TOMMY LEE JONES - JONES NOT INTERESTED IN OSCARS

Actor TOMMY LEE JONES refused to leap for joy when he was named an Oscar nominee - because winning awards for his movie work means nothing to him. Veteran Jones has been nominated in the Best Actor category for his role in The Valley Of Elah, but he confesses such glitzy high-profile events are so far removed from his quiet life away from California, they fail to excite him. And, in any case, Jones - who will be attending Sunday's (24Feb08) ceremony in Los Angeles - is convinced he's an outsider for the prestigious gong. He tells The Hollywood Reporter, "I don't live in Southern California, and I spend most of my time in places where people are only vaguely aware of the process. "It doesn't weigh on my mind a great much. It doesn't do you any good to worry about these things or even think about them very much; they are gonna go the way they go. If I were to assess my chances of winning, I would say they are quite slim."