James Bond foiled again in best picture Oscar mission

But generally Bond has faired poorly at the Oscars, winning just two statuettes - sound effects for 1964 film "Goldfinger" and special visual effects for "Thunderball" released in 1965.

The Oscars have tended to overlook major movie franchises, a fact that irked the likes of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe who was a vocal critic of the Academy for overlooking the eight-part boy wizard series.

The British media tends to take a parochial approach to the Oscars, viewing them through a patriotic lens and borrowing repeatedly from screenwriter Colin Welland's acceptance speech over 30 years ago when he won for "Chariots of Fire".

"I'd like to finish with a word of warning," he proclaimed. "You may have started something. The British are coming."

In 2009 and 2011 there were British "invasions", in the form of "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The King's Speech" respectively, but in 2010 and 2012 there were not.

In 2013, the British focus will be on Daniel Day-Lewis, in the running for his third best actor statuette for his portrayal of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's biopic "Lincoln".

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