If the Hunter Valley-raised 27-year-old misses out on an Oscar invitation, it could be a bleak night for Australia at Hollywood's night of nights.

There have been no other standout prospects, with little buzz for Nicole Kidman's performance in the musical Nine, and Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe and Naomi Watts missing in action.

Cornish, for her performance in the Jane Campion-directed period drama Bright Star, is the only Australian figuring in pre-Oscar talk.

The Oscar race should become clearer this week with the release of Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

The early Oscar front-runners for best actor are George Clooney (Up in the Air), Morgan Freeman (Invictus) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), while best actress appears to be between Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) and Carey Mulligan (An Education).

The Golden Globes nominations will be announced just after midnight on Wednesday and the Screen Actors Guild has its nominations on Friday.

The Academy Award nominations will be revealed on February 2 and winners announced on March 7.

At the 2003 Oscars the musical Chicago, directed by American Rob Marshall, dominated, and at the coming Academy Awards his new musical Nine is being hyped as another threat.

The cast is a who's who of past Oscar winners including Kidman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench and Marion Cotillard.

But it is Day-Lewis, Cruz and Cotillard pencilled in for potential nominations.

Australian cinematographer Dion Beebe may be a chance if Nine becomes a force at the Academy Awards.

James Cameron's revolutionary Avatar has emerged as the dark horse of the Oscar campaign. But its Australian star Sam Worthington has failed to garner any buzz with the technology-heavy film.

Warwick Thornton's Samson & Delilah, fresh from its seven-trophy haul at the Australian Film Institute awards, is Australia's entry in the foreign-language category for the Oscars.

Related Posts Widget