Up in the Air author Walter Kirn snubbed by Oscars

By Nick Allen in Los Angeles Published: 7:30PM GMT 19 Feb 2010

Previous of Images Next George Clooney in Up in the Air Up in the Air author Walter Kirn Photo: REX

Kirn is not taking the snub lightly and made his feelings clear on the social networking website Twitter.

He wrote: "Caution to writer. Don"t expect that because you write a novel that becomes an Oscar-nominated film that you"ll be invited to the Oscars.

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"Novelists are like oil in Hollywood: they drill us, pipeline us, pump us and then burn us."

Kirn, who published his book in 2001, later deleted the second remark but not before it had been ciculated around Hollywood.

The film of Up in the Air, starring Geoge Clooney and directed by Jason Reitman, tells the story of a corporate downsizer. It has been nominated for six Oscars including best picture.

A spokesman for Paramount, the studio behind the film, said: "The Academy has a process that we are following and we are respectfully waiting for them to allocate additional tickets.

"Of course, Walter Kirn is on our wish list for seats, as are producers and executive producers of our film who do not have seats yet."

Mr Kirn later told New York magazine: "It wasn"t just me popping off. It was me finally saying something after being approached by a million friends in the press and in Hollywood, saying, "See you at the Oscars!"

"I"d have to explain with great embarrassment that I hadn"t been invited, over and over."

He added: "I didn"t realise that Twitter is a megaphone, not a note passed around fourth grade."