By BOB THOMPSON --
For the last two years, Oscar went indie cool, but the 70th edition could be more like Hollywood squares.
Indeed, if Oscar is getting lonely for familiar faces, the March 23 party might help.
Call next spring's Oscars a return of the natives.
Jack Nicholson, Kevin Kline, Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Sigourney Weaver and Peter Fonda are all likely candidates for Oscar nominations Feb. 10, which is when they will be announced.
If that's the case, it will be a relief to the TV network airing the telecast, and the big studios who feel more comfortable promoting their so-called big stars.
"The last couple of Oscars had no glam in the glitter," says an insider who refers to those Academy Awards as "independently boring."
Certainly, best picture nomination candidates have Hollywood written all over them.
James Cameron's controversial Titanic and Spielberg's Amistad are bound to snag at least 10 majors apiece as the leaders.
L.A. Confidential won't be far behind. Nicholson's comeback, As Good As It Gets, is expected to get lots.
The Robert De Niro-Dustin Hoffman two hander Wag The Dog, directed by Barry Levinson, is getting lots of nomination support.
Jim Sheridan's The Boxer, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, should be accounted for, and so should The Full Monty, a small movie with big studio support.
Good Will Hunting figures to get lots of attention, too, for its actors.
In the actress category, look for the us against them thing. If the voters are high on Hollywood, this list will go to Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets), Jodie Foster, (Contact), Joan Allen (The Ice Storm), comeback kid Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) and Jennifer Lopez (Selena). If not, figure on a few of these -- Helena Bonham Carter (The Wings Of The Dove), Judi Dench (Mrs. Brown), and Kate Winslet (Titanic).
Tough one for actors. Pick 'em with Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, Daniel Day-Lewis in The Boxer, Peter Fonda in Ulee's Gold, Djimon Hounsou for Amistad.
In the higher profile part there is Pacino (Donnie Brasco), Nicholson (As Good As It Gets), Hoffman (Wag The Dog), Samuel L. Jackson for Jackie Brown, and Kevin Kline doing In & Out.
It will be a surprise if Kim Basinger isn't nominated for L.A. Confidential in a supporting role. Ditto Joan Cusack for In & Out. Include Sigourney Weaver and Christina Ricci in The Ice Storm. Sarah Polley has an outside chance for The Sweet Hereafter.
Sure things in the supporting actor category are Rupert Everett for saving My Best Friend's Wedding, and Anthony Hopkins in Amistad. Greg Kinnear is bound for supporting actor glory in As Good As It Gets. So is Burt Reynolds for Boogie Nights, now that Reynolds has been told the movie wasn't as bad as he thought it was.
Directors? James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets), Cameron (Titanic), Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential), Sheridan (The Boxer), Spielberg (Amistad), and Atom Eogyan (The Sweet Hereafter).
Winners will be for another time. But you've got to admit that it feels good, doesn't it, to have Jack back.
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