KATE WINSLET - WINSLET, PITT AND JOLIE EXPECTED AT BAFTA CEREMONY

WINSLET, PITT AND JOLIE EXPECTED AT BAFTA CEREMONY

Kate Winslet, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are among the nominees expected to attend this evening's British Academy Film awards.

Winslet, 33, is nominated twice in the best actress category, for her performances in Revolutionary Road and The Reader, while Pitt and Jolie are in the running for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Changeling, respectively.

Golden Globe winner and Oscar favourite Slumdog Millionaire is the bookmakers' pick to claim the best film prize, with Danny Boyle's drama receiving 11 nominations.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is also nominated 11 times, with director David Fincher, lead actor Brad Pitt and screenwriter Eric Roth all recognised.

Monty Python member and acclaimed director Terry Gilliam is to receive the Academy's highest honour, the Bafta fellowship, while the Pinewood and Shepperton film studios will be awarded a special prize for outstanding British contribution to cinema.

Mickey Rourke could follow his best actor Golden Globe with the same prize at the Baftas though he faces a tough challenge from Pitt, Sean Penn (Milk), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) and rising British star Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire).

Elsewhere, the late Heath Ledger is again the favourite to claim the best supporting actor prize - one of nine nominations for The Dark Knight - and there are nominations for In Bruges, Wall-E and Waltz With Bashir.