Nikke Finke is digging through the nasty negative campaigning that fills her inbox as the Oscars, Golden Globes, etc. draw near. The most salacious smear: Leonardo DiCaprio bought Tobey Maguire his Brothers Golden Globe nomination... with Blu-Ray DVD players?

Deadline reports that the rumor springs from an awards party Leo threw for Tobey after seeing him star in Brothers and liking it a lot. So, the party was thrown and a bunch of Hollywood Foreign Press Association members showed up (HFPA members decide on the Golden Globe nominees and winners.) Party favors included a fancy Samsung BD-P1600 Blu-ray player, which Finke's vengeful tipster suggests were used to buy votes. SHOCKER! EXCEPT! Finke says the 15 HFPA members in attendance gave back the DVD players. So, looks like Hollywood awards are based purely on merit. [Deadline]

•Speaking of the Golden Globes: Nominees were announced today. (The ceremony will take place Jan. 17.) Jason Reitman's Up in the Air racked up six nominations; Inglorious Basterds, Nine, and Avatar got four—even though one of those films hasn't been released yet! Best film (drama) sets up Kathryn Bigelow's Hurt Locker against her ex-husband James Cameron's Avatar, Inglourious Basterds, Precious and Up In the Air. [ScreenDaily]

•Swedish author Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy is the Da Vinci Code of Scandinavian Crime Thrillers, in that it is ludicrously successful. Will Sony's adaptation of the trilogy be the Lord of the Rings of movie adaptations? Sony has just about finalized a deal to option the books, and director Steve Zaillian (American Gangster) has been tapped to direct the first volume, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. [THR]

•The Hollywood Reporter has a long, kind of boring analysis of Avatar's chances to make any money. We say: Wait until next weekend, then we'll talk. What makes the THR piece worth it is this classic Cameron take on Avatar hype:

"I don't think it means jack shit," Cameron said. "To be perfectly honest, I think the studio has generated the myth about its costs to help in the selling of the movie. I have seen this happen with 'Terminator' and 'True Lies' and 'Titanic,' and it helps the film become a must-see film. By the way, doesn't that mean it's a bargain to see such an expensive film for the same amount it costs to see any other film? It's the deal of the century!"

[THR]

•The Guinness Book of World Records says Samuel L. Jackson is the world's highest grossing actor, with a total of $7.42 billion. Not really fair, since he's been in about 3.4 billion movies. [Guinness]