Oscars: Narrowing odds in awards nailbiter

The Oscar best-picture race has turned into a nailbiter.

Boyhood, the coming-of-age tale filmed over 12 years, was, until a fortnight ago, the strong favourite to win the industry's top prize.

That was before Birdman threw open the race by winning Hollywood's guild awards. Birdman stars Michael Keaton as a washed-up actor who once played a superhero, trying to revive his career with a Broadway play.

With Oscar voting ending last Wednesday and the other awards out of the way, the contest is the closest in almost a decade, according to bookmakers.

The winner of the top honour from the Producers Guild of America has gone on to capture the Academy Award for best picture in each of the past seven years. This year that honour went to Birdman. The British Academy of Film & Television Arts, which hands out the Baftas, is on a six-year streak. It went for Boyhood.

"We have all the tea leaves, but the problem is they contradict," said Tom O'Neil, founder of GoldDerby.com, a website that tracks the awards race and calculates the odds. His site puts the two films in a dead heat at 6 to 5 each.

Last week betting agency UK-based William Hill had Birdman at 8 to 13 and Boyhood 5 to 4. Rival chain Paddy Power has Birdman at 8 to 13 and Boyhood at 6 to 5.

That's the closest since the 2006 ceremony, when Brokeback Mountain and Crash vied for the prize, according to the bookmakers.

Eight films are nominated for best picture. The others are American Sniper, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash.

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