Brad Pitt takes a break from selling bibles to pose for the cover of the new Rolling Stone.

And the makers of Milk can celebrate, earning the most nominations (8) to tie with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Some other highlights:

-Kate Winslet was nominated for her role in The Reader, but was relegated to the Best Supporting Actress category. What the heck is that? She’s only the centerpiece of the whole movie. Sadly, Revolutionary Road was completely overlooked.

They just love to torture me.

-Sean Penn and Brad Pitt are the big contenders for Best Actor. Penn will win it because Hollywood hates giving awards to pretty men.

-Critic’s pet Clint Eastwood got two nods, one for Best Actor in Gran Torino and the other as composer for Changeling. Interestingly enough, he was overlooked as Best Director for both films. They probably think he’s too old to notice.

-Left-field nominee Anne Hathaway for Best Actress in Rachel Getting Married. She’s been getting great reviews, so she must feel good after finding out her ex was a lying, cheating scum bucket.

-Robert Downey, Jr.’s brilliant turn as a white actor playing a black soldier in Tropic Thunder got a nod. Usually broad comedies are ignored during awards season, but whatever. He rocked it. He won’t win, though, because he’s up against Heath Ledger for Best Supporting Actor in The Dark Knight.

-Has-been Mickey Rourke finds his way onto the ballot for Best Actor in The Wrestler. They’ll probably play him up as this year’s “comeback kid”; he and Britney can do Barbara Walters together.

-Hollywood’s love-fest with Bruce Springstein continues with a nomination for Best Song for The Wrestler. I have a special place in my heart for Peter Gabriel, who is also nominated for Best Song for WALL-E. “In Your Eyes” is my favorite song ever.

Here’s the list of nominees:

Picture

• Changeling
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Dark Knight
• Doubt
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• The Reader
• Slumdog Millionaire
• WALL-E
• The Wrestler

Actor

• Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
• Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
• Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
• Sean Penn, Milk
• Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Actress

• Kate Beckinsale, Nothing But the Truth
• Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
• Angelina Jolie, Changeling
• Melissa Leo, Frozen River
• Meryl Streep, Doubt

Supporting Actor

• Josh Brolin, Milk
• Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
• Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
• James Franco, Milk

Supporting Actress

• Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Viola Davis, Doubt
• Vera Farmiga, Nothing But the Truth
• Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
• Kate Winslet, The Reader

Ensemble

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Dark Knight
• Doubt
• Milk
• Rachel Getting Married

Director

• Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
• David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
• Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
• Gus Van Sant, Milk

Screenwriter

• Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
• Dustin Lance Black, Milk
• Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
• Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• John Patrick Shanley, Doubt

Animated Feature

• Bolt
• Kung Fu Panda
• Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
• WALL-E
• Waltz With Bashir

Young Actor/Actress (Under 21)

• Dakota Fanning, The Secret Life of Bees
• David Kross, The Reader
• Dev Petal, Slumdog Millionaire
• Brandon Walters, Australia

Action Movie

• The Dark Knight
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Iron Man
• Quantum of Solace
• Wanted

Comedy

• Burn After Reading
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Role Models
• Tropic Thunder
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona

TV Movie

• John Adams
• Recount
• Coco Chanel

Foreign-Language Film

• A Christmas Tale
• Gomorrah
• I’ve Loved You So Long
• Let the Right One In
• Mongol
• Waltz With Bashir

Documentary

• I.O.U.S.A.
• Man on Wire
• Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
• Standard Operating Procedure
• Young at Heart

Song (Performer/Composer)

• “Another Way to Die,” Jack White and Alicia Keys/Jack White, Quantum of Solace
• “Down to Earth,” Peter Gabriel/Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, WALL-E
• “I Thought I Lost You,” Miley Cyrus and John Travolta/Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele, Bolt
• “Jaiho,” Sukhwinder Singh/A.R. Rahman and Gulzar, Slumdog Millionaire
• “The Wrestler,” Bruce Springsteen/Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler

Composer

• Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Clint Eastwood, Changeling
• Danny Elfman, Milk
• Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, The Dark Knight
• A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, sans rugrats, at the premiere of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.

Angelina: Classic. Understated. Gorgeous.

Brad: Ignore the moustache.

 Get this man a cape and a pair of tights! Brad Pitt is officially a superhero, building energy-efficient homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina and greenifying the world, one neighborhood at a time.

Speaking to Larry King from N’awlins, the architecture buff shows off his pet project like a third grader at a science fair:

 

    ”We’ve built some homes here that are doing something really special. This home you see behind me now, the meter right now is currently running backwards. It’s a sunny day, so it’s — right now it’s off the grid. It’s making its own energy.

    And the family there is going to save 75 percent off their energy bill throughout the year. They’re — they live in a place that’s comfortable, and with great light. And it’s a real — these homes are about dignity.

    And that’s the thing I’m most proud of.”

    Could the man be any more perfect? Contribute to the Make it Right Foundation at www.makeitrightnola.org.

That’s right, folks. Now’s the time when the studios pull out the big guns to get that coveted OSCAR. Looks like there’s a few golden nuggets coming up that will definitely get my butt in the theater.

#1 Revolutionary Road

Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet team up for the first time since “Titanic” to play two dreamers disillusioned by suburban life. Directed by Winslet’s husband, Sam Mendes, it looks pretty heavy, but who cares? I’d pay to watch the two of them read the back of a shampoo bottle.

#2 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

It’s true; I am guilty of being obsessed with all things Brangelina, but this one actually looks really good. Brad Pitt plays a southern orphan who ages backwards. Based on a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald (author of “The Great Gatsby” for you non-literary folks), the flawless Cate Blanchett also stars.

#3 The Reader

Kate Winslet is turning out not one but two powerhouse performances this Oscar season, and the buzz is she’ll be nominated for both (and maybe even take one home with her!). In this WWII drama, Winslet plays a Nazi prison guard on trial for murder. The woman does not joke around.

#4 Doubt

Anything Meryl Streep is attached to is pretty much guaranteed Oscar material. Throw in Phillip Seymour Hoffman and the Catholic Church and you might as well hand them a statuette. Adapted from the award-winning play, Doubt is the story of a nun who accuses a Catholic priest of abusing a student. On the sidelines is the innocent nun-in-training, played by Amy Adams (”Enchanted”). Prepare to be wowed.

#5 Milk

A biopic of Harvey Milk, the first gay mayor of San Francisco is certainly timely (note the recent controversy of Proposition 8), but it is less the story and more the brilliance that is Sean Penn that will get me to part with my ten bucks. He is already being lauded for his transformative performance, which I have no doubt will send him right up to the podium.

I am hungry for movie magic, especially after a disappointing past few years. Let’s hope these five contenders deliver!