Steve Martin hosts the 75th Academy Awards ceremony on March 23rd at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood (8:30 p.m., ABC). Street offers predictions on the winners, and hopes that Martin will, uh, bring down the house. Best Picture Chicago Gangs of New York The Hours The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers The Pianist Marty will win in another category, The Hours isn't popular enough, The Lord of the Rings will win next year, and The Pianist is the annual "World War II film that won't win" nomination. Expect Chicago to win, the first deserved Best Picture winner in quite some time. Best Actor Adrien Brody (The Pianist) Nicolas Cage (Adaptation) Michael Caine (The Quiet American) Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York) Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt) Many people want to know why Daniel Day-Lewis isn't in the supporting category, but that doesn't matter: Nicholson ditched his normal shtick to bring us a heartbreaking and Oscar-worthy performance. Best Actress Salma Hayek (Frida) Nicole Kidman (The Hours) Diane Lane (Unfaithful) Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven) Renee Zellweger (Chicago) When films are represented twice in one category, they usually cancel each other out. In this case, however, Kidman's prosthetic nose and Hayek's unibrow should eliminate each other, clearing the way for Zellweger's walk to the podium. Best Director Pedro Almodovar (Talk to Her) Stephen Daldry (The Hours) Rob Marshall (Chicago) Roman Polanski (The Pianist) Martin Scorsese (Gangs of New York) "And the winner for Best Director... Martin Scorsese for Taxi Driver! Er, Raging Bull! Um, Goodfellas?" Let's just say that Peter O'Toole won't be the only one winning a Lifetime Achievement Award this year. Best Makeup Frida The Time Machine Okay, okay, this isn't a major category, but it is a travesty nonetheless. Why only two nominees? Because the Academy decided that these two films were the only ones eligible to be nominated. That's right, the only decent makeup work in 2002 involved time travel and a unibrow. While many films got the shaft, the worst omissions: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (the first film won, so no need for this one to win, despite new characters with new makeup), as well as Gangs of New York and Chicago (they weren't realistic enough for the Academy... even though Moulin Rouge was nominated last year). So who's gonna win? Frida... because they made a hot chick look, um, not hot.

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