OSCAR WATCH

POP QUIZ: How many American women have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director? Answer: Zero...so far. But the woman to change that may be Jodie Foster, whose sophomore directing effort, Home for the Holidays, is generating the kind of talk that could allow her to follow non-Yanks Lina Wertmuller (Seven Beauties) and Jane Campion (The Piano) as only the third female directing nominee in the history of the awards. Holidays could also be a very shrewd Oscar-related career move for some of the women on camera -- look for past winners Holly Hunter and Anne Bancroft to contend for nominations as, respectively, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. The latter category could look unusually starry if Sharon Stone's role in Casino gets noticed. If that sounds unlikely, keep in mind that director Martin Scorsese has a magic touch with supporting actresses; he's previously directed Diane Ladd, Jodie Foster, Cathy Moriarty, Lorraine Bracco, Juliette Lewis, and Winona Ryder to nominations. And speaking of Scorsese, it's hard to believe that in three tries, he's never won an Oscar -- and hard to believe he won't deserve one if Casino looks as good on screen as everyone wants it to.