Oscars buzz begins at Telluride

Reese Witherspoon is being tipped for another best actress Oscar nomination for Wild

Hilary Swank, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell are some of the names already being tipped for the Oscars race after their movies were shown at the Telluride Film Festival.

Reese is being hailed for her performance in Wild, based on the best-selling non-fiction book by Cheryl Strayed about her hike across the 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail and directed by Dallas Buyers Club's Jean-Marc Vallee, which had its world premiere at the festival in Colorado over Labour Day weekend.

Laura Dern is also said to have given a scene-stealing performance as Cheryl's mother in the film.

Hilary Swank's performance in Western The Homesman, directed by and co-starring Tommy Lee Jones, is being compared to her Oscar-winning performance in Million Dollar Baby.

Critics also hailed funnyman Steve Carell's "unrecognisable" and "terrifying" portrayal of John E DuPont, a wealthy eccentric who set himself up as the sponsor of a wrestling team in the 80s, in Foxcatcher.

And Benedict Cumberbatch's starring role as codebreaker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game was also said to be very well received.