Doesn't it seem like just yesterday that Nicole Kidman's prosthetic nose won her an Oscar? Not that she wasn't brilliant in The Hours, but it's an old Hollywood rule that the minute you make yourself look ugly is the same minute you start winning awards like crazy, including everyone's most prized dinner date, Oscar himself. By that token, Charlize Theron seems to be the sure best for this year's Best Actress category while film fans abounds find themselves rooting for Bill Murray to win the "Best Actor" trophy. Lost In Translation, while hugely popular among fans and critics alike, garnered only two important nominations; Sofia Coppola joins Murray with her nomination for "Best Adapted Screenplay."

But the real story of Oscar Night is going to be all about Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The final segment of this epic and historic trilogy enjoys the duty to carry the awards wheelbarrow from ceremony to ceremony. Often, trilogies aren't awarded until their completion, despite the quality of that final film in comparison to its predecessors. While arguments could be made that the first installment of The Lord of the Rings was superior to either of its sequels, it was passed over for almost every award it was nominated for. But Oscar has smiled upon the trilogy this year: it is up for both "Best Director" and "Best Picture," and chances are excellent that it will win for both.

The Academy Awards provide a yearly spectacle that is a wonderful and essential reprieve from all the chaos and strife in the world around us. On Oscar night, we need not worry about the war in Iraq, the upcoming Presidential election, the Martha Stewart trial or even Janet Jackson's breast incident. On Oscar night the country pops itself a bowl of buttery popcorn and settles onto its sofa, and spends a good three hours or more...usually much more celebrating actors, actresses, directors, producers, sound technicians, special effects masters and the long, proud tradition of film.