Mt. Oscar

PEAKING

DOUBLE THREAT: If Clint Eastwood should land the lead actor award, he’ll be the only person to win both an acting and a directing statuette.

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CLIMBING

THE ANSWER IS: “Slumdog Millionaire” isn’t the only best picture contender to revolve around a game show. The 1994 Ralph Fiennes film “Quiz Show” also received an Oscar nod.

TAG TEAM: Mickey Rourke is likely to pin down an Oscar nomination for “The Wrestler,” but the part almost got yanked from him when the movie couldn’t find financing. Nicolas Cage replaced Rourke but then he and director Darren Aronofsky parted ways over “creative differences.”--

AT BASE CAMP

WHAT’S IN A NAME? They may need to invent a new award for Brad Pitt: Lead actor in most films with incredibly long names. Consider, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”

LACTOSE INTOLERANT: Two words for the Golden Globes: Got “Milk”?

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LOOKING FOR A SHERPA

THAT EXPLAINS IT: “Seven Pounds” director Gabriele Muccino waited six months to read the film’s script after it was sent to him. Why so long? He’d been scared off by the producers, who submitted it with a dire warning on how complicated it would be to make.

DOWN AND UNDER: So far, Fox’s big Oscar push, “Australia,” isn’t rounding up much in the way of awards love -- or box-office sales.

BIG SPENDER: At a screening of “Benjamin Button,” director David Fincher was asked what advice he had for someone starting in the business. “No one can teach you how to spend $240,000 a day,” he replied.