Skip to main content

Final countdown to 81st Oscars Academy Awards underway


LOS ANGELES: The final countdown to the 81st Academy Awards were underway here Saturday, with feel-good movie "Slumdog Millionaire" poised to romp home with the coveted best picture Oscar.

Less than 48 hours before the entertainment industry's most glamorous night of the year, workers were putting the finishing touches to their preparations at the Kodak Theater in the heart of Hollywood.

The build-up to this year's ceremony has been dominated by India-set rags-to-riches fable "Slumdog", which has dominated other awards shows and is considered the overwhelming favorite for the best picture statuette.

Although period drama "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" will start the night with the most nominations, 13, compared to 10 for "Slumdog," experts say that British director Danny Boyle's film looks unstoppable.

Pundits say "Slumdog" has delighted audiences with its rags-to-riches plot about a Mumbai tea boy who rises out of poverty and enters a television quiz show to win millions and be reunited with the love of his life.

The against-the-odds triumph of the film's central character is mirrored by the movie's improbable march towards Oscars glory. Made for only 15 million dollars, the film features a cast of unknown actors and is partially subtitled.

Other rivals in the best picture category are "Benjamin Button," political drama "Frost/Nixon," biopic "Milk" and Holocaust drama "The Reader."

Sean Penn, who plays a trailblazing gay politician in "Milk", and Kate Winslet, who plays a Nazi death camp guard in "The Reader" are the front-runners in the best actor and actress categories.

However Penn faces stiff competition from Mickey Rourke, who won last month's Golden Globes for playing a washed up prizefighter in "The Wrestler."

Winslet's hopes of a first Academy Award after missing out on five previous occasions are threatened by two-time Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, with Melissa Leo ("Frozen River") tipped as a dark horse.

In the supporting categories, late Australian actor Heath Ledger is poised to become only the second performer in history to win a posthumous Oscar, a year after his death from a drug overdose in New York.

In the supporting actress category, Penelope Cruz is favorite the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar for her performance in Woody Allen comedy "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

The other element of surprise around Sunday's show is the new-look format being promised by organizers as they seek to bounce back from 2008 television viewing figures that were the worst in Oscars history.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in
Post a Comment
Read more

Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo
Post a Comment
Read more

Cyprus lace to be declared UNESCO cultural heritage

Tuesday, September 08, 2009 NICOSIA: Traditional hand-made lace produced in the Larnaca district village of Lefkara in Cyprus known as lefkaritiko includeded in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Soseilos said that the relevant UNESCO committee has already decided to include lefkaritiko in its list of the world’s ICH, a more recent addition to UNESCO’s long-standing list of World Heritage sites, and the decision will be formally announced at the UNESCO General Assembly next month. The tradition of needlework and lace embroidery in Lefkara goes back centuries.
Post a Comment
Read more