4:03pm UK, Sunday February 29, 2004

Hollywood is gearing up for the Academy Awards with a glittering night predicted for The Return of the King.

Jackson is favourite

The third and final Lord of the Rings film is all but certain to take home the best picture Oscar.

Peter Jackson is favourite to win best director for his work in bringing the Tolkien trilogy to the big screen.

Some industry insiders are tipping Peter Weir, director of seafaring epic Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, to pull off a surprise victory.

British hopes rest with Jude Law, Sir Ben Kingsley and Samantha Morton.

Law has been nominated for Cold Mountain and Kingsley for House of Sand and Fog, both in the best actor category, while Samantha Morton has earned a best actress nomination for In America.

But all three are rank outsiders and this could be the year Britain is left empty-handed.

The hardest-fought category at the ceremony in Los Angeles will be best actor.

It is too close to call between Bill Murray, for his role in Lost In Translation, and Sean Penn, for his performance in Mystic River.

A split vote may leave the way open for Johnny Depp, whose OTT turn in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl earned him an unexpected best actor prize at last week's Screen Actors Guild awards.

Charlize Theron is favourite to scoop best actress for her critically-acclaimed performance in Monster.