Storm-hit Hollywood rolls out red carpet for Oscars night

In true Hollywood fashion, the Academy Awards on Sunday promised a cliffhanger ending in the race for best picture Oscar between favorites 12 Years a Slave and Gravity along with extra drama thrown in by a tempestuous Mother Nature. After three days of heavy downpours soaked parts of the red carpet along Hollywood Boulevard, there was no guarantee the rain would stop by the time hundreds of movie stars in custom-made designer dresses and tuxedos begin arriving for Hollywood's biggest night.

The 86th annual Academy Awards will be hosted by comedian Ellen DeGeneres, under pressure to deliver an entertaining yet tasteful three-hour show after critics widely panned last year's ceremony and host Seth MacFarlane's provocative humour. This year's Oscars celebrate what is widely regarded as one of the most high quality years in film and performances in recent memory.

President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Cheryl Boone Isaacs called it the best line-up "in the last decade or so". Nine films are competing for the top honour of best picture and Paul Sheehan, editor at awards handicapping site Goldderby.com, says unlike past years, the high quality means "eight of the nine films could be a credible best picture winner". While British director Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave and Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity are the frontrunners and have split many of the season's awards, experts say an upset is possible because no one can know for sure how the 6,000 plus members of the Academy voted.

"I feel more comfortable putting my chips on 12 Years a Slave just because there is more historical basis for doing so," said Scott Feinberg, awards analyst at The Hollywood Reporter. "But at the same time there is no denying that there is great enthusiasm for other movies." Among those is 1970s crime caper American Hustle from director David O Russell, who scored 10 nominations and, for the second year in a row, the rare feat of having his actors nominated in all four acting categories. Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street, a tale of financial greed and excess, has also been a hit with audiences and critics. Other best picture nominees are Captain Phillips, and smaller films Philomena, Nebraska, Her, and Dallas Buyers Club.