It's a city where perception is reality and image is everything. But Hollywood is having trouble keeping up appearances in the midst of the nation's economic downturn, even during its splashiest, most self-celebratory time: awards season.

Celebrity gossip has long been a profitable staple of print, radio and television. But in recent months, as consumers started snapping up Web-enabled smartphones like the iPhone, the cellphone has become the latest medium to feed the appetite for up-to-the-second celebrity gossip, says the New York Times.