HOLLYWOOD -- What's a Pilobolus? And will they ever ask Jerry Seinfeld to host the Oscars?
We answer those and other questions nagging us since the Oscars.
N-N-N-NINETEEN: Now that Martin Scorsese's Oscar drought finally ended on Sunday night, who among this year's nominees has the biggest ongoing losing streak?
No, it's not eight-time-losing actor Peter O'Toole -- not even close. The dubious achievement belongs to sound re-recording mixer Kevin O'Connell who, after Dreamgirls won over Apocalypto in the sound mixing category, saw his career won-loss record fall to 0-19.
And it's a safe bet the Susan Lucci of technicians will be back for a 20th go-round next year, seeing as he's currently working on post-production on Spider-Man 3, which hits theatres in May.
PERMA-SMILE: What's up with Nicole Kidman's face? Either Kidman, who was an early presenter along with the decidedly shorter Daniel Craig, has developed an incredible Zen-like ability to relax every single muscle in her forehead so that it resembles the tranquil, Teflon surface of an iced-over koi pond -- or she has become Hollywood's latest candidate for Botox detox. Whatever the cause, her visage remained as frozen and void as that of a Stepford Wife.
MR. FREEZE: And what about ubiquitous Jack Nicholson's shaved head?Having played the Joker in a Batman movie, is he now ready to take on Mr. Freeze?
He's sporting the chrome dome for a new Rob Reiner comedy in which he and Morgan Freeman play terminally ill patients who break out of the cancer ward to attend to a little unfinished business.
JUDI, JUDI, JUDI: Was best-actress nominee Judi Dench really recuperating from surgery, or did she just figure, that with Oscar shoo-in Helen Mirren attending, the Kodak Theatre wasn't big enough for two Dames?
The 72-year-old Dench who, ironically, won a 1999 supporting-actress Oscar playing the role of the first Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love, was indeed recovering from knee surgery and was unable to manage the plane trip from England to America.
SPEAKING OF DAMES: When John Travolta was presenting the best-song Oscar along with Queen Latifah, he cracked, "I love a full-figured woman who can stand in front of a camera and sing her heart out -- but that's enough about me." Is he trying to tell us something?
In this case, he's referring to his professional drag debut as Edna Turnblad, the singing-and-dancing role inhabited on stage by Harvey Fierstein in the screen version of the musical Hairspray, co-starring Latifah, which hits theatres July 20.
SHADOWY REPS: What about those full-body shadow puppets who did those dazzling behind-the-screen movie interpretations?
They're Pilobolus, the incredibly limber, Connecticut-based modern dance company who have been touring the world for the past three decades.
PERDON, PENELOPE: Did Ellen DeGeneres actually confuse Penelope Cruz for a Mexican during her opening monologue?
She mentioned Spaniard Cruz in the same breath as Mexico having a record number of Oscar nominations, leading to her later apology in a bid to avert an international incident. At least she didn't have to apologize for stepping on that feathered runaway train on Cruz' Versace dress, unlike virtually everybody else who found themselves following in her path that night.
SEINFELD AS HOST?: Jerry Seinfeld preceded his announcement of the best-documentary winner with a brief but very funny stand-up routine. Was he auditioning for Ellen's new job?
Seinfeld actually has been approached several times in the past by the Academy to host the show, but always has turned down the invitation.
Should he have a change of heart -- and here's hoping he will -- given his justification for throwing his movie-theatre trash on the floor, there's no way you'll see him vacuuming the aisles of the Kodak Theatre like DeGeneres did.
