Emmanuelle Riva in "Amour," left, Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty," centre, and Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook," right. So many Oscars up for grabs Oscar prediction: Best Picture Oscar noms below the radar Busey given Oscar party warning Oscar updates 5 things we love/hate about Oscars Oscar prediction: Best Director Ethan Hawke calls Oscars 'fake' Highlights from previous Oscars Our top 5 favourite Oscar hosts

The best actress category is the most hotly contested of all major races in this years Academy Awards. Every one of the nominees is worthy, with three of the five emerging as the leading contenders.

So toss a three-sided coin to find out who among Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty, Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook and Emmanuelle Riva for Amour will take home the Academy Award. After backing Chastain and then Lawrence, "Oscarologists" are now betting on Riva, the French veteran who has toiled in relative obscurity -- at least in international circles -- since originally breaking out in Alain Resnais' Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959). The power and poignancy of Michael Haneke's twilight romance, Amour, has brought Riva back into the spotlight.