Will Gangs finally get Scorsese a gong?

Despite six nominations, Martin Scorsese, arguably the finest living director, has never won an Academy Award.

This year might see the director, behind such films as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and Casino, finally pick up the coveted golden statuette for Gangs of New York at Sunday's ceremony.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Fortunately, the Evening News was able to speak to the country's most famous film critic, Barry Norman, prior to his appearance in Tewkesbury.

"I'm a big fan of Scorsese and I hope he gets the Oscar," said Norman.

"He is the best American director working at the moment. I liked Gangs of New York very much."

Although critics universally agree that Gangs of New York, which went way over time and budget, is probably not Scorsese's finest, the Academy has a tendency to try and make amends for overlooked filmmakers.

"I think the Academy will give it to him because he is almost 60 and they will be thinking it is very much time for him to have one," said Norman.

"Paul Newman was given the Oscar for The Colour of Money because they had overlooked giving him one is the past."

Speaking of Newman, he is up for best supporting actor for his role in The Road to Perdition against the likes of Christopher Walken for Catch Me if You Can and Ed Harris for The Hours.

Although Scorsese's epic has picked up 10 nominations, the current favourite is Chicago, with a handful of earlier awards and 13 nominations.

"The bookies are backing Chicago for best film," said Norman.

"The Hours and The Pianist are the more serious films and both are extremely well made. I suppose it's going to be Chicago, or maybe Gangs."

The final contender for the best film category is Lord of the Rings sequel The Two Towers. But this must be an outsider given the fact that The Fellowship of the Ring failed to pick up the award last year and the Academy historically never declares fantasy movies best film.

The best actor award will be slugged out between the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis for Gangs, Michael Caine for The Quiet American and Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt.

This is Nicholson's 12th nomination, a record for actors, but if he wins he will have picked up four Oscars in as many decades since One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1976.

Although Meryl Streep failed to pick up a best actress nomination for The Hours, she has been nominated for best supporting actress for Adaptation, bringing her up to a record-breaking 13 nominations.

Cinematographer Conrad L Hall, who died last month, picked up a 10th nomination for The Road to Perdition, having previously won with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1970 and American Beauty in 2000.

Renee Zellweger seems likely to pick up best actress after winning the equivalent award at the Screen Actors Guild earlier this month, but she will be given a run for her money by Nicole Kidman, who donned a prosthetic nose for her role as Virginia Woolf in The Hours.

Another best actress contender is Julianne Moore for Far From Heaven, who could make history if she also wins her best supporting actress nomination for The Hours.

But regardless of what records are broken, this year's Academy Awards will be remembered as the one where there was no red carpet banter - because of the Iraq situation, stars will not be stopping for interviews, and this section of the show will be replaced with clips from ceremonies over the years.

But in the end, apart from a load of back slapping, do the awards really matter?

"I think the Oscars are very important because it raises the fees of people who win one," said Norman.

"An actor or a director can't double his or her fee because they've won a Golden Globe or a BAFTA. But they can say that if they've got an Oscar."

An Evening With Barry Norman is at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury on Wednesday, March 26, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £14.50 (£13.30 concessions) and are availalble from the box office on 01684 295074.