The stars have taken their seats at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood as the film world's biggest ceremony of the year, the Academy Awards, gets underway at this hour. 

Security for the Oscar ceremony is the tightest in its 74-year history. Police have closed stores and cleared streets surrounding the theater in downtown Hollywood. Movie fans, who lined up to get bleacher seats to watch the stars arrive, had to undergo extensive background checks. 

This year's Best Picture nominees reflect a wide range of genres. They include the flashy musical "Moulin Rouge," the fantasy "Lord of the Rings," and the controversial psychological drama "A Beautiful Mind." 

The producers of "A Beautiful Mind" have accused rival studios of launching bad publicity against the movie and its portrayal of Nobel Prize winning mathematician and schizophrenic John Nash. 

For the first time in 30 years, three African Americans have been nominated for Best Actor Oscars, Will Smith for "Ali," Denzel Washington in "Training Day," and actress Halle Berry for "Monster's Ball." Only one black actor has ever won the Academy award for Best Actor or Actress -- Sidney Poitier in 1964. 

Also for the first time in Oscar history, animated feature films have their own award category. 

This year's Best Foreign Language Film nominees come from Argentina, Bosnia- Herzegovina, France, India, and Norway. 

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