By Karl Dyer 

The ultimate red carpet event is upon us once more.  Hollywood’s men will dust off their tuxedos while the women squeeze into the most outrageous fancy frock they can find.

Television viewers worldwide will yearn for an upset, a breakdown or maybe just a clumsy fall.  

That’s right film fans, the 84^th Annual Academy Awards are set to light up Los Angeles’ Kodak Theatre on Sunday and MM is on hand to cast an eye over the night’s nominees. 

Best Supporting Actress

The supporting roles have always been considered a bit of a Mickey Mouse award but such stars of the screen as Dame Maggie Smith, Angelina Jolie and Dame Judi Dench have all taken the glory in this category in the past.

Likely Winner: Octavia Spencer. Her name’s probably been engraved on the statue for weeks. As Minny Jackson in big hitter The Help, she shares the screen with real class in fellow nominees Jessica Chastain and Viola Davis but it’s Spencer who really catches the eye.

Deserved Winner: Octavia Spencer. Melissa McCarthy’s role in Bridesmaids will forever be an iconic comic performance and it’s nice to see The Academy recognise the brilliance of modern comedy but it’s Spencer who deserves the Oscar.

Best Supporting Actor 

There’s been a great run of winners in this category over the last five years including the late Heath Ledger as The Joker and Christoph Waltz’ cracking performance in Inglourious Basterds.

This year’s crop is as strong as ever with some performances, such as Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, outshining their screen partners.

Likely Winner: Christopher Plummer. He was snubbed in 2009 but The Academy love an old man in an emotionally charged performance and Plummer in Beginners is just that.

Deserved Winner: Jonah Hill. Max von Sydow is brilliant as a mute but it’s Jonah Hill, who shakes off his stoner guy funny man tag, with an outstanding performance in Moneyball that deserves the plaudits here.

Best Director

A massive award for the film auteur and one that’s often lost in the buzz of Best Picture. Some true stalwarts of cinema have missed out in the past; Alfred Hitchcock, Ridley Scott and Quentin Tarantino are but a few.

There was a collective yawn as Tom Hooper picked the award up last year for The King’s Speech and the same looks likely this time round.

Likely Winner: Michel Hazanavicius. The Artist is this  year’s The King’s Speech and nobody expects anything other than a Hazanavicius scoop. A hands down winner.

Deserved Winner: Martin Scorsese. Hazanavicius achieves something briliant in The Artist but Scorsese’s production and direction of Hugo is just fantastic. The Academy overlooked Scorsese for decades before finally giving him the nod for The Departed back in 2006 and it’s a return to the Oscars of old that looms for Marty.

Part 2 follows tomorrow with a look at Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Picture and this year’s Oscars snubs.

Disagree with our nominations? Let us know and leave a comment with your worthy winners below.