Their Next Big Things

Not surprisingly, ace character actor William H. Macy is among the busiest Oscar nominees: He plays a porn star's husband in Boogie Nights (May 23), a military officer who helps rescue the President (Harrison Ford) in Air Force One (July 25), a 1950s dad in the fairy tale Pleasantville — with fellow nominee Joan Allen — and an FBI agent in Wag the Dog. He also shows up in the indies Colin Fitz and Hit Me.

Armin Mueller-Stahl will appear in two Showtime roles: a juror in a remake of Twelve Angry Men and a rabbi in In the Presence of Mine Enemies. He also stars as a controversially charming Adolf Hitler in Conversations With the Beast, which he wrote and directed.

After his brief foray into upstanding citizenship with The People vs. Larry Flynt, Primal Fear's lowlife Edward Norton will play a neo-Nazi skinhead in American History X.

James Woods lends his voice to Disney's summer cartoon Hercules (as the villain Hades), plays a government official in July's Matthew McConaughey-Jodie Foster extraterrestrial thriller Contact, and is a New York crook in the July release Kicked in the Head.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS Joan Allen, The Crucible's stoic spouse, will star as John Travolta's wife in John Woo's action-packed Face/Off (June 27), Kevin Kline's missus in Ang Lee's '70s family drama The Ice Storm (October), and Macy's better half in Pleasantville.

Next for Lauren Bacall is the role of a mysterious oracle in the ostensible tearjerker Le Jour et la Nuit, already notorious for eliciting laughs and boos at the Berlin Film Festival.

Juliette Binoche is reportedly vying with Kristin Scott Thomas for the female lead opposite Harrison Ford in the Bosnian drama The Age of Aquarius.

Brit Marianne Jean-Baptiste adopts an American accent as Annabella Sciorra's best friend in the indie comedy Mr. Jealousy, also with Eric Stoltz.

Barbara Hershey has no definite projects scheduled at the moment.

BEST DIRECTOR Fargo mastermind Joel Coen is now directing Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges in the kidnapping caper The Big Lebowski, set for release in November. He'll follow with the WWII exploratory saga To the White Sea, possibly starring Brad Pitt.

Milos Forman will lighten up with the New York romantic comedy The Little Black Book and is also attached to a biopic of the late comic Andy Kaufman.

Shine's Scott Hicks will reportedly kick off his first-look DreamWorks deal with the farm-town fable Arkansas and is slated to direct the film version of Donna Tartt's 1992 collegiate murder mystery, The Secret History.

Next for Mike Leigh is the August release Career Girls (featuring a score by his Secrets & Lies discovery Marianne Jean-Baptiste). He's now seeking funding for a film bio of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Anthony Minghella has yet to choose a follow-up to The English Patient, which is hardly a surprise: His last effort, Mr. Wonderful, was released four years ago.