It's that time of the year again, when Hollywood pulls out the red carpet and puts on an event to honour the films, the filmmakers, and the stars. Yes, folks, it's the Academy Awards, that annual display of fashion, long thank-you speeches, and bad choreography. And we thought it was about movies?

Well, every man, woman and their dog seems to be making a list of who they think should win and who they think will win. So I thought I would weigh in with some of my picks. We in Australia are hampered because we often don't get the chance to see all the movies that are up for contention, given our stupid release schedule. Sure, all the Best Picture fims have been released, but where is The Straight Story?

Anyway, here are the nominees and my picks in the major categories. Enjoy!

Best Picture

American Beauty

The Cider House Rules

The Green Mile

The Insider

The Sixth Sense

No competition. American Beauty should, and will win. The Green Mile was too long, and The Sixth Sense, while a critical and box office hit, seems to be an outsider. Haven't seen The Cider House Rules, which could have support due to the Miramax marketing machine, or The Insider.

Best Actor

Russell Crowe, The Insider

Richard Farnsworth, The Straight Story

Sean Penn, Sweet and Lowdown

Kevin Spacey, American Beauty

Denzel Washington, The Hurricane

This is probably the closest contest, with the money between Spacey and Washington. I think Spacey should win for his amazing work in American Beauty, but Washington is also powerful in his role as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. It would not surprise me to see him get the nod. I haven't seen any of the other movies, but Crowe would be an outsider, and Penn was little seen. There might be some sympathy for veteran Farnsworth, but it's hard to see him winning.

Best Actress

Annette Bening, American Beauty

Janet McTeer, Tumbleweeds

Julianne Moore, The End of the Affair

Meryl Streep, Music of the Heart

Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry

I've only seen Bening's performance, and while very good, Swank seems to have the inside running following her Golden Globe win for her role in Boys Don't Cry. The incredible Streep has been nominated again, tying Katherine Hepburn for the most nominations, but doesn't seem to have much of a chance. Moore hasn't been mentioned much, but McTeer could be a dark horse.

Michael Caine, The Cider House Rules

Tom Cruise, Magnolia

Michael Clarke Duncan, The Green Mile

Jude Law, The Talented Mr Ripley

Haley Joel Osment, The Sixth Sense

I haven't seen Cruise's performance, but he is getting a lot of the buzz. He probably will win, if only as a consolation for not winning Best Actor in 1989 for Born on the Fourth of July. My personal pick is Duncan, who was excellent in The Green Mile. I would also be happy to see young Osment win, but his time will come. The reliable Caine could cause an upset.

Toni Collette, The Sixth Sense

Angelina Jolie, Girl, Interrupted

Catherine Keener, Being John Malkovich

Samantha Morton, Sweet and Lowdown

Chloe Sevigny, Boys Don't Cry

Not a lot of gossip for this category. Haven't seen Jolie, Morton, or Sevigny. Collette was very good, and I think she should win, but Keener or Sevigny probably will. This category almost always springs a surprise (Marisa Tomei, Mira Sorvino, Juliette Binoche).

Sam Mendes, American Beauty

Spike Jonze, Being John Malkovich

Lasse Hallstrom, The Cider House Rules

Michael Mann, The Insider

M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense

Again, no contest. Sam Mendes should and will win. There is no more reliable guide than the Directors Guild Award, and Mendes took that out. Jonze could be a surprise for his quirky Being John Malkovich.

Thoughts on other categories

I wouldn't mind seeing Blame Canada, from South Park: Bigger, Louder, Uncut, win for Best Song, but one of the Disney Nominations (from Tarzan or Toy Story 2) will probably win.

I also would like to see The Matrix take out best Visual Effects over The Phantom Menace, just to show George Lucas that special effects should serve a story and not overwhelm it.

Best Score has reverted to being a single category again, after several years of being split into Musical/Comedy and Drama categories. The split occurred because just about every Disney animated feature (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas) was winning the Best Score award in the late 80s/early 90s.

Well, there you have it. Hope you enjoy the show. I know I will.