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The only predictions Scandalist got wrong for this year’s Oscars (we didn’t pretend to know about crap like Best Documentary - Short Subject) were Best Actor and Best Actress. Plenty of people thought Mickey Rourke would beat Sean Penn, but why did we think Anne Hathaway would beat Kate Winslet? Because we didn’t think Kate was old enough to get the “throw her a golden boy while we still can” award. Sure, it took four lead actress nominations over an entire decade before Kate finally took home a trophy, but Al Pacino had to wait through twenty years of ceremonies until his sixth lead nomination to win for Scent Of A Woman. Like Al, maybe Kate can focus on crappy detective movies for the rest of her life.

Here are some other details about last night’s winners, losers and presenters you might not have known.

• While Meryl Streep has two Oscars to her name, she must be getting a little frustrated with the ceremony all the same. She last won for 1983’s Sophie’s Choice, and she’s been nominated a whopping eleven times since. We’re sure she’s gracious to all these young ladies bawling over their first Oscar, but that’s twenty five years of “thank you”’s she’s had to toss.
• Anthony Hopkins mentioned working with Brad Pitt on Legends Of The Fall during the Best Lead Actor presentation (though he didn’t say the movie’s name), but when Robert DeNiro paid tribute to Sean Penn, he failed to bring up 1989’s We’re No Angels, the flop comedy that first brought the pair together. Future Academy Award nominee John C. Reilly also appeared in the film, playing a “Young Monk.”

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Well, it wasn’t a coincidence that saw Robert de Niro, Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Ben Affleck, Lily Allen, Charlize Theron, Michael Jordan, Mischa Barton, Mary-Kate Olsen and Lindsay Lohan (plus SamRo, natch) all turn up in Dubai last night. They were all (plus lots more hangers-on) attending the launch of the $1.5 billion Atlantis resort on the man-made Palm Jumeirah island. If you’re feeling financially embarrassed by the credit squeeze at the moment, you might not want to know that the launch party cost $22 million, and celebrities enjoyed eating tons of lobster, smoked salmon, oysters and champagne, while watching Kylie Minogue perform a set in front of the world’s biggest fireworks display. Oh, and they were all flown out there for free, and got to stay in suites worth tens of thousands of dollars a night.

Next time you hear someone complain about “loss of privacy” or “paparazzi intrusion”, just look at their happy little faces last night. Honestly, it’s totally worth it. [Photo: Getty Images]