Bana tipped as Oscar favourite

Eric Bana.

Eric Bana, under the guidance of Steven Spielberg, has emerged as a favourite to claim the best actor Academy Award, with an Oscar campaign so quiet it is deafening.

A cloak of secrecy hangs over the Bana-Spielberg movie collaboration, Munich, with only a select few allowed to watch the drama before its US release on December 23. The clandestine nature of the project, combined with an almost non-existent promotional campaign instead of the usual multimillion-dollar blitz for a Oscar hopeful, have many in Hollywood desperate to see Munich -- creating just the type of buzz Spielberg was probably after.

Already, bookmakers have it listed as the outright favourite to win best picture on March 5.