Aussie Oscar nominees
The New Daily will be live-blogging the Oscars red carpet and ceremony from 10.00am.
The Academy Awards is set to be a golden, record-breaking one for Australia, with Cate Blanchett, Catherine Martin and Beverley Dunn expected to walk away from Hollywood’s biggest night holding Oscars.
Martin will likely have one in each hand.
Blanchett is the scorching hot favourite at Monday’s (AEDT) event to win best actress for playing a pill-popping, free-falling New York socialite in the Woody Allen-directed comedy-drama Blue Jasmine.
Despite being up against a who’s who of leading ladies – Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Meryl Streep (August: Osage County), Judi Dench (Philomena) and Amy Adams (American Hustle) – and drawn into the controversy of two-decade-old, unfounded child molestation allegations against Allen, bookmakers across the planet have Blanchett at such thin odds there is little point in placing money on her because the return is so small.
Some bookmakers overnight had her at 1/100, meaning a gambler would have to put $100 on her to win just $1.00.
If, as expected, Blanchett does win it will be her second Oscar after 2005’s supporting actress trophy for Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator.
No other Australian actor has won two Oscars, with Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush, Heath Ledger, Russell Crowe and Peter Finch all with one win.
Martin has the chance to become the most prolific Australian winner of Oscars, with bookmakers expecting her to claim a double in the costume design and production design categories for The Great Gatsby.
Martin won the double in 2002 for Moulin Rouge! and with four Oscars that will push her ahead of legendary Australian costume designer Orry-Kelly who is the current most decorated Australian with three Oscar wins in the 1950s and 60s.
“I am very nervous,” Martin, whose husband and director of The Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrmann has remained in Sydney to work on their Strictly Ballroom stage musical, told AAP.
“I’m slightly overwhelmed because, as a creative person, I think you never think of yourself as being worthy of any honour.”
Martin’s biggest competition for the costume design Oscar is another Australian, Michael Wilkinson, who dressed the all-star cast of Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale and Robert De Niro for the 1970s-set American Hustle.
Martin’s set director on The Great Gatsby, Dunn, will also get an Oscar if bookmakers are right and they are named winners of the production design category.
Australia’s other Oscar nominee is Dave Clayton, who is nominated in the visual effects category for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
The visual effects team from Gravity, just like Blanchett, is at unbackable favourite odds to take the prize.
American Hustle and Gravity have the most Oscar nominations with 10 each, while 12 Years a Slave, favourite for best picture, has nine.
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) is favourite for best actor, his co-star Jared Leto is expected to take supporting actor, while Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) has moved ahead of Lawrence in the supporting actress race.
The Academy Awards red carpet will begin 10am AEDT Monday with the ceremony, held in Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, from 12.30pm AEDT on Monday.