And anticipated in the winners circle, according to the latest tallies: Best Actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote; Best Actress, Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line; Best Director, Ang Lee, for Brokeback Mountain, which is also still favored to take the top Best Picture gold – although some pundits are saying viewers might anticipate a Crash upset, especially after it won the Screen Actors Guild ensemble acting prize.
In the actors' race, SAG winner Hoffman appears to have it in a walk, with odds of 1:7 (with some odds go as high as 1:9). His fiercest competition is Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, who's getting odds of 5:1, according to PinnacleSports.com. The long shot, at 199:1, is Terrence Howard, in the running for Hustle & Flow.
Bodog.com has Joaquin Phoenix's Johnny Cash in Walk The Line at 14:5, while Pinnacle puts David Strathaim in Good Night, and Good Luck at 66:1.
Witherspoon, another SAG winner (as well as the Golden Globe), has a lock on her award, according to Bodog, which gives her 1:6 odds. If there's an upset, however, expect it to come from Felicity Huffman (2:1 odds), in TransAmerica. In Huffman's favor is that, as evidenced by Charlize Theron in Monster, Oscar loves actresses who transform themselves. Going against Huffman, though, is that so few people have seen her movie.
Vince Bucci / Getty
ABC will broadcast the Oscars live from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET.
And the nominees are:
Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich
Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck
Best Actress
Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron, North Country
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney, Syriana
Matt Dillon, Crash
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt, A History of Violence
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Junebug
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDormand, North Country
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain
Best Director
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller, Capote
Paul Haggis, Crash
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Steven Spielberg, Munich
Best Original Screenplay
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Match Point
The Squid and the Whale
Syriana
Best Adapted Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardener
A History of Violence
Munich
