Sombre stars step out for scaled back Oscars

Hollywood was gearing up for the Oscars today but war with Iraq means the ceremony will be a strangely muted affair.

U2 are nominated for the best song award for The Hands That Built America, from the soundtrack of Gangs Of New York. Eminem is also in the running for Lose Yourself, written for his debut film 8 Mile.

Veteran Irish actor Peter O’Toole, 70, will pick up an honorary award, having earlier said he would turn it down because he still hoped to win a real one.

The most celebrated night in the showbiz calendar will be devoid of the usual glitz and glamour.

The red carpet has been scrapped and the stars will not be parading their designer dresses in front of the cameras at tomorrow night’s event.

Instead their limousines will pull up at the door of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles and they will not stop for interviews or photographs.

Organisers have scaled back the ceremony in light of the war but so far have dismissed calls to postpone it, determined that the show must go on.

The celebrities will be surrounded by unprecedented levels of security, with armed police on alert for any signs of terrorist activity.

Most of the stars – including Oscar hopeful Daniel Day-Lewis – will be there.

But some, like Men In Black actor Will Smith, are staying away because they feel it would be inappropriate to attend.

Celebrities including Dustin Hoffman, Ben Affleck and Julianne Moore are reportedly planning to wear pins in the shape of peace symbols as a protest against the conflict.

But despite the more sombre mood, only one thing really counts to the stars in attendance – who takes home a coveted Academy Award.

Zeta Jones is Britain’s brightest prospect for Oscar glory.

She has been nominated for best supporting actress for her role as murderess Velma Kelly in the musical Chicago.

Despite being eight months pregnant, the Welsh-born star will take to the stage to duet with co-star and fellow nominee Queen Latifah on the Chicago song I Move On.

A medical team and ambulance are on stand-by at the theatre in case Zeta-Jones goes into labour.

Chicago leads the Oscar race with 13 nominations and is widely tipped to be the night’s big winner.

It is in the running for best picture, while Rob Marshall is up for best director and Renee Zellweger is hoping to win best actress, though she faces tough competition from Nicole Kidman for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours.

Daniel Day-Lewis and Sir Michael Caine are both up for the best actor Oscar, for Gangs Of New York and The Quiet American respectively.

The Hours and Gangs Of New York are the other two films to dominate the nominations.

American actress Julianne Moore could make Oscars history if she wins both her categories.

Moore has a best actress nomination for Far From Heaven and a best supporting actress nomination for The Hours. She would become the first person ever to win two competitive Oscars in one year.

Coverage of the ceremony will be screened live on BBC1 from 12.50am on Monday, hosted by Jonathan Ross.

Here is the list of main nominations for the 75th Academy Awards:

Best Actor

:: Adrien Brody – The Pianist

:: Nicolas Cage – Adaptation

:: Michael Caine – The Quiet American

:: Daniel Day-Lewis – Gangs of New York

:: Jack Nicholson – About Schmidt

Best Actress

:: Salma Hayek – Frida

:: Nicole Kidman – The Hours

:: Diane Lane – Unfaithful

:: Julianne Moore – Far From Heaven

:: Renee Zellweger – Chicago

Best Supporting Actor

:: Chris Cooper – Adaptation

:: Ed Harris – The Hours

:: Paul Newman – Road to Perdition

:: John C Reilly – Chicago

:: Christopher Walken – Catch Me If You Can

Best Supporting Actress

:: Kathy Bates – About Schmidt

:: Julianne Moore – The Hours

:: Queen Latifah – Chicago

:: Meryl Streep – Adaptation

:: Catherine Zeta Jones – Chicago

Best Picture

:: Chicago

:: Gangs of New York

:: The Hours

:: The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers

:: The Pianist

Best Animated Film

:: Ice Age

:: Lilo & Stitch

:: Spirit: Stallion of The Cimarron

:: Spirited Away

:: Treasure Planet

Best Director

:: Rob Marshall – Chicago

:: Martin Scorsese – Gangs of New York

:: Stephen Daldry – The Hours

:: Roman Polanski – The Pianist

:: Pedro Almodovar – Talk To Her

Best Adapted Screenplay

:: Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz – About A Boy

:: Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman – Adaptation

:: Bill Condon – Chicago

:: David Hare – The Hours

:: Ronald Harwood – The Pianist

Best Original Screenplay

:: Todd Haynes – Far From Heaven

:: Jay Cocks, Steve Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan – Gangs of New York

:: Nia Vardalos – My Big Fat Greek Wedding

:: Pedro Almodovar – Talk To Her

:: Carlos Cuaron and Alfonso Cuaron – Y Tu Mama Tambien

Best Documentary Feature

:: Bowling For Columbine

:: Daughter From Danang

:: Prisoner of Paradise

:: Spellbound

:: Winged Migration

Best Foreign Language Film

:: El Crimen Del Padre Amaro

:: Hero

:: The Man Without a Past

:: Nowhere in Africa

:: Zus & Zo

Best Original Score

:: John Williams – Catch Me If You Can

:: Bernstein – Far From Heaven

:: Elliot Goldenthal – Frida

:: Philip Glass – The Hours

:: Thomas Newman – Road to Perdition

Best Original Song

:: Burn It Blue – Frida

:: Father and Daughter – The Wild Thornberrys Movie

:: The Hands That Built America – Gangs of New York

:: I Move On – Chicago

:: Lose Yourself – 8 Mile