The Associated Press reports that veteran actor Ernest Borgnine has died at 95.

Remember when the Oscars had five Best Picture nominees and then they switched it to 10? Remember when they stopped that and now it's going to be like six or seven or nine or who the fuck knows? Well, they announced how they're going to figure out the nominees. Proceed only if you have a PhD in imaginary math.

· Steve Carell's new production shingle, Carousel Prods., will set up on the Warners lot, run by The Daily Show's Vance DeGeneres and college buddy Charlie Hartsock. "My idea was to partner with friends of mine, people I trusted, with whom I share a certain sensibility," Carell said, confident that employing his friends in these increasingly desperate times means he'll never want for a lift to the airport again. [Variety]
· Everyone's gaga for politics! On the eve of W's premiere, left wing and right wing releases are performing surprisingly well at the box office. (With the exception of An American Carol, as a distaste for unfunniness is the one true uniter.) [Variety]

91-year-old actor Ernest Borgnine doesn't look a day over 86, and so it was that when the Golden Globe-brandisher stopped by Fox & Friends to chat about his new book, the hosts demanded to know how he could still look so darned good. Botox? Volumizing? A deal with the devil (or ICM)? None of the above, replied the actor, instead leaning in to whisper, "I masturbate a lot." Sadly, Borgie didn't appear to realize that his mic would still pick up those whispers and beam the Oscar winner's chicken-jerking secret across the globe. Still, we can't wait for the day that masturbation becomes an age-defying staple of salons everywhere (though we've heard there's some "health spas" in West Hollywood where it's already common practice). [Fox News]

Poseidon Adventure thespian Ernest Borgnine is 91 years old and hale and hearty and writing books. What's the secret to his vim and vigor, the bozos at Fox & Friends wanted to know. So Borgy leaned in close and whispered-apparently unaware of that newfangled "micro phonic" technology-"I masturbate a lot." Then everyone's heads exploded. Including Borgy's. (Do you get the gross joke that I just made?) Clip is above. [via BWE]

• Tom Cruise says he wasn't replaced by Angelina Jolie in Edward A. Salt: she was only offered the role after he turned it down. And he also claims he's the one who bowed out of starring in the next Mission Impossible flick. Meanwhile, his producing partner Paula Wagner has stepped down from her job as CEO of United Artists. [MSNBC, R&M, E!]

Though the cancellation of Golden Globes ceremony forced the Hallmark Channel to grudgingly call off its annual after-party, considered by many to be the most debauched in all of Hollywood (2006's orgy honoring Meet the Santas is still spoken of in hushed tones for the five overdosing Saint Nicks who had to be removed from a single bathroom stall at the Riot Hyatt), Globes nominee and A Grandpa for Christmas star Ernest Borgnine decided he would still try and salvage what fun he could from the wreckage of the evening, hosting an intimate gathering at his home. And Access Hollywood was there!

Golden Globes Fun Fact: The Hallmark Channel's A Grandpa For Christmas received more nominations than ABC's Lost. (The tally: one to zero.) This, of course, is less a commentary on Lost's quality during the past TV season than it is a much-deserved celebration of Ernest Borgnine's enduring star power. [TV Week]