It used to be that Sundance acclaim meant the kiss of death for its recipients. The 2008 Oscar nominations may signal the end of that curse.

Though Sundance may have turned into a ghost town in the festival's waning days, at least those ghosts are still haunting us with good old pearls of overheard Hollywood wisdom.

Lost came back with a bang last night—one of those really scientific bangs that takes a lot of explanation and you're just waiting for the explosion and then it comes and you're like, "Ooh."

We now know who'll be nervously muttering, "C'mon man—get on with it," during Hugh Jackman's half-dozen Oscar numbers. But how much do you really know about the nominees? Take this quiz and see:

This morning's Oscar nominations offered a desperately needed opportunity to pare this season's awards also-rans from the ranks of the contenders. Alas, it just means higher-stakes hype and drama for the lucky ones:

Greetings from the lobby of our Sundance accommodations (last day!), where it's pitch black outside and we're in our pajamas. The announcements are about to start.

For most swag PR teams at Sundance, snagging John Krasinski for an interview or picture with their product would be a high-profile get. This is not the case for Timberland, however.

It didn't take long for the definitive verison of the restaurant tête-à-tête between critic John Anderson and "Dude" Jeff Dowd to reach the Sundance wires. Not that it makes any less mind-crampingly absurd.

Our eyes have barely adjusted after emerging from the Egyptian Theatre for a packed screening of The Carter, Adam Lough's riveting, all-access Lil Wayne documentary. Here's five things we learned about the rap genius:

We watched Obama coverage last night and the scariest thing was the redundancy. Ten balls is a lot of time to fill, but could the networks find some new fun presidential facts for 2013? Pleasey-please?

Sundance wouldn't be Sundance without an appearance or four by Sam Rockwell, whose superb sci-fi effort Moon features the actor playing opposite one of his most formidable co-stars to date: Himself.

Diablo's Tara draws strong ratings in total homeskillets. [THR]

1/17 — Saw OLIVIA WILDE riding her bike in Venice on Saturday. She looked pretty normal. Hot, but normal. [Hollywood PrivacyWatch is written by and for Defamer readers; send any and all sightings to tips@defamer.com.]

You've read our other nomination prognostications; now, who will challenge Slumdog Millionaire for the Best Picture Oscar? No one—the real question is whether Wall-E can claim that final spot. So what do we think?

Last year's flat Sundance marketplace is but a distant, duddy memory, with two more sales confirmed overnight and likely more to come as the die-hard festivalgoers settle in for the Park City long haul.

Mickey Rourke's paycheck: less than 1/3 of Charlie Sheen's. [/film]

1/18 — The winner of the weekend was STACY KEIBLER at El fucking Guapo of all places. She watching the NFL playoff games on Sunday, dressed in full Baltimore Ravens gear —- Ed Reed jersey and hat and all. We're talking full-on cap and gown. People aren't kidding about her legs. They are crazy. I might have seen other famous people but my 30th B-Day party was that night and I blacked out. [Happy belated! Hollywood PrivacyWatch is written by and for Defamer readers; send your sightings to tips@defamer.com.]

When Bill O'Reilly's producers sought to ambush dim-bulb celebrities at the Inauguration festivities, they settled upon Jessica Alba as a potential target. Alba, however, was having none of it.

We thought critic Lou Lumenick elevated the festival-violence bar to insurmountable new heights with his Ebert-thwacking exploits last year in Toronto. But a Variety critic at Sundance may have just set his own standard.

We're currently at the counter of the MySpace cafe, where a steady stream of celebrities have been filing in, ordering hamburgers and lattes with little-to-no fanfare—people like Woody Harrelson, Emmy Rossum, and Ben Foster.