Is it all just a bad dream?
The sci-fi espionage hit Inception landed eight nods at this year's Academy Awards -- but director Christopher Nolan was snubbed, as was the film's star, Leonardo DiCaprio.
The baby-faced actor is no stranger to rejection, having been nominated and passed over for best actor twice, for Blood Diamond (2006) and The Aviator (2004), not to mention five misses at the Golden Globes.
(He did, however, win there for The Aviator.)
As it stands, the popular favourite is Colin Firth as George VI, who battles a debilitating stammer in The King's Speech, which leads the pack with 12 nominations. The other contenders are Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network; James Franco for 127 Hours; Jeff Bridges for True Grit and Javier Barden for Biutiful -- anyone seen that?
Better luck next time Leo. But you're in good company: Meryl Streep has been snubbed 13 times, winning best actress just once since 1982.
Zosia Bielski