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It was only a matter of time - 47 days, to be precise.

According to the box office tally site Boxofficemojo.com, "Avatar" is now the highest-grossing movie of all time domestically. The James Cameron film's business now stands at $601.1 million, ahead of the $600.8 million Cameron's "Titanic" did back in 1997-98.

Moreover, "Titanic" took 252 days to top out; "Avatar," which has been the biggest movie in the country since its mid-December release, is still No. 1 and shows little sign of flagging (and those nine Oscar nominations won't hurt).

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The up-and-coming country-rock star and the legendary singer-songwriter were recognized for their work with the Academy Award nomination of "The Weary Kind (Theme from 'Crazy Heart')," from "Crazy Heart," for best original song.

Bingham said he is working on his album now with Burnett, who supervised the music in “Crazy Heart” and co-wrote “The Weary Kind” with Bingham. (Burnett, of course, is a legendary music producer who has a shelf full of Grammys for such albums as the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' "Raising Sand." He also has a previous Oscar nomination, for the "Cold Mountain" song "Scarlet Tide.")

“I’ve got most of the songs already written and I’m sure T Bone will come up with some more tunes and we will go from there,” Bingham said.

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Screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher didn’t have an easy time of it adapting the novel “Push” by Sapphire into a script for the film “Precious.”

“It’s told through the voice of a semi-literate character and the content at times is very graphic,” Fletcher said. “For those reasons it was largely considered unadaptable.”

Fletcher persevered, however, and his hard work paid off Tuesday with an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay.

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The reactions to Tuesday morning's Academy Awards nominations keep pouring in. Here are more statements from nominees, as told to CNN:

Best actress nominee Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side":

"Who would have thought after all these years that I would be experiencing this moment now . . . I certainly didn't. But I am honored beyond words to experience this journey with John Lee Hancock and Gil Netter, and to continue this astounding ride with the extraordinary women I share this category with. My time with them these past few months has meant more than anything to me."

Best supporting actor nominee Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station": "I am very pleased and honored to be up there with those other four terrific actors. I liked the little movie."

Best animated feature, best original screenplay and best picture nominee director/writer Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera, "Up":

"We are humbled and grateful to the Academy. Being nominated among these remarkable animated films is such an amazing privilege. On top of that, to be honored as one of the best pictures of the year is just mind-blowing. It’s truly been a long, wonderful ride getting here, and with all sincerity it really does feel like we’re floating on air."

Best original screenplay nominee Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker":

"I'm extremely grateful to Kathryn Bigelow for believing in this script when it was safer to believe in unicorns, and thankful to the actors for elevating it and making it sing, and last but not least Nicolas Chartier for putting his money up."

Best picture nominee producers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, "The Blind Side":

"We are so grateful to the Academy for this staggering honor. We want to thank John Lee Hancock for writing and directing a wonderful film that has been the pleasure of our careers to produce; to Sandra Bullock, who brought the character so fully to life, and to our producing partners Gil Netter and Molly Smith."

Anna Kendrick didn't know she was nominated for her best supporting actress for her role in "Up in the Air" until her roommate sent her text message on her phone.

"I didn't want to watch the live feed and just be sitting around and feeling awkward, so I got up at 5 a.m. and went running so I could be by myself. I was alone in the dark, listening to music," Kendrick told CNN in a phone interview.

"It [was] really perfect and it allowed me to have a moment, so it was just for me."

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"Precious" has been unstoppable, taking the wave of critical acclaim that began on the film festival circuit and riding it straight into awards season. The movie, based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire, got six Oscar nominations this morning.

Mo'Nique is up for best supporting actress; Gabourey Sidibe is nominated for best actress in a lead role; Lee Daniels has been given the nod for best director; Geoffrey Fletcher is nominated in the best adapted screenplay category; Joe Klotz gets the nod for film editing, and, last but not least, the movie is also up for best picture.

The initial reaction to the news? "There's a lot of screaming in my household today," producer Sara Siegel-Magness said.

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Penelope Cruz's role in "Nine" has been good to her this awards season.

The actress was nominated for a Golden Globe and a SAG award for her portrayal of Guido's mistress, Carla, and she's also snagged an Oscar nod as well for best supporting actress.

"I am completely surprised and elated," Cruz said of the nomination.

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There are 22 films that have more than one Oscar nomination this year. They are as follows:

9 – Avatar, The Hurt Locker Read the rest of this entry »

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Meryl Streep has set a new record with her 16th Oscar nomination for best actress in “Julie and Julia,” easily topping the standard set by Jack Nicholson and Katherine Hepburn, who both have been nominated 12 times.

But, out of the 16, the 60-year-old actress has taken home only two. One for best actress for 1982’s “Sophie’s Choice,” and another 30 years ago for best supporting actress in 1979's “Kramer vs. Kramer.” Hepburn, on the other hand, won four lead actress Oscars in her career.

If Streep wins best actress on March 7, it will end a 27-year streak of always being the nominee, never the winner.

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The following statements were received by CNN on Tuesday morning after the announcements of the Academy Award nominations:

Best Actor Nominee Morgan Freeman:

“I’d like to thank the Academy for this honor.  Congratulations to Matt Damon on his nomination. I’m especially grateful to Clint Eastwood, Invictus producer, Lori McCreary, and the entire cast and crew of ‘Invictus.’  Most importantly, thank you to Nelson Mandela for his encouragement, his blessing and his friendship – without which, this film would not have been possible.” Read the rest of this entry »