Hello, everybody. We were shocked and saddened to learn that actor Heath Ledger was found dead at a New York City apartment today. According to the Associated Press, the 28-year-old was found naked on the bed with prescription sleeping pills nearby by a masseuse and a housekeeper at around 3:30 pm Eastern Time; he would be pronounced dead a while later. The death is ruled to be accidental, but an autopsy scheduled for Wednesday may prove otherwise.

Born in Perth, Australia, Ledger was best known for co-starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in "Brokeback Mountain" as well as "A Knight's Tale", "Monster's Ball" with Halle Berry, and most recently, "I'm Not There." His last film, "Dark Knight" in which he is the Joker, is slated to release next summer and will no doubt be a final goodbye to a great, talented actor.

Reactions to his sudden death immediately poured in, from Mel Gibson ("I had such great hope for him. He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family") to fellow Aussie Nicole Kidman ("What a tragedy. My heart goes out to his family"). I'll have much more on this next time.

Now, that news immediately knocked the nominations for the 80th Annual Academy Awards off the entertainment headlines as "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" both lead the way with eight including Director (Joel and Ethan Coen for "Old Men" and Paul Thomas Anderson for "Blood") and Best Picture of 2007. They're followed by "Atonement" with seven nods...but none for Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. The three films join "Juno" and "Michael Clayton" for the big Best Picture prize.

Best Actor nominees include past winners George Clooney ("Michael Clayton"), Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood"", and Tommy Lee Jones ("In the Valley of Elah") as well as Johnny Depp ("Sweeney Todd") and Viggo Mortensen ("Eastern Promises"); Best Actress has Cate Blanchett ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age"; she's also up on the Supporting side for "I'm Not There" which also starred the late Ledger), Julie Christie ("Away from Her"), Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose"), and the only two North Americans in the race: New Yorker Laura Linney ("The Savages") and Canadian Ellen Page ("Juno").

Meanwhile, Michael Moore's "Sicko" is up for Documentary Feature; Alan Menken has three chances on the Best Song side for "Ratatouille"; and in his 20th nomination for Sound Mixing, this time for "Transformers"...will Kevin O'Connell finally come up to the Oscar stage???

Or heck, will anybody ever come up to the Oscar stage to begin with? That's the big question as the writer's strike continues, and the Academy has come up with some plans ranging from a traditional ceremony with all the fixings to a scaled-back show with 80 years of great Oscar moments including...well, there's too much of them including Sally Field's "You like me!", Halle Berry holding back tears after claiming Best Actress, Martin Scorsese finally winning last year, and of course, that streaker.

Strike or no strike, the 80th Annual Academy Awards with Jon Stewart in his second hosting stab will go on on February 23. And of course, they will definitely include Heath Ledger -- as well as Suzanne Pleshette and Brad Renfro, who both passed within days -- in the "In Memoriam" montage. So long and stay strong.