LOS ANGELES, Jan 23: And the nominees are... Hollywood is betting three films and one actor will dominate when the movie industry rises at dawn on Tuesday to discover the players nominated to take the field in the 2005 battle for the Oscars.

In an annual ritual that has the media hordes descending bleary-eyed on the headquarters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the names of the nominees are read out for television cameras at 5:30 a.m. local time (1330 GMT) so the news can catch commuters on the way out the door on the East Coast, where it is three hours later.

Jamie Foxx's electric performance as soul singer Ray Charles in "Ray" and films about an ambitious female boxer, two losers looking for love in California wine country and a billionaire aviation visionary with a passion for movie stars and washing his hands all loom large in Oscar nominations.

The guessing around town is that the Martin Scorsese epic biography about Howard Hughes, "The Aviator," Clint Eastwood's dark and tear-stained boxing drama "Million Dollar Baby" and Alexander Payne's heartbreaking comedy "Sideways" will lead the pack in nominations, with each expected to win six or more nominations in the major categories.

On Saturday night, the Producers Guild of America named "The Aviator" its best picture of the year. In 11 of the past 15 years, Producers Guild of America members have honoured films that went on to win the best-picture Oscar - including last year with "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

Foxx may pull off an Oscar acting double if he gets nominated for best supporting actor for his role as Tom Cruise's taxi-driving captive in "Collateral" as well as for best actor in "Ray."

Actors have been nominated in both categories before, but it is rare. Some film experts dismissed 2004 as a poor year for films in general but an outstanding one for male actors.

Right now, the town is in love with Foxx. His heartfelt acceptance of a Golden Globe award for acting last Sunday had people cheering and giving him a standing ovation.

In an unusual tribute, Chris Rock, the comedian who will host the Oscars on Feb 27, told a New York Times interviewer that if Foxx did not win, "I'm gonna talk about it on the show. -Reuters