It's Oscar nomination time in Hollywood. On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Pictures announces its glittering lists of movie contenders - 20 awards, five people per award - and the build-up begins.
Painstaking preparation is crucial. The dress and the diet are chosen, the hairstylist and hotel booked, the walk up the red carpet practised.
Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman are hotly tipped to head the nominations, of course. Crowe is favourite for a third successive nomination for his star turn as Nobel prizewinning mathematician John Nash in A Beautiful Mind, following last year's victory for Gladiator.
Kidman, who has never been nominated for an Oscar, is hoping to repeat her recent success at the Golden Globes, where she won the Best Actress prize for Moulin Rouge.
But the two films expected to dominate the 24 March ceremony are Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter - which is where the Brits come in.
We could harvest a bumper crop this year. Hopes are high in the Best Supporting categories, with Robbie Coltrane strongly tipped for his shaggy Hagrid in HP, Hogwart School's giant groundsman and Keeper of Weird Beasts. Ben Kingsley, too, is fancied for his chilling portrayal of a psychopathic London gangster in Sexy Beast, but he may face familiar competition from Jim Broadbent, for the role of John Bayley in Iris, and Ian McKellen's Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.
Hopefuls for Supporting Actress, meanwhile, include both Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith in Gosford Park, and Kate Winslet for her winsome and charismatic performance as (the young) Iris Murdoch in Iris.
As for leading actor and actress, Britain should be cheering for Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton, who both gave outstanding performances as American parents facing family crises in In The Bedroom and The Deep End respectively - but then they are competing against fellow countrymen Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge and, of course, Academy favourite Dame Judi Dench for her portrayal of (the old) Iris Murdoch in Iris.
Star style
