Oscar race watchers put spotlight on 'Sunshine'

LOS ANGELES, Jan 31: Hollywood's Oscar race for best film appears to be wide open heading into its final month with several award watchers giving comedy ''Little Miss Sunshine'' a slight edge over ''The Departed'' and ''Babel.'' By contrast, the experts think acting and directing winners are nearly locked with favorites including Helen Mirren for best actress as Queen Elizabeth II in ''The Queen'' and Forest Whitaker for top actor playing former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in ''The Last King of Scotland.'' Martin Scorsese is expected to win the best director Oscar.

''This is not a year like 'Lord of the Rings' or 'Titanic,' and the greatest tension is in the best picture race,'' said USA Today critic Claudia Puig. ''I think the acting races are set.'' For 2003 movies, voters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Oscars, felt director Peter Jackson's epic ''Lord of the Rings'' films were such a huge feat they gave his final installment, ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' 11 Academy Awards including best film.

The same logic prevailed for 1997's ''Titanic,'' director James Cameron's romance set aboard the doomed ocean liner that also earned 11 Oscars.

This year Hollywood pundits gave the early edge to musical ''Dreamgirls'' and director Martin Scorsese's crime thriller ''The Departed'' until this month when three things changed the race.

The Producers Guild of America gave ''Sunshine'' its top film honor, then Oscar voters snubbed ''Dreamgirls'' when best picture nominees were named last week. Finally on Sunday, the actors in ''Sunshine'' won the Screen Actors Guild award for best cast.

SLIGHT EDGE FOR ''SUNSHINE''

''SAG came out in favor of 'Sunshine,' and then with the PGA, I think that gives it a slight edge,'' said one veteran Oscar watcher who asked not to be identified.

Current wisdom is that ''Sunshine,'' about a family of losers and their lovable 10-year-old beauty queen, is liked by almost everybody, whereas ''Departed'' and cultural drama ''Babel'' both have detractors. Experts said ''Departed'' may be too violent, and while ''Babel'' has passionate supporters, others simply did not like it. Rival nominees, ''The Queen'' and Clint Eastwood's ''Letters from Iwo Jima,'' both have fans but probably not enough.

The next stop in the Oscar race is the Directors Guild of America on Saturday in Los Angeles where Scorsese is picked to win the DGA's best movie director honor.

In 51 of 57 years the DGA has given its honor, winners also won the best director Oscar. Historically the Oscar-winning directors have seen their films claim best movie, too.

In recent years, however, the old DGA rule has not worked as well, including 2002 when Rob Marshall with ''Chicago'' and Roman Polanski with ''The Pianist'' split DGA and Oscar wins.

Meanwhile, Mirren and Whitaker have swept through early critical and other awards for best actress and actor, respectively, giving them an edge for Oscars.

Likewise, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy of ''Dreamgirls'' have won wide-acclaim and are clear favorites for best supporting actress and supporting actor.

But as much as they said the actors -- as well as Scorsese for best director -- seem to be shoo-ins, Oscar watchers are quick to point out exactly the same thing was thought about ''Dreamgirls'' getting a best picture nomination two weeks ago.

In short, there is still some tension left in the races.

Oscars will be given in a gala Hollywood ceremony on February 25.

Reuters