• Further proof that there may really be a ELLE curse: WWD reports that actress Michelle Williams had already been shot for the April cover of the ladymag, but asked to have it and a related story pulled after the death of Heath Ledger. She's since been replaced with Natalie Portman. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Eva Mendes is the face of the still-unnamed, still-unlaunched new Calvin Klein fragrance. Given that Mendes is the mascot, we assume the scent smells like a hot bod and forgettable acting career. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Kimora Lee Simmons also has a new fragrance out, called Fabulosity. (Of course.) Says Simmons, "Yes, I'm over the top, and yes, I'm unapologetic, and yes, I have really big diamonds, but I have an equally big heart and an equally big spirit." [WWD, sub req'd]

• Most exciting of all? Celine Dion has a new fragrance! It is called Sensational, and we think, in the words of Kathy Griffin, that it smells like equal parts "magique," "musique" and and inflated sense of self. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Radar magazine clearly has a death wish, as it has ranked Lauren Conrad as the #1 most influential person in fashion, with Vogue's Anna Wintour coming in at a piddling #17. [Radar]
• H&M's profits are up by 14%. [WWD, sub req'd]
• That green dress that Keira Knightley wore in Atonement t is going to be auctioned off for charity. Bids start at $1,000, so if you're one of the many salivating, get crackin'. [UPI]
• I want a jacket that doubles as a LiteBrite! [Technology Review]
• Erin Fetherston (whose F/W 2008 show we'll be live-blogging tonight) is now designing a capsule collection of jewelery with designer Sasha Primak. We expect it to be hyper-feminine and beloved by hipsters everywhere. [Fashion Week Daily]
• And funky menswear designer Duckie Brown (we'll be there too) has been tapped to design a shoe collection for not-funky Florsheim. [WSJ]
• Ooh must get into the Derek Lam show! Swag bag full of Kiehl's products! [Fashion Week Daily]
• Michael Kors described his upcoming F/W 2008 collection as having an "urban, investment-oriented theme with not a baby-doll in sight." Um, okay So confused. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Why, God, why? New York socialite Tinsley Mortimer is designing her own clothing line, Riccime by Tinsley Mortimer. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Heatherette designer Richie Rich on what he loves about Old Navy: "The clothes are great... I wear their socks and I wear their underwear!" [Fashion Week Daily]
• Please, please get us Prada tarot cards. [Chic Report]
• Kate Moss is on the cover of the March issue of British Vogue, making it her 25th cover with the Brit fashion book alone. Wow. [Sassybella]

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There: Come on, she plays that genius music man Bob Dylan! Who was most definitely not a victim. Or a hooker. Or even a woman. Verdict: OK!

Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton: As Hillary Clinton taught us, even if other people try to hate on you, once a ball-busting lawyer, always a ball-busting lawyer. Which means that Swinton's character gets a Verdict: OK!

Ruby Dee, American Gangster: Yeah, it's sort of an iron-clad rule. Playing the guilt-ridden mother of a heroin dealer leaves no other option than Verdict: Victim!

Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone: She's an alcoholic. And her kid goes missing. Most definitely Verdict: Victim!

Saorise Ronan, Atonement: Once she reaches young adulthood, her character attempts to correct an error in judgment she had as a child by (spoiler alert!) concocting and selling a fictitious version of events. Which makes her either a crazy or a sociopath. No matter how you look at it, dying alone with regret makes you a guaranteed Verdict: Victim! (Even if you're the one making others into victims. Life is complicated like that, natch.)


Best Actress:

[Note: All of these nominees are sorta hard to pin down, so dangerously close do they dance between the line of victim/not-victim. So instead, we simply consulted our Magic 8-Ball.]

Julie Christie, Away From Her: Gets Alzheimer's, has to go to a nursing home, but then finds love. Too bad she's married! The story is sad, but good for her for finding some happiness. Also, isn't it not politically correct to call a person with Alzheimer's a "victim"? Verdict: Signs point to "no".

Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose: Her mother was an alcoholic and she grows up to be one too, in addition to, you know, real-life French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Also, has string of bad relationships and loses her only child. But she's a star, people, a star! Does becoming one of the biggest talents of our time cancel out the tragedy? Verdict: Absolutely.

Laura Linney, The Savages: Has a bad temp job, wants to be a playwright, denied every grant she's ever applied for, involved with a married man, father is dying. But: she's the smart and sassy sister to Philip Seymour Hoffman's even more pathetic brother, which means we're willing to give her the big ol' Verdict: My Sources Say No

Ellen Page, Juno: Has unprotected sex, gets pregnant, decides to keep the baby and give it up for adoption. By movie's end, she's landed her dream man (her dorky best friend), learned that childbirth is painful, makes a woman who wants to be a mom happy, grows closer with her own parents, and even manages to slink back down to original svelte teen-aged self when it's all over. Here's a girl who gets pregnant and refuses to play the victim, which somehow heightens the unavoidable sadness and gravity of the situation. Verdict: Outlook Not So Good

Earlier: Oscar Noms 2008: Women Can Write, Not Direct

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett — I'm Not There
Tilda Swinton — Michael Clayton
Amy Ryan — Gone Baby Gone
Ruby Dee — American Gangster
Saorise Ronan — Atonement

Best Supporting Actor:
Casey Affleck — The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Javier bardem — No Country For Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman — Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook — Into The Wild
Tom WIlkinson — Michael Clayton

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett — Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie — Away From Her
Marion Cotillard — La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney — The Savages
Ellen Page — Juno

Best Actor:
George Clooney — Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis — There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp — Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones — In The Valley Of Elah
Viggo Mortensen — Eastern Promises

Best Director:
Ethan and Joel Coen — No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson — There Will Be Blood
Julian Schnabel — The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman — Juno
Tony Gilroy — Michael Clayton

Best Original Screenplay:
Tamara Jenkins — The Savages
Diablo Cody — Juno
Nancy Oliver — Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy — Michael Clayton
Brad Bird, Jim Capobianco, Jan Pinkava — Ratatouille

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Atonement — Christopher Hampton
Away From Her — Sarah Polley
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly — Ronald Harwood
No Country For Old Men — Ethan and Joel Cohen
There Will Be Blood — Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Picture:
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

No Country, Blood Lead Oscar Nominations [Reuters]

Julie Christie - Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama (Away From Her)

English acting legend Julie Christie is a little bit quirky and a whole lotta classy. Which is why I thought the 66-year old actress would be perfectly suited in this Louis Vuitton dress — pinstripes paired with the coy purple sheath shows that there is sexy after 50, and Christie's face would be perfectly picture-framed in that portrait collar.


Marion Cotillard - Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical (La Vie En Rose)

French actress Marion Cotillard won big last night for her star-making turn as legende Francaise, Edith Piaf, the chanteuse whose heart-breaking songs weren't half as heartbreaking as her own life story. And shouldn't a performer/role that scream Vive La France! be paired with one of the country's most iconographic fashion houses, Chanel? This Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel-designed dress looks as if it were custom-made for Cotillard's moon face and full lips, the marriage of sexuality and innocence. Also, how cool are the nautical-esque rope details?


Cate Blanchett - Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (I'm Not There)

I'm a little tired of seeing Cate Blanchett in Armani. Also, I imagine that Cate is a little tired herself, but not of Armani — just 'cause she now has an achin' pregnant woman's body. So I thought comfort should come first, which is easy enough in this Lanvin number, which, like Cate, seems simple but boasts an alluring complexity. (Also, I'm mad for orange!) Cate's a great beauty: She deserves to wear a dress that can match her, but allow her to shine.


Glenn Close - Best Lead Actress in a Television, Drama (Damages)

So Glenn Close gets the honors with this sexy yet sophisticated frock by Armani. She's 60-years and and still got a slammin' bod and she's damn proud of it. So why not show off a still toned chest in a diaphanous choice like this one? The shawl keeps it modest enough. Sorta. Kind of. And the cute and fabric will soften Close's appearance, which can sometimes veer towards the severe. Also, I'm all about white for formal wear. (And all against white for bridal wear. Ah, irony.)


Tina Fey - Lead Actress in a Television Comedy (30 Rock)

The idol of geek girls everywhere, I want to see Tina Fey in a dress that represents her wit and sophistication, without denying the fact that geek girls are never gonna compromise comfort for style. Also, geeks can be beauties too! Smarts, comfort, beauty? That's exactly what this strapless black gown by Israeli designer Sari Gueron offers. The attention to detail and flawless execution is like the sartorial equivalent to the perfect timing played out week after week on 30 Rock. (Or, um, whatever.) It's a dress that just screams, "Live every week like shark week."


Queen Latifah - Best Actress in a Television Miniseries Or Special (Life Support)

A longtime fan of butch suits and matronly gowns, Queen Latifah could have cut a shapely silhouette in this Catherine Malandrino ensemble. Malandrino, a designer with a bold color palette who understands that real women have curves, would be perfectly suited to Queen Latifah's personality. These wide-legged white trousers require a woman unafraid to be assertive and the delicate top, emblazoned with a faux flower, require a woman who also enjoys her feminine side.


Samantha Morton - Best Supporting Actress in a Television Show or Miniseries (Longford)

Samantha Morton is kooky, quirky, and quite the chameleon. Yet her acting work is undoubtedly some of the smartest and most complicated being done today. Which is why her fashion soul mate should be John Galliano. High drama + flawless execution + a guaranteed pinch of the unexpected = Perfect Morton-wear. This ruffled frock is sexy, not girly; fierce, not fainting. Also, have I mentioned lately how much I love orange? Morton would rock this like the oddball sexpot that she is.

Atonement, Sweeney Todd win Golden Globes [Reuters]

And lo, it turns out one kid in every A-level lit class agrees with me, albeit they seem to have actually read the book, which is the sort of practice in which I don't generally partake. But anyway, even though she was 15, it was hard to look at Lola as a helpless victim trying to make things right by marrying her rapist a la the victims of Jeffrey Marsalis. I thought the whole thing was the desperate — but ultimately rational — response to her parents' divorce.

I could be wrong!

Anyhow in other news the actress who played Lola has really weird hair in real life.