Issue Date: February 25, 2007
Special 2007 Oscar report
The nominees going for the gold at this year's Oscars are more diverse than ever -- and every bit as fabulous. They're sure to shine on the red carpet Sunday night when the 79th annual Academy Awards get started at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Here is a look at some of our favorites.
5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT OSCAR NIGHT
1. The golden statuette is worth $500. Its effect on a career: priceless.
2. Some 4,600 gold-dusted chocolate Oscars will be served at the post-awards Governors Ball.
3. Broken Oscar statues can be repaired. If damaged upon presentation, the winner would get another ASAP. If broken later, then the Academy will have it fixed.
4. And the envelope goes to ... the winner, usually. Some have them framed.
5. The red carpet is about 33 feet by 500 feet, or roughly the length of 1 2/3 football fields.
WHO'S WHO OF THE NOMINEES
THE ROOKIE: Jennifer Hudson (Effie White, "Dreamgirls"). Eat humble pie, Simon Cowell. In an amazing film debut, the "American Idol" third-season finalist, 25, brings the house down while upstaging Jamie Foxx and Beyonce. Plus, she's endearingly thankful.
THE VETERAN: Eddie Murphy (James "Thunder" Early, "Dreamgirls"). Murphy, 45, is a long way from "Saturday Night Live." He adds some serious, dramatic layers to his character, a James Brown-like singer, and it feels oh so good.
THE ANGEL: Abigail Breslin (Olive Hoover, "Little Miss Sunshine"). Not since Haley Joel Osmentin "The Sixth Sense" has a child anchored a film so deftly. Osment played scary, but little Miss Breslin plays sweet without being cloying. At 10,she ties with Tatum O'Neal as youngest female Oscar nominee. ("The Piano's" Anna Paquin was 11.) The youngest nominee ever: Justin Henry, 8, for "Kramer vs. Kramer."
THE DEVIL: Meryl Streep (Miranda Priestly, "The Devil Wears Prada"). Streep's delectably arch and arrogant magazine editor is entirely her creation. She deserves her 14th nomination (two more than Jack Nicholson or Kate Hepburn) and a third win (which would be one less than Hepburn but a tie with Nicholson).
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The question on everyone's lips: Is host Ellen DeGeneres up to the task? Jay Leno thinks so. As he has put it, "She has exactly the right tone. She has no agenda. She is a real comic's comic." But awards expert Tom O'Neil predicts that DeGeneres, 49, "won't be a disaster, but she won't be terrific either. Because the expectations are so high at Hollywood's Super Bowl, that means she'll be remembered as a flop." As for me, I just hope she spoofs the whole stylists-dressing-the-actresses thing or at least puts on a costume. (Remember her Bjork-inspired swan dress at the 2001 Emmys?)
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LORRIE'S LIST:
Women who will wow on the red carpet
Jada Pinkett Smith: Won't mean to upstage hubby, but will.
Kate Winslet: Has found a simplicity that works.
Reese Witherspoon: Post-marriage life is working for her; she stunned at the Golden Globes.
Witherspoon: Alec Michael, Globe Photos
Penelope Cruz: Knows how to give a nod to old-fashioned glamour.
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BIRTHDAYS
February 25: Sean Astin, 36
February 26: Erykah Badu, 36
February 27: Josh Groban, 26; Chelsea Clinton, 27; Ralph Nader, 73; *Elizabeth Taylor, 75
February 28: Robert Sean Leonard, 38; Bernadette Peters, 59
March 1: Chris Webber, 34; *Ron Howard, 53
March 2: Jon Bon Jovi, 45; John Irving, 65
March 3: Jessica Biel, 25; Michael Imperioli, 41
* Denotes an Oscar winner
Oscar overload? No such thing! Get to know nominee Mark Wahlberg here; test your Academy Awards IQ; and see how celebrities interconnect, Oscar-style, at usaweekend.com.
Contributing: Jon Tollestrup
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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