Twists, turns make road to Oscars tough to map out
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LOS ANGELES  - Oscar beckons: The musical "Dreamgirls" is the odds-on favorite to take home best picture honors.
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HollywoodÂs tight-knit community of Oscar voters may find itself facing a difficult dilemma in the coming weeks: Will they consider Mel GibsonÂs ÂApocalyptoÂ for an Academy Award?
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It's no secret that the nomination choices for the Golden Globes have helped define the field of Academy Awards contenders. This year, a fairly wide-open awards season has yet to produce clear front-runners.
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The guessing game is almost over at the Venice film festival, where few clear frontrunners for the Golden Lion award for best picture have emerged ahead of the prize ceremony on Saturday evening.
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Although the writers strike has created a swirl of uncertainty, Hollywood's awards season will be business as usual Wednesday, when the academy mails Oscar nomination ballots to its 5,829 voting members.
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A look back at some of the more memorable elements of Oscar broadcasts past.
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With no J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy to lord over Hollywood's prom night, an eccentric mix of real-life characters may step in to fill the void at the Academy Awards.
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Tales of tragedy and struggle will  vie for Oscar attention on Tuesday as an unusual awards season  overshadowed by the Hollywood writers strike heads into its  final stretch.
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Martin Scorsese's drive for his first career Oscar keeps running   into a roadblock that looks an awful lot like Clint Eastwood.
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Academy members' eagerly awaited choices for best picture suggest a tight Oscar race rivaling the suspense of the 1999 derby, when "Shakespeare in Love" enjoyed a shock triumph over "Saving Private Ryan."
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The Academy Awards nominations are out. Richard Corliss picks the likely winners, his own favorites and the biggest snubs
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It takes guts to chase  after an Oscar. It also takes serious money, luck, and insider  experience. Fail to land a nomination, and that cash doesn't  magically come back.
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For all the talk of  Oscar gold, this year the best picture winner will have to look  to DVD to see a payout.
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Academy Awards contenders demurely say it's nice just to be nominated. In this wide-open Oscar season, just about any nominee could end up winning.
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For weeks, Britons Daniel Day-Lewis and Julie Christie have looked like sure bets to win the coveted best actor and actress Academy Awards, but in the days ahead of Sunday's gala ceremony, momentum has shifted.
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Hollywood has turned serious with one eye on the Oscars in February, but it is elsewhere the jury may look when choosing which of 23 competition entries at the Venice film festival wins the Golden Lion on Saturday.
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The Academy Award voting now begins in earnest.