Final preparations are underway for the prize-giving ceremony
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Stars and the elite of the film world are gathering for the biggest night of the movie-going year: The Oscars.
Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Meryl Streep are among those who will grace the red carpet at Hollywood's Kodak Theater.
Britain's Slumdog Millionaire is widely expected to repeat its success at the Baftas, where it was named best film.
Other titles in the running for the main prize include The Reader, Milk, Frost / Nixon and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
The latter film, which stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages backwards, has had the most box office success - taking $242m (£169m) worldwide - but Academy voters will not necessarily see this as a reason to win.
Slumdog Millionaire, a rags-to-riches story set in the slums of Mumbai, has been named best film by the producers', writers', actors' and directors' guilds in the US.
Members of each of those awards bodies also vote for the Oscars.
The best actor race appears to be a two-way battle between Sean Penn, who plays real-life politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk, and Mickey Rourke, for his turn as a faded athlete in The Wrestler.
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BEST PICTURE NOMINEES - GLOBAL BOX OFFICE RECEIPTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - $242.4m (£169m)
Slumdog Millionaire (pictured) - $153.3m (£107m)
Milk - $35.2m (£24.5m)
The Reader - $30.8m (£21.5m)
Frost/Nixon - $23.1m (£16m)
Source: Box Office Mojo
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Britain's Kate Winslet has been tipped to pick up another best actress award for her portrayal of a Nazi prison guard in The Reader.
Her strongest competition comes from Meryl Streep, for her role as a nun who suspects sex abuse in Doubt.
The least predictable field is said to be best supporting actress, where Penelope Cruz's wild, impulsive character in Vicky Cristina Barcelona is up against Marisa Tomei's pole-dancing love interest from The Wrestler.
Taraji P Henson is also nominated for Benjamin Button, while both Viola Davis and Amy Adams have received nods for Doubt.
Heath Ledger, who died in 2008 of an accidental prescription drug overdose, is favoured for best supporting actor after his scene-stealing performance as the Joker in Batman movie The Dark Knight.
Show secrets
Actor Hugh Jackman will host this year's show, details of which are being kept firmly under wraps as organisers try to claw back some of the ceremony's TV audience.
Last year's event watched by just 32m viewers in the US, down from 40m in 2007 and the lowest figure since 1974, when the current ratings system began.
Producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon, who worked on Oscar-winning musical Dreamgirls, have promised sweeping format changes, and generally kept journalists and cameras away from the rehearsals.
Longtime Oscars writer Bruce Vilanch said: "When they told me what they were going to do, I said, 'look, if it works, you're geniuses, and if it doesn't, you're the putzes who sank the show.'"
There are rumours of a big song-and-dance number at the start of the show. Names mentioned in connection with this set piece have included Anne Hathaway, Beyonce, High School Musical star Zac Efron and even Dominic Cooper from Mamma Mia!
An artists' impression of the Oscars stage, by architect David Rockwell
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Elsewhere, big name presenters have not been announced, and Vilanch says some people have backed out because of the anonymity - although he would not name names.
And the show's grandiose set has been drastically revamped. "It's more like the nightclub of your dreams," Jackman said. "It's very intimate. It's got to be a lot closer."
However, some showbiz glamour has been reinstated in the form of after-show parties.
Last year, the glittering balls thrown by the likes of Vanity Fair magazine were cancelled in the wake of the Hollywood writers' strike.
Those parties are back this year, while pop star Prince is said to be streaming live video from his own Oscar party on his website.
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