Sydney Life

It's Oscar night, it's Oscar night!

Herald the arrival of primadonnas with princely budgets, of weepy speeches that will no doubt be your legacy to showbiz (are you listening, Gwyneth?), of botox and butt-wiggling down the red carpet....

All hail the stars of today as they sashay into the Kodak Theatre, in Hollywood, to enact all my childhood fantasies for my 21st (and their 78th) year...

Some people say their best childhood memories are of the first time they rode a bike. Others cite their first tooth falling out (and the subsequent arrival of the Tooth Fairy), or their first day of school. For my brother, it was making a chocolate cake with my Mum, and getting to literally put his head in the bowl of mixture...what a Kodak moment.

My favourite childhood memory doesn't stack up neatly with those above. Nope - my favourite memory is of Lizzie Gardiner's credit-card dress, which she wore to the 1994 Oscars, where, incidentally, she won the Oscar for Costume Design (for Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.)

After seeing that dress, and her exuberant smile, I was hooked. I have tuned into every telecast of the Awards religiously, watching every minute...even the horrible Saving Private Ryan interpretive dance in 1999...

March, therefore, is an important month for me. The first Sunday in March is akin to other people's Christmases, if you will. Tomorrow night, I can assure you, I will be found sitting giddily in front of the television, shooshing others who dare to whisper during the coverage. But most importantly, I will be watching to see how I fare in the Annual Father-Daughter Oscars Sweepstakes, now in its 12th year.

My dad and I don't have much in common, but we do love films, and we love to speculate on the winners, losers and all those in between. So, here are my picks for the 2006 Oscars - I can't wait to see how I go...

BEST PICTURE: Although traditionally I'd like an outsider to trump the favourite, this year there is only one film that could possibly take home the gold statue: Brokeback Mountain. If it was any other year, I'd be cheering on Crash, but I loved that film like deserts love the rain.

BEST ACTOR: Truly a tough decision here...I love Philip Seymour Hoffman and I think he will win - not for his work in Capote, but because he has been looked over so many times in the past. Though I'd like to see Joaquin Phoenix or Heath Ledger triumph, I know deep down PSH has this one wrapped up.

BEST ACTRESS: In direct contrast to Philip Seymour Hoffman, this year's Best Actress will be someone with a relatively light CV...Reese Witherspoon. Felicity Huffman should win for Transamerica, but who can compete with America's sweetheart? Meanwhile, I find it hilarious (but tragic) that Keira Knightley was even nominated...how can we see her in the same light as Judi Dench? In any case, Reese will likely take it away, though I know Felicity should...

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: This is one of the annoying awards they place at the end, when everyone wants to go to bed, but needs to wait until the Best Picture is announced. Normally I wouldn't write about it. But, since Hollywood loves a comeback, I'm betting that Woody Allen will take home the gong for Match Point... and also that his child-bride Soon-Yi won't be able to stay awake long enough to find out...