Stars take red carpet ahead of Oscar ceremony

LOS ANGELES, Feb 26 (Reuters) Hollywood's elite braved cold dreary skies with barely a shiver as they crossed the red carpet in off-the-shoulder gowns and designer tuxedos for the 79th annual Oscars.

Best actress nominees Helen Mirren, holding a small Union Jack British flag, and Spain's Penelope Cruz along with best supporting actress favorite Jennifer Hudson of ''Dreamgirls'' fame were among the early arrivals at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, where the televised ceremony will be watched by millions around the world.

Hollywood experts said many of this year's Oscar races were wide open, particularly for the coveted award for best film.

Comedy ''Little Miss Sunshine'' and cultural drama ''Babel'' were two leading picks for best film, but crime thriller ''The Departed,'' British royals saga ''The Queen'' and World War II tale ''Letters From Iwo Jima'' were not far behind.

''That's the big mystery of the show. Nobody really knows what's going to go down,'' said Leonardo DiCaprio, nominated for best actor in ''Blood Diamond'' and who also appeared in ''The Departed''.

Cruz, nominated for ''Volver'', said she was ''very excited, very nervous'' but added she did not expect to go home with the Oscar this year. ''I don't think that will happen this time but I am very excited anyway.'' The Oscars are given out annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This year's 3-hour show will be hosted by popular comedian Ellen DeGeneres.

Cruz, Cameron Diaz and Rachel Weisz were among the stars wearing flowing strapless or off-the-shoulder gowns despite the unusually chilly temperatures.

Former US vice president Al Gore, whose ''An Inconvenient Truth'' global warming film was nominated for best documentary, waved to fans as he walked the red carpet with wife Tipper Gore.

''The point (of the documentary) is to deliver a message about the climate crisis to more people, more quickly,'' Gore told reporters yesterday.

''MARTY'S TURN'' Martin Scorsese was expected to win the best director for ''The Departed,'' and if so, it would be his first Oscar for an individual film after seven previous nominations. The sentiment around town was that it was ''Marty's turn.'' ''If it isn't his (Scorsese's) year, I will have to eat someone's hat,'' actress Jodie Foster told reporters.

In the acting categories, only Helen Mirren was regarded as a shoo-in for best actress for her regal work as Queen Elizabeth II in ''The Queen.'' The best actor category was expected to boil down to a race between Forest Whitaker as the brutal dictator Idi Amin in ''The Last King of Scotland'' and veteran Peter O'Toole as an elderly man in love with a young woman in ''Venus.'' ''Dreamgirls'' actor Eddie Murphy and actress Jennifer Hudson both have been picked as front-runners for the supporting actor and actress Oscars, respectively.

''I can't believe I am here and that this is actually happening,'' said Hudson, a former reject on the popular TV reality show ''American Idol''.

''American Idol'' judge Simon Cowell told Hudson in a taped message. ''We are rooting for you. What you have done is extraordinary.'' Both Hudson and Murphy face challenges. Alan Arkin of ''Sunshine'' is picked to give Murphy a run for his money, and Adriana Barraza in ''Babel'' and Abigail Breslin from ''Sunshine'' are given a shot at supporting actress.

One fan watching the red carpet arrivals had her own hopes for the best picture award.

''I'm hoping 'Little Miss Sunshine' will win (best film), but I'm thinking 'Babel,''' said Jackie Berger. She said ''Babel,'' the cultural drama that looks at communication barriers around the globe, had more critical acclaim, but ''Little Miss Sunshine'' won her over with its sweet tale of a family of losers who learn what it means to be winners.

REUTERS SBA RN0638