Dangerously close to becoming respectable, graffiti artist and filmmaker Banksy has received an Oscar nomination for last year's documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop.
However, the big question is whether the elusive prankster- whose identity wasnearly sold on eBay recently - will attend the awards ceremony and, if he wins, will he publicly accept the award?
Upon receiving the nomination (for Best Documentary), Banksy released a humourous statement, saying "This is a big surprise. I don't agree with the concept of award ceremonies, but I'm prepared to make an exception for the ones I'm nominated for. The last time there was a naked man covered in gold paint in my house, it was me."
So will he show his face in Hollywood on February 27th? John Cooper, director of Sundance Film Festival and the first person to screen ETTGF last year, doesn't think so.
"I highly doubt it," Cooper told the press. "Would this be THAT moment? I still doubt it. I've still never even met the person."
The debate is still raging as to whether Banksy's film - which plots the rise of parasitic street artist Thierry Guetta, aka 'Mr. Brainwash' - is documentary or mockumentary (the latter being the most popular viewpoint).
Having been sued in 2009 by photographer Glen Friedman for using an image of his without permission, Guetta recently swore under oath that all the artwork was all his own and not part of a sinister plot by Bansky to show that the art world is easily deceived by fakes and phonies. The plot thickens...
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