercial he’s doing with Focus on the Family, where he talks about his mom not getting an abortion. What one probably doesn’t know from his time with the Florida Gators is that he comes from an ultraconservative background and his dad is a missionary. In the past, he’s referred to himself as a “missionary who plays football.” He wears bible verses on his face, for chrissakes! So, in other words, it’s quite likely that the dude is going to follow his dad’s footsteps, whether he’s a Ryan Leaf or a Peyton Manning in the NFL. source

• I think some of the reason ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ still finds an audience today is because I chose not to run the wheels off it. I’ve never regretted stopping when I did.
• “Calvin and Hobbes” creator Bill Watterson • In his first interview since ending the strip 15 years ago. While he appreciates the success it gave him, he’s glad he stopped and has been able to recover some semblance of a normal life. “I wrote “Calvin and Hobbes” in my 30s,” he noted, “and I’m many miles from there.” Is it ironic that he came out of the woodwork the week J.D. Salinger died? Yes, yes it is. source

• How does Stephen Colbert get an iPad before Julius does, anyway? Julius is way more deserving of the Steve plate. But that said, it makes for the best Grammy moment in ages.

• $595
  million “Avatar’s” box-office take in the U.S. after a 7th weekend at the top; it needs $6 million to top “Titanic”
• $2
  billion the James Cameron flick’s worldwide box office take, which is well into the record books already source

• Our president is a total badass, guys. Whether or not you agree with the president’s policies, this is way better than, say, Bill Clinton playing the sax for Arsenio Hall back in the day. It’s like he knows how to let loose and have fun occasionally despite the level of politics going on. And in case you see a dip in the guy’s work output around March or so, he explains why in the video. He watches every single game of March Madness. source

• We’re calling hypocrite on CBS. A gay-themed ad was rejected by the same company that approved an anti-abortion ad. They’re claiming credit problems, despite the fact that the company was willing to pay cash and had $40 million in venture capital. Come on. This is politics, clear and simple. And we hope that CBS hears it loudly. By the way, GoDaddy’s latest sexapalooza was also rejected. source