An Iraq war veteran, who is the focus of one of the short documentaries nominated for an Academy Award, is receiving death threats for providing his individual account of what happened during an incident that has come to be known as the “Collateral Murder” incident.

It is with great sadness I report: Oscar-nominated Restrepo co-director Tim Hetherington was killed in a mortar attack Wednesday in Misrata, Libya while filming a clash between Libyan rebels and Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

Tom and Jerry — Quiet Please. This Academy Award winning Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer cartoon was released on December 22, 1945.

The Oscars are Sunday, and as usual we’ll be live blogging them, so I thought tonight would be a good time for us to discuss what we’ve seen, what we liked, who are rooting for and to have a little contest. You can find a list of nominees here on the official Academy Awards site, and we’ve a got a few clips up as well.

It wasn’t quite The King’s Speech (10 nominations) but the State of the Union, with members of opposition parties sharing seats, showed True Grit (7 nominations).

Peace On Earth. This Metro Goldwyn Meyer cartoon was released on December 9, 1939 and nominated for the 1940 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons. Grab your popcorn, put your feet up on the seatback in front of ya, and aim your spitballs at the ushers please. This is Late Late Night FireDogLake, where off topic is the topic … so dive in. What’s on your mind?

The Milky Way. This Academy Award winning Metro Goldwyn Mayer cartoon was released on June 22, 1940.

When Magoo Flew starring Mr. Magoo. This Columbia Pictures UPA cartoon was released in 1954 and won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject in 1955.

Grab your popcorn, put your feet up on the seatback in front of ya, and no spitballs aimed at the ushers please. This is Late Late Night FireDogLake, where off topic is the topic … so dive in. What’s on your mind?

We’ve got our super liveblog team in place, and that includes you, glamorous Firepups, at home in your satin pajamas and tiaras; as well as Los Angeles-based fashionista/lifestyle consultant Janet Grey, who’s been feeding me one liners during the red carpet, and reality show star/radio personality Cat Noel.

And our special guests from the Writers Guild of America-East…

We are thrilled to have members of the WGA joining in on liveblogging this and the later Oscar broadcast which starts at 5pm PST/8pm EST. The WGA and Firedoglake have a storied history, going back to the Writers Strike in 2007, when FDL founder Jane Hamsher who, before becoming the political force she is today produced such films as Natural Born Killers, From Hell, Apt Pupil, and Permanent Midnight.