THE US: After months of frenzied speculation, the Oscars were due to go ahead last night in a tense finale to one of the most wide-open races in the awards' 74-year history.
With security around the event at unprecedented levels following the September 11th terror strikes on US targets, the outcome of the contest to win gold in the top categories remained as murky as ever.
"If you don't want to risk losing money, don't bet on this year's Oscars," said Tim Gray of Variety Daily. "The only sure thing about the awards is that they will take place," he added.
"By the end of the Oscars race, there is usually one film actor and actress that stands out above the rest like Titanic in 1998 or Julia Roberts last year, but this year it's just not that easy," said Oscar author Tom O'Neil.
A Beautiful Mind, the story of schizophrenic maths genius John Nash, still appeared to lead the best picture race along with musical Moulin Rouge with Nicole Kidman, according to pundits and betting odds.
A Beautiful Mind, starring Russell Crowe, was nominated for eight Oscars including best actor, best supporting actress for Jennifer Connelly and best director for Ron Howard and its uplifting subject matter was thought sure to please many of the 5,700 voters.
But the fantasy spectacular The Lord of the Rings topped the five nominees with 13 nominations in a contest where the most nominated film almost always wins.
Late last night Crowe was hanging onto his position as favourite for the best actor gong, despite intense competition from Denzel Washington, nominated for his role as a cop in Training Day.
Hollywood appeared to feel that Washington was long overdue for an Oscar that many believe he should have won for Malcom X in 1992, especially amid pressure to honour a black actor in a year where three are nominated in the top categories.
The best actress category was perhaps the most hotly contested of the main categories in the hours before the event.
Black actress Halle Berry, who starred in the racially-charged Monster's Ball, was thought to have the edge following her win of a Screen Actors' Guild award earlier this month. But she faced stiff competition from Sissy Spacek, the mother in In the Bedroom, and from Kidman for Moulin Rouge.
Former child star Ron Howard was seen as the sentimental favourite for best director over Ridley Scott for Black Hawk Down, David Lynch for Mulholland Drive, Robert Altman for Gosford Park and Peter Jackson for Rings.
The best foreign film favourite was France's Amelie.