The screen adaptation of "Les Miserables" is being talked about as Oscar material and its star Hugh Jackman has welcomed the buzz as recognition of how hard it is to transform a musical to the screen.
French blockbuster "Les Intouchables" and Austrian Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner "Love" are hot tips for best foreign language Oscar, from a long-list of candidates published Monday.
Iran announced on Monday it was yanking its entry in the Oscars race because of the "intolerable insult" of the US-made anti-Islam film that has angered Muslims in several countries.