It seemed like only yesterday that I finished watching the 69th Annual Academy Awards, when they come right back again. Hopefully the producers this time around have learned not to shove too much into this show. Why not cut out some of that crap that most of us leave the room for (particularly last year's Lord of the Dance bomb), and add it to the amount of time the winners have to speak? We only get to hear them for 30 seconds, and that just isn't enough time. I mean, these people have worked their whole lives for this moment, and they get 30 seconds? Lengthen that time out a little!

However, with the upcoming Golden Globes awards, I thought I would share with my faithful readers (Hello? Anyone out there? *Crickets chirping*) my predictions for the Oscar nominations. This isn't a Siskel & Ebert prayer that the Academy will remember those long forgotten performances, as mine will never be looked at by any of the voters. However, it will be a prayer, from me, to the Academy. I realize that I haven't seen a lot of the films out there, but I am trying. Watch for updates and stuff. By the way, if you are interested on how the Oscar nominations actually turned out, click on Oscar Nominations for 1997. Here are my choices for films, actors, and actresses to be nominated, in no particular order...

• Charlize Theron, The Devil's Advocate. Who would have expected that Ms. Theron would steal the film from Al Pacino?
• Gloria Stuart, Titanic. After a long-term hiatus from film, Ms. Stuart is back, and she deserves something, even if just a nomation.
• Kim Basinger, L.A. Confidential. Simply the best of the group (oops, that was being biased). She doesn't just deserve the nomination...
• Julianne Moore, Boogie Nights. From The Lost World to this film? What a change!
• Joan Cusack, In & Out. Stole many of the scenes from Kline, and deserves this nomination.

• Burt Reynolds, Boogie Nights. Obviously the favorite, and more than likely to win.
• Tom Selleck, In & Out. Who would have guessed that this officially straight actor would have such fun playing a gay man?
• Greg Kinnear, As Good As It Gets. Surprisingly, he was the best in the film, which is hard to say with Nicholson and Hunt.
• Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting. Williams has proven to be a more reliable dramatic actor, and with this, deserves a nomination.
• Kevin Spacey, L.A. Confidential. Best Supporting Actor again? Well, I had a hard time deciding between this one and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, but I opted for the better film.

• Paul Rudnick, In & Out. Hilarious writing... satire is hard and Rudnick does a good job.
• James Cameron, Titanic. Despite what many people say, this script is solid and shows what teenage love is really like.
• Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Good Will Hunting. What was I thinking leaving this film off the list??
• Neil LaBute, In the Company of Men. A Mormon guy writing a film about evil? Go LaBute! (I'm Mormon, myself)
• James Mangold, Cop Land. This was the best original corrupt-cop screenplay.

• Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland, L.A. Confidential. The best writing of the year.
• Elmore Leonard and Quentin Tarantino, Jackie Brown. Tarantino and Leonard? How could the writing not be good?
• Larry Beinhart, Hilary Henkin, and David Mamet, Wag the Dog. Again, satire is hard; meet the team of writers of the best satire in years.
• John Lee Hancock, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The writing was quite good, especially considering its non-fiction plot.
• James V. Hart and Michael Goldenberg, Contact. Mixing religion and science together to create a great film? Nah, could never happen.

• Jack Nicholson, As Good As It Gets. Good performance, but probably won't win. A nomination would suffice though.
• Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic. Who would have guessed after that flop, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet?
• Sylvester Stallone, Cop Land. More than likely forgotten by most critics, he was hailed as brilliant when it first was released. And guess what, he deserves the award.
• Dustin Hoffman, Wag the Dog. In his best role in years, Hoffman deserves at least a nomination.
• Kevin Kline, In & Out. The best comedic performance of the year.

• Jodie Foster, Contact. The best of the year, in my opinion.
• Kate Winslet, Titanic. The second best, but I hope Winslet will win some award. Being snubbed at the Golden Globes, perhaps Winslet deserves the award Foster already has two of.
• Pam Grier, Jackie Brown. The best of this film, and a comeback like Travolta's. However, she will probably have just as much luck as Travolta did at the awards.
• Demi Moore, G.I. Jane. Shrugging off bad reviews from Striptease, Moore comes back with a bang!
• Helena Bonham Carter, Wings of the Dove. Maybe the fore-runner of this category, but hopefully not.

• James Cameron, Titanic. Without a doubt, Cameron will win this one.
• Curtis Hanson, L.A. Confidential. Strong direction in this film noir critical hit.
• Paul Thomas Anderson, Boogie Nights. The most audacious of the bunch, but entirely appropriate for this category.
• Robert Zemeckis, Contact. After his dull Forrest Gump, Zemeckis punched things up with this controversial film about aliens.
• David Fincher, The Game. Hey, he is my favorite director, and this is my list. So shut up.

• Titanic. Will it be enough to take home the award? Let's hope so...
• Contact. Zemeckis already has one, and I doubt this one will even get nominated.
• Boogie Nights. This just might get nominated, but conservative voters may shy away from it.
• Cop Land. Long forgotten, but still powerful. Academy, don't forget it!
• L.A. Confidential. The critics' favorite and more likely to steal many nominations from Cameron's epic.

Other Awards

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Titanic
• Starship Troopers
• Dante's Peak

• Titanic
• The Fifth Element
• L.A. Confidential

• Titanic
• The Fifth Element
• L.A. Confidential
• The Devil's Advocate
• Gattaca