Charge Of The Old Brit Guard

British hopes are high for a night of Oscar glory with a respectable clutch of nominations.

However, last year's disappointment with only Helen Mirren reigning victorious in The Queen still lurks at the back of the mind.

Whither Peter O'Toole, Kate Winslet, Judi Dench?? Still, stiff upper lip and all that. We take a look at the 2008 British Academy Awards charge?

A veritable cluster of British nominees are hoping to crown Helen Mirren's regal success as the Queen at last year's Academy Awards.

Heading up the British challenge is Atonement, Brit director Joe Wright's sumptuous adaptation of Ian McEwan's heart wrenching novel.

The movie - already the recipient of 14 Bafta nominations - is squaring up to the Coen brothers' hotly tipped No Country for Old Men and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood.

One major disappointment however is the absence of nominations for Atonement stars Keira Knightly and James McAvoy and director Joe Wright, particularly after all three made the BAFTA shortlist.

However, there are Oscar nominations for screenwriter Christopher Hampton, who landed a golden statue for Dangerous Liaisons in 1988, and Saoirse Ronan for best supporting actress (she was born in New York but lives in Ireland so she's almost British).

Shrewd pundits have their money on London-born Daniel Day-Lewis for his towering performance as a ruthlessly immoral oil baron in the turn-of-the-century drama There Will Be Blood.

It's Day-Lewis's fourth best actor nomination after he lost out for Gangs of New York and In The Name of the Father but triumphed with 1989's My Left Foot.

Ten years after being nominated in the best actress category for Afterglow, 66-year-old British star Julie Christie is in the running for her portrayal of an Alzheimer's sufferer in the drama Away From Her.

Previously, she was nominated in 1971 for McCabe & Mrs Miller and won the best actress Oscar in 1966 for the John Schlesinger drama Darling.

The George Clooney thriller Michael Clayton also features Oscar-nominated best supporting performances from a pair of veteran British actors.

Tilda Swinton receives her first Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of a ruthless corporate troubleshooter while Tom Wilkinson, who previously received a best actor nod for In The Bedroom, plays a company lawyer who loses the plot.

Also under starter's orders are South African-born but British resident screenwriter Ronald Harwood, who adapted the screenplay of The Diving Bell & The Butterfly.

So with a heavy British contingent spread out across a number of key categories, interest will be high back in the UK leading up to Hollywood's big night.

Let's us hope then that it's an evening to remember for some of Blighty's finest movie making talent.

Tim Evans