By Pete Hammond of goldderby.com

Well, we are still a month and a half from the Emmys, but Hollywood is
already in panic mode on the Oscars, which are fully7 months away with
most contenders unseen as of this date. Studios have hired veteran "Oscar
consultants" who are already in their offices plotting away, setting
screening dates and working to spread buzz on films even many of them
haven't yet seen. So though it's only been a mere 5 months since Sean and
Charlize joined the club and we watched "Lord of the Rings: The Return of
the King" take an historic sweep into the Oscar annals, most of those in
the Oscar Know are speculating on all the Fall goodies that could take the
prize in February '05.

Looking at the early list there's already a great sense of deja vu with
potential nominees like Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, Cate Blanchett, Kevin
Kline, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp to name a few who are
all angling for Oscar playing dead icons from Ray Charles to Alexander the
Great! And don't count out the ultimate biopic performance of all with Jim
Caviezel going for the gold as You-Know-Who. For that matter, could George
W. Bush, who reportedly is still among the living, actually help push
Michael Moore into the Best Picture race with a documentary that would be
an academy first? Can two-time winner Meryl Streep grab the gold for a
performance non-winner Angela Lansbury should have won for 44 years ago in
"Manchurian Candidate"? Will Jim Carrey finally earn the attention of the
Academy? Is there a rematch in store for Best Actor runners-up Bill Murray
and Johnny Depp? Will Tom finally Cruise to the podium? Can Oscar winner
Kevin Spacey win for playing Oscar loser Bobby Darin? Is Robert Wise
getting his pen out again to praise Martin Scorsese? Will "Phantom of the
Opera" make the Oscar race look more like the Tonys?

These and many other questions like them are not about to be answered
soon. It's only AUGUST, folks! Let the Oscar race begin!

Below are GoldDerby's best bets to make the list -- well, at least some
list this awards season. Some of these will probably fall by the wayside
while some not listed here may well turn up in the winner's circle. We'll
update as we go along and present a running commentary on all the
happenings as the contest intensifies. Right now here is how we see it in
the top four categories. If you haven't seen or even heard of some of
these titles take comfort. Neither have the Academy voters --- yet.


BEST PICTURE
"Alexander"
"The Aviator"
"Closer"
"Collateral"
"Fahrenheit 9/11"
"Finding Neverland"
"House of Flying Daggers"
"I Heart Huckabee's"
"Kinsey"
"The Life Aquatic"
"The Motorcycle Diaries"
"The Passion of the Christ"
"Phantom of the Opera"
"Ray"
"Sideways"
"Spanglish"


BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, "The Life Aquatic"
James L. Brooks, "Spanglish"
Bill Condon, "Kinsey"
Marc Forster, "Finding Neverland"
Mel Gibson, "The Passion of the Christ"
Taylor Hackford, "Ray"
Michael Mann, "Collateral"
Michael Moore, "Farenheit 9/11"
Mike Nichols, "Closer"
Alexander Payne, "Sideways"
David O. Russell, "I Heart Huckabee's"
Walter Salles, "The Motorcycle Diaries"
Joel Schumacher "Phantom of the Opera"
Martin Scorsese, "The Aviator"
Oliver Stone, "Alexander"
Zhang Zhimou, "House of Flying Daggers"

Check out GoldDerby.com for more!