Oscars nominations to be announced today
The eagerly-anticipated nominations for the 74th annual Academy Awards will be announced around lunchtime Irish time today.
Actress Marcia Gay Harden will lead a brief, televised ceremony.
Many of those who have money on the nominations are betting fistfuls on A Beautiful Mind, which is likely to earn nods for best picture and for Russell Crowe's studied portrayal of a brilliant and mentally ill mathematician.
Still more could go to Jennifer Connelly for best actress and to Ron Howard for best director.
Also well-positioned is Gosford Park, Robert Altman's acclaimed comedy-drama that features an all-star British cast. Altman is likely to get a best director nod for his Upstairs, Downstairs-style juggling act. Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith are tipped to be in line for supporting actress nominations.
In the Bedroom, the grim drama from first-time director Todd Field, may also attract more than a few nominations. In addition to drawing some of the best reviews of 2001, the film comes from Miramax, frequently adept at marketing to Oscar voters.
Sissy Spacek has won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of a grieving mom in In the Bedroom, and the film could snag more nominations for best picture, best actor (Tom Wilkinson), best supporting actress (Marisa Tomei) and best director.
Other front-runners in the best picture race include Black Hawk Down, Moulin Rouge and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
This may also be a year of landmarks. For the first time, cartoons are competing in a new category for best feature-length animated film. Shrek and Monsters, Inc. are expected to duke it out for that honor, with one other animated nominee as second runner-up.
Shrek is a leading possibility in the new Oscar category for full-length animated features.
The best-actor category might include two black nominees, another first. And it could be the first time since 1972 that three black actors are nominated for lead acting roles.
In the best-picture category, the live-action musical could score its first nomination in more than 20 years. And the fantasy epic, never a favorite among Academy Awards voters, may have its best shot to win.
That fantasy is one of the top box office draws of 2001, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Ian McKellen may also earn a nod for his work as the gray-bearded Gandalf.
"I'm thrilled the film is sort of transcending the genre a little bit," the movie's director, Peter Jackson, said.
Other favorites among the actors include Denzel Washington, the American Film Institute's best actor for Training Day; Billy Bob Thornton for The Man Who Wasn't There; Will Smith for Ali; and Kevin Spacey in The Shipping News.
Other potential nominees among the women include Judi Dench for Iris; Nicole Kidman for The Others and Moulin Rouge; Stockard Channing for The Business of Strangers; and Halle Berry for Monster's Ball.
If Moulin Rouge gets nominated for best picture, it will be the first musical since 1979's All That Jazz to receive the honor. Nicole Kidman is also an Oscar possibility.
Awards attention for Moulin Rouge and its respectable box-office receipts worldwide may help revive the movie musical, director Baz Luhrmann said.
"I've been on that mission, and I feel like I've done my part to kick the door in," Luhrmann said. "Give it 24 months and see how many new musicals are around."
The awards ceremony is scheduled to be broadcast March 24 from the Kodak Theatre.
