Oscar hopefuls aim for morning glory

HOLLYWOOD’S BIGGEST breakfast – the day Los Angeles gets up early to announce the nominees for next month’s Oscars – could see several British stars the toast of the town.

The shortlist for entertainment’s most coveted statuettes will be unveiled at 5am local time – lunchtime here – in order to secure coverage on the live morning TV news bulletins that emanate from New York.

Olivia Colman, Christian Bale, Richard E Grant and Rachel Weisz are among the British actors those hoping to hear their names called.

Ms Colman is widely considered to be among the frontrunners for the best actress award for her role as Queen Anne in the black period comedy, The Favourite. Glenn Close and Lady Gaga are also in contention, for The Wife and A Star Is Born, respectively.

It remains to be seen if Emily Blunt will make the cut for the title role in Mary Poppins Returns, which she inherited from Julie Andrews.

Welsh-born Bale, who won an Oscar in 2011 for The Fighter ,is heavily tipped to pick up a nomination for playing the former US vice president Dick Cheney in Vice, and is likely to be joined on the shortlist by Bradley Cooper for A Star Is Born and Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody.

The Favourite’s Rachel Weisz and First Man’s Claire Foy – the Leeds-educated actress who also played the Queen in Netflix’s epic, The Crown – are likely to secure nominations in the best supporting actress category.

Grant could land his first nomination for his role opposite Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, about the biographer-turned-forger, Lee Israel.

The nominations will be announced by actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Kumail Nanjiani.