Rings expected to dominate Oscars

Hollywood is gearing up for tonight's glittering Academy Awards ceremony, with The Return of the King poised to scoop the best picture Oscar.

The third and final Lord of the Rings film is all but certain to take home the best picture Oscar and Peter Jackson is favourite to win best director for his work on the Tolkein trilogy.

British hopes rest with Jude Law, nominated for his work in Cold Mountain, Sir Ben Kingsley for his role in House of Sand and Fog and Samantha Morton for her performance in In America. All three are unlikely to win and the British could be left empty handed.

The best actor category will be hard fought at the ceremony in Los Angeles tonight. It will be a close call between Bill Murray, for his role in Lost In Translation, and Sean Penn, for his performance in Mystic River.

Johnny Depp also has an outside chance of winning after he received the best actor prize at last week's Screen Actors Guild awards for his turn in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Best actress is likely to go to Charlize Theron for her critically-acclaimed performance in Monster.

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