OLYMPIC SPORTS TAKING BETS ON BEST PICTURE OSCAR

They won't open the envelope until Feb. 29, 2004 (probably Mar. 1 for bleary-eyed East Coast viewers) but Olympic Sports (www.thegreek.com) already is accepting wagers on which film will win the Oscar for Best Picture of 2003 at the 77th Academy Awards, next spring.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica-They won't open the envelope until Feb. 29, 2004 (probably Mar. 1 for bleary-eyed East Coast viewers) but Olympic Sports (www.thegreek.com) already is accepting wagers on which film will win the Oscar for Best Picture of 2003 at the 77th Academy Awards, next spring.

Olympic has a sweet 16 list of possible winners (nominees won't be announced until January) but those interested in matching celluloid expertise with the Greek can suggest any film (e-mail www.support@thegreek.com) and Olympic oddsmakers will provide a price. All bets are action, even if the movie fails to gain a nomination.

The early 5/2 favorite is The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Release date: Dec. 17). Not only has the third novel of the classic J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy transformed fantasy fiction into a new and acceptable genre but those who have seen clips also say that this is the best of the triumvirate. Voters may feel compelled to reward "Return of the King," not so much on its own merits, but as a way of honoring the hugely successful trilogy over all.

Childhood friends Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins return to Boston 25 years after the murder of Penn's daughter in Mystic River (Oct. 8), a well-received character study mystery directed by Clint Eastwood. The film opened as the 7/2-second choice.

Cold Mountain (Dec. 25) holds its own at odds of 5/1. The former stars Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger in a Civil War drama based on the best selling Charles Frazier novel.

Big Fish (Dec. 10) is available at 8/1. "Big Fish" really is four fish tales in one with Ewan McGregor trying to learn more about his dying father, Albert Finney, in a quartet of flashbacks.

The House of Sand and Fog (Dec. 26), and Seabiscuit (July 25), compete at odds of 10/1. "House" presents Oscar winners Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley in a tug-of-war over a residence while "Seabiscuit" chronicles the rags to riches racing career of the depression-era thoroughbred.

Two other films, Lost in Translation (Sept. 12) and Master and Commander: Far Side of the World (Nov. 14) enter the Oscar fray at odds of 12/1, each. Bill Murray has a juicy role as an American in Japan on a soul-searching mission while "Commander" is an epic in which Russell Crowe lends star power to the role of a British captain patrolling the seas during the Napoleonic Wars in 1806.

Those looking for a little more bang for their buck could do worse than 21 Grams (Nov. 21), a 20/1 offering of how the lives of a former drug addict and single mother (Naomi Watts), a terminally ill math professor (Sean Penn) and a spiritual ex-convict (Benicio Del Toro) intertwine following an automobile accident.

Longshot players also could train their sights on Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai (Dec. 5), The Alamo (Dec. 25), Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman in The Human Stain (Oct. 31), Tommy Lee Jones and Kate Blanchett in The Missing (Nov. 19), Finding Nemo (May 30), the Quentin Tarantino directed Kill Bill: Vol. I (Oct. 10) or the Julia Roberts led Mona Lisa Smile (Dec. 19), all of which are at least 25/1.

Two other films not currently on the list but worthy of consideration are a pair of Dec. 12 releases, The Statement and Something's Gotta Give. "Statement" is about a former Nazi sympathizer, played by Michael Caine, living quietly in the south of France, who becomes the target of police, assassins and a Nazi hunter.

Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton star in Something's Gotta Give, a mature comedy where a stricken Nicholson and his doctor (Keanu Reeves) compete for the affections of the mother (Diane Keaton) of his trophy girlfriend.

ODDS TO WIN THE 2003 ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST PICTURE
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 5/2
Mystic River             7/2
Cold Mountain             5/1
Big Fish             8/1
The House of Sand and Fog      10/1
Seabiscuit            10/1
Lost in Translation         12/1
Master and Commander: Far Side of the World 12/1
21 Grams            20/1
The Last Samurai         25/1
The Alamo            25/1
The Human Stain            25/1
The Missing            30/1
Finding Nemo            30/1
Kill Bill: Vol. I         40/1
Mona Lisa Smile            50/1
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