WILL WINJames Cameron. I'm not going to take space from the other categories trying to explain why. Sure his lavish spending and tyrannical nature might turn off some voters. But, to paraphrase Cole Porter, if not Cameron, who?

SHOULD WINCameron's a pro and deserved one of these for Aliens. But this year, my vote's for Atom Egoyan, who communicated in The Sweet Hereafter an entire town's experience of a single event, exerting a rigorous, wide-ranging psychological acuity for which Cameron didn't even try.

Best Director

WILL WINJames Cameron for Titanic. Cameron does have a way with large-scale spectacle, but he also wrote a clunker of a script.

SHOULD WINCurtis Hanson for L.A. Confidential, who also had a hand in writing (or at least adapting) the script from Ellroy's classic novel--with much better success, complemented by crisp, savvy direction.

Best Actress

The British have invaded. Sole American Helen Hunt wowed many with her turn as the waitress-with-backbone (not to mention a great back) in As Good As It Gets, but she's too new a big-screen presence to win. Ditto for Kate Winslet(Titanic), who merits only compassion for her efforts to overcome a rotten script. Julie Christie(Afterglow) already has her Oscar dues; the showdown will likely be between Helena Bonham-Carter (The Wings of the Dove) and Judi Dench(Mrs. Brown).

WILL WINBonham-Carter. She's in the position Emma Thompson occupied just before winning for Howards' End: with ten years of well-received British films behind her, she seems poised for induction into the American club.

SHOULD WINBonham-Carter, who delivers her most intense and shaded performance yet as a manipulative yet sympathetic vixen.

Best Actor

WILL WINDamon (who will win one for his screenplay) and Hoffman (who already has two, doggonit), are easy to strike. I'm not convinced Peter Fonda's career ever impressed anyone enough to merit a "comeback" paean, so look for Robert Duvall to eke out a victory over SAG and Globe winner Nicholson, Duvall is much-admired and under-Oscared, and he wrote, directed, financed and starred in his picture...take that, Matt Damon!

SHOULD WINDamon may not multi-task as fully as Duvall, but he never showboats the way his competitor does and more effectively hid the weak spots in his own story.

Best Actor

Here the race is a deadlock between Robert Duvall's preacher from The Apostle and Peter Fonda's beekeeper from Ulee's Gold. Jack Nicholson (As Good As It Gets) and Dustin Hoffman (Wag the Dog) have already gotten more than their fair share of Oscars in the past; Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) is too new to the game.

WILL WINTough call, but Duvall has the edge; it's about time he gained full equality with the other "greats" of his generation--Pacino, De Niro, Hoffman, etc.