Stars hit red carpet for the Oscars

Feb 25 2013

Some of Hollywood's biggest stars have strolled down the red carpet ahead of the Oscars.

Celebrities including best actress nominee Jessica Chastain, Les Miserables star Eddie Redmayne and Helen Hunt posed for pictures and signed autographs for fans.

Also spotted on the red carpet outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles were Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter, Dame Shirley Bassey and Daniel Radcliffe.

British hopes largely lie with Daniel Day-Lewis who is hot favourite to complete an historic hat-trick. The actor is nominated for best actor for his performance in US historical drama Lincoln - his fifth nomination in the category which he has already won twice - in 1989 for My Left Foot and in 2007 for There Will be Blood.

Another win will make him the first man to win three best actor Oscars - and the bookmakers expect him to take the award with William Hill offering odds of 1-50 on him triumphing. That will take him past the achievements of two-time winning Hollywood legends including Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman - who are both scheduled to present awards on the night.

Other presenters will include Jane Fonda, Kristen Stewart, Liam Neeson, Reese Witherspoon and Samuel L Jackson.

Other British hopes on the night rest with Adele who is nominated for her Bond theme Skyfall and UK-born Naomi Watts who is recognised for her role in The Impossible with a nod in the best actress category.

Day-Lewis is shortlisted alongside Les Miserables star Hugh Jackman, Denzel Washington, Joaquin Phoenix and Bradley Cooper.

Silver Linings Playbook got eight nominations, with 11 for Life Of Pi and 12 for Lincoln.

Les Miserables, directed by The King's Speech filmmaker Tom Hooper, is in the running for best picture but Hooper failed to get a nomination in the directing category which he won in 2010. Also nominated for best picture are Ben Affleck's Argo, set during the Iran hostage crisis, Beasts Of The Southern Wild and Quentin Tarantino's western Django Unchained. Life Of Pi, Amour, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty complete the shortlist.