Ledger, Slumdog Unbeatable in Oscar Odds

With a month to go until the film industry's prestigious annual Oscar awards are handed out, Heath Ledger and Slumdog Millionaire are odds-on favorites to take out the titles for Best Supporting Actor and Best Picture.

Ledger, an unbackable favorite at UK and Las Vegas bookmakers, would become only the second actor to win an Oscar posthumously, following Peter Finch in 1976 for his performance in Network. The Aussie's portrayal of The Joker in Dark Knight has already won him the 2009 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, and has him 1.04 with Ladbrokes to take out the same award at the Oscars.

Slumdog Millionaire is slightly less of a certainty to take Best Picture, listed at 1.25 with Ladbrokes.  Set and filmed in India, Slumdog tells the story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". The film has grossed well over $50 million in U.S. box office earnings after just over two months in the cinemas.

Hot on Slumdog's tail is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, at 5.50. Milk is a little further back at 10.00, while Frost/Nixon and The Reader would be surprise winners at 21.00 and 26.00 respectively.

Mickey Rourke, 2.00 and Sean Penn, 2.10 will battle it out for Best Actor. Rourke has been nominated for his role in The Wrestler and Penn for his role in Milk.

Kate Winslet is 1.83 to win Best Actress for the lead role in The Reader, Meryl Streep is 2.75 for her performance in Doubt, while Anne Hathaway is also in with a chance at 6.00 for her work in Rachel Getting Married.

The 81^st Annual Academy Awards will take place on February 22^nd, with the star of X-Men and Australia, Hugh Jackman, as host.