This years awards start at 8pm EST on ABC. A quick check of a few London bookmaker's reveals Brokeback Mountain is an overwhelming favorite to capture Best Picture, with odds of 1.17 to 1 (Crash a distant 2nd with nearly 8 to 1 odds of winning) while Reese Witherspoon has pretty much locked up Best Actress with odds of 1.25 to 1. As for Best Actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the odds on favorite with 1.25 to 1 with Heath Ledger a distant 8 to 1. For Best Director it looks like the Academy is all but guaranteed Ang Lee to win, an overwhelming odds on favorite with 1.03 to 1. Ang Lee, bitterly disappointed after being robbed a nomination for The Hulk is finally getting recognized.
Some interesting facts about the Oscar's
- During WWII because of a shortage of metal the awars were made of wood.
- Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar
- Midnight Cowboy is the only X-Rated film to ever win an Oscar for Best Picture
