This Week: Winners & Losers
Envelopes were opened and names were read. Verdicts were handed down. In each case, one person reigned triumphant and others dealt with the agony of defeat.
As predicted, it was Martin Scorsese's year at the Academy Awards. At long last, the famed-movie director, who had been nominated five times previously, was named Best Director and his film "The Departed" won the Best Picture Oscar.
"Could you double-check the envelope?" the film legend said as he held the Oscar in his hands.
There was no need for a recount when Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" received the award for Best Documentary. Jennifer Hudson, Alan Arkin, Forest Whitaker and Helen Mirren were also crowned winners and cleared space on their mantels for golden statuettes.
Of course, Oscar couldn't shine on everyone. Sound engineer Kevin O'Connell, a 19-time nominee, left another Oscars ceremony empty-handed, save for his record as the person with the most unrequited Oscar bids. Eddie Murphy, who had been a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actor, walked away with only the ill-timed release of "Norbit" to blame.
Photos: The Winners' Circle
Photos: Oscar Talk
Photos: Scenes From The Oscars
Photos: Oscar Red Carpet
Photos: Oscar Couples
Howard K. Stern prevailed in the battle over where Anna Nicole Smith will be buried. After nearly a month of legal wrangling, an appellate court upheld Judge Larry Seidlin's decision to give custody of Smith's body to a court-appointed attorney who supported a Bahamas burial.
It was tears for Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, who fought to have her daughter buried in Texas with the rest of her family.
The Playboy model blew a final kiss on Friday when she was laid to rest next to her beloved son, Daniel, at Lake View Memorial Gardens cemetery in Nassau.
Victoria Beckham, the wife of British soccer stud David, scored her own reality show on NBC this week.
Anna Nicole: A Decision Made
The Anna Nicole Mystery
Anna Nicole Smith Photo Album
Beckham, aka "Posh" Spice, inked a deal with the peacock network for a six-episode unscripted series chronicling the family's relocation to L.A. from Europe. (David recently signed on to play with the L.A. Galaxy; Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes couldn't be happier.)
Reality show contestant Antonella Barba came out on top in a scandal that enveloped the set of "American Idol."
When racy photos of the beauty surfaced on the Internet, friends and colleagues, including show host Ryan Seacrest, defended Barba and called the posting of the photos "tacky." The singer scored another victory, too; she avoided elimination on Thursday night.
Brand an "L" on their foreheads because these folks were losers this week:
- Notorious bad boy Bobby Brown was arrested in Massachusetts for failing to appear at a child-support hearing. He spent three nights in jail and was released after paying $19,000 in back child support.
- Country singer Troy Lee Gentry, one half of the country singing duo Montgomery Gentry, was sentenced to three months of probation and a $15,000 fine for killing a black bear in 2004 at Minnesota's Wildlife Connection. As a part of his plea deal, this turkey must give up hunting in Minnesota for five years and hand over the 600-pound stuffed bear and the bow he used to kill it.
Photos: Sixth Time For "Idol" - Paris Hilton must have looked like a deer in headlights when cops pulled her over for speeding on Sunset Boulevard this week and busted her for rolling with a suspended license. Not only was her Bentley impounded, but she faces jail time because she violated probation stemming from a DUI arrest.
- Vincent Pastore played "Big Pussy" on "The Sopranos" and now he may never live that nickname down. The actor bowed out of the career-boosting reality show "Dancing With The Stars" because, as it turns out, he couldn't take the heat.
"When I initially committed to joining 'Dancing With The Stars,' I didn't realize just how physically demanding it would be for me," Pastore said. So the only footwork he'll be doing is to step aside and give others a chance at the trophy.