Studios release movies in anticipation of the Oscars

By Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York," about the violent rivalries among America's early immigrants. Miramax

Although we've already seen plenty of good films and strong performances this year, the real awards season doesn't begin until after Thanksgiving. That's when the studio executives roll out the movies they think have the best chance to score a gold statuette.

The holiday rush leads to some odd circumstances. This year, perennial favorites Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg will have tough competition — from themselves.

Hanks could earn a best-actor nomination for "Road to Perdition" or a producer nod for "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." But he's also starring in Spielberg's holiday awards horse, "Catch Me if You Can," opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. It opens Christmas Day.

"Catch Me" could battle another Spielberg film, "Minority Report," for best-picture honors.

Most studios, banking on the notion that voters with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have short memories, save their best movies for year's end. The result: a series of blockbusters, as well as arty, smaller films, flooding the market. Some of the lesser-known movies will have limited openings in New York and Los Angeles to qualify for the Academy Awards, then open later nationwide.

Here's a look at the holiday offerings' chances to score gold. Opening dates, as always, are subject to change:

"Star Trek: Nemesis," starring Patrick Stewart and LeVar Burton. "The Next Generation" gang battles Romulans during its last mission.

Golden? The only golden statue in this one is Brent Spiner as Data.

Opens: Tomorrow.

"Maid in Manhattan," starring Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes. Call this "Pretty Woman" redux with J. Lo's domestic replacing Julia Roberts' hooker.

Golden? Not unless they start giving an award for title changes. This one was originally dubbed "The Chambermaid" but that sounded a little too 1800s.

Opens: Tomorrow.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen. The second installment of Tolkien's fantasy classic includes the monumental battle for Helm's Deep and Frodo and Sam edging ever closer to Mordor.

Golden? The last one was good enough to gain a best-picture nod, but will academy voters want to go there again? Hard to imagine Mortensen or McKellen with nominations, but anything can happen.

Opens: Wednesday.

"Adaptation," starring Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper. Charlie Kaufman (who penned "Being John Malkovich") writes the ultimate self-referential script, focusing on his struggles to craft a script based on a book about an iconoclastic orchid collector. Cage plays Kaufman and his charming, if shallow, twin brother.

Golden? The best chance is for Kaufman, who could win for best-adapted screenplay, although Cage could get a nomination for best actor and Cooper for best supporting. A dark-horse best-picture candidate.

Opens nationwide: Dec. 20.

Derek Luke and Joy Bryant star in "Antwone Fisher." FOX Searchlight

Golden? Tom Hanks did it, but can Washington win two in a row? Smart money says no, but the movie has some good buzz.

Opens: Dec. 20.

"Gangs of New York," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz. It's tough to get out the title without putting "long-awaited" in front, but Martin Scorsese's 19th-century New York street-hood epic can't be ignored.

Golden? Probably the film with the best chance for the best picture/director/actor (Day-Lewis) sweep, but then again, nobody's actually seen it yet.

Opens: Dec. 20.

"Two Weeks Notice," starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. Bullock is a nervy lawyer who has had enough of her eccentric boss (Grant), then realizes she might be falling for him.

Golden? Grant won't win for this, but there is some buzz around his performance in "About a Boy."

Opens: Dec. 20.

"Catch Me if You Can," with Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Walken. Spielberg directed this true story of '60s con man Frank Abagnale Jr., who impersonated pilots, doctors and professors, with Hanks as the FBI man in pursuit.

Golden? Strong candidate for best picture. If voters want to nominate Hanks, "Road to Perdition" is probably the stronger star turn.

Opens: Christmas Day.

"Pinocchio," starring Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi. Benigni (who scored gold with "Life Is Beautiful") in the title role as the wooden puppet who longs to be a real boy.

Golden? Early buzz has been less than great.

Opens: Christmas Day.

"About Schmidt," starring Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates. Powerful and darkly comic character study from director Alexander Payne ("Election") stars Nicholson as an insurance man who retires and then realizes that his life has added up to nothing.

Golden? Nicholson will almost surely garner a best-actor nod for his equally poignant and humorous performance, and you can never count out Bates.

Opens: Tomorrow in New York, Los Angeles, elsewhere Jan. 3.

"Chicago," starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere and Queen Latifah. Bob Fosse's 1975 Broadway hit about a 1920s murder trial hits the big screen.

Golden? Zellweger could land in the best-actress category, especially given last year's success of Chicago's kissing cousin, "Moulin Rouge."

Opens: In limited release Dec. 27.

"The 25th Hour," starring Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper. Soon-to-be-jailed drug dealer spends last day as a free man with friends and love interest (Rosario Dawson).

Golden? Not much talk here, but it's directed by Spike Lee.

Opens: In limited release Dec. 29.

"The Hours," starring Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep. Stellar cast charged with playing three women from different time periods connected by the Virginia Woolf novel. From Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning book.

Golden? Kidman is a strong candidate, but the other two actresses are more likely to get nominated for competing films — Moore for "Far From Heaven" and Streep for "Adaptation."

Opens: In limited release Dec. 27.

"Narc," starring Jason Patric and Ray Liotta. Urban drama about a rattled undercover officer (Patric) teaming with a corner-cutting lieutenant to solve a cop's murder.

Golden? It seemingly came out of nowhere, but both Patric and Liotta give top-notch performances.

Opens: In limited release Dec. 20.