It is that time of year again, when Hollywood allows a little guy named Oscar to cause flop sweats, palpitations, and general mayhem.

Yes, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will honor its own Monday, March 26, when it bestows upon a few lucky people the moniker, "Academy Award Winner."

Such a prestigious title has inflated the once modest Awards banquet into a TV affair watched by approximately 1 billion people worldwide. The hype is enough to make Batman whimper.

This year, the Academy decided to revamp the entire feel of the show after last year's debacle -- a painful marathon which was so campy and tasteless that some Academy dignitaries were moved to write a complaint letter clamoring for change.

So, exit last year's producer Allan Carr, enter 1990 helmsman Gilbert Cates. Monday's spectacle will highlight film's new "world view," thanks to satellite technology. Awards will be announced by presenters sent by the Academy to such places as Moscow and Sydney. Winners will still tear and gush from the comfort of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the site of the ceremony, however.

But be it Sydney or Los Angeles, what is really important is who will take home the statuette and who will have to grit their teeth and spout a cliche like, "Oh yes, that person deserved the award much more."

This year's Oscars may not be the drone, predictable spectacle of years past, as many nominees have legitimate claims in their respective categories.

The nominees for Best Actor are the most diverse bunch. Daniel Day-Lewis seems most deserving of the Oscar, for his performance of cerebral palsy victim Christy Brown in My Left Foot.

It is quite possible, however, that Tom Cruise will do what few have done before him, win the award after his first nomination for Born on the Fourth of July. (Although, last year Jodie Foster did just that for her portrayal in The Accused). Personally, I'll always remember Cruise for Cocktail and will enjoy the shoddy production numbers more than a Cruise victory.

Morgan Freeman is not favored, although his performance in Driving Miss Daisy was certainly one of the year's best. Robin Williams, while giving a subdued and visceral performance in Dead Poets Society, has done better work. For the adventurous type, Kenneth Branagh in Henry V is the long shot, and his concurrent director nomination hinders him further than his limited release film.

The Best Actress award is also a tough call, with octogenarian Jessica Tandy the favorite for her portrayal of Daisy Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy. Tandy is probably most likely to win, as Michelle Pfeiffer, the other favorite for The Fabulous Baker Boys, will have many more chances. The Academy has a history of presenting awards for sentimental reasons, a la Geraldine Page in 1985's The Trip to Bountiful.

Jessica Lange gave the best performance of the year, in my opinion, portraying lawyer Ann Talbot in Costa-Gavras' chilling Music Box.

Isabelle Adjani in Camille Claudel, and Pauline Collins in Shirley Valentine, both received critical laurels for their respective performances, but are considered long shots.

The nominees for Best Supporting Actor are a hodge podge of sorts. Youngster Denzel Washington was the most effective of the group, portraying a Civil War soldier fighting in an all-black regiment in Glory.

Washington's competition is stiff, especially from veteran actor Martin Landau and Do the Right Thing's Danny Aiello. Landau's performance as a tortured soul in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors was superb, and Aiello's fiery Italian Sal in Spike Lee's film, was equally impressive. Lee's film was shafted to begin with, so Aiello is a good bet.

Aykroyd played against type in Driving Miss Daisy, thus showing the Academy he could dew a gud Suthern drawl, but was not incredibly special.

Frankly, how Marlon Brando slipped into this category is a mystery, as his part in the anti-apartheid film A Dry White Season was small and not terribly descriptive. Brando did well with what was there, but his nomination is a little shaky.

Best Supporting Actress could be renamed Best Performance as a Wife. Julia Roberts snapped up the Golden Globe Award, sometimes an Oscar precursor, but Roberts' performance in Steel Magnolias is not the best in the film, nor the best in the category. But Roberts still has a good chance of winning.

The real fight should be between Brenda Fricker -- My Left Foot -- and Lena Olin Enemies, A Love Story -- with Olin triumphant at the wife. Olin's performance as dejected wife Mahsa gives new meaning to the word neurotic. Fricker, as the mother of artist Christy Brown, does the subtle and supportive role to a tee, adding dimension to boot. But Olin was simply too powerful; she should win.

Angelica Huston and Dianne Wiest have both previously won their Oscars in this category. In Enemies, Huston gives her character a certain realism, but Olin's overpowering portrayal overshadows her. Wiest's mother-on- the-edge in Parenthood is a joy to watch fall apart, but her chances seem slim.

Director nominations usually go hand in hand with nominees for Best Picture, however this year's crop does not conform. Woody Allen was nominated for his film Crimes and Misdemeanors, but the film did not receive a Best Picture nod. Neither did Kenneth Branagh's Henry V.

Allen's return to more comic fare was a bright spot, with Crimes his best work since Hannah and her Sisters, but he probably will not win. Branagh's chances seem slight, although his remake of the 1945 Laurence Olivier classic was praised by most.

Stylistically, Peter Weir painted more than photographed Dead Poets Society, with an elegance completely opposite fellow Best Director nominee Oliver Stone. Stone's brutal imagery in Born on the Fourth of July, was much like his previous Oscar winner Platoon. My Left Foot director Jim Sheridan did not use special effects or exact editing, but the film is still is a masterpiece. All three pictures have been nominated Best Picture, as have Driving Miss Daisy and Field of Dreams.

These categories are the toughest to call since they depend on a lot of other winners. Battles in the acting and writing categories could determine director and picture, since the Academy often heaps awards on one picture. If Allen or Branagh win Best Director, look for Driving Miss Daisy to nab Best Picture honors. Field of Dreams seems to be the wild card. A middle-America picture with a lot of heart, it probably has little chance of winning.

If Stone, Sheridan or Weir triumph, their respective film will probably also prevail. Rarely has a director won without his subsequent picture winning also. 1981 is the most recent example, when Warren Beatty scooped up the Director prize, but his nominated Reds lost the Best Picture Award to sleeper Chariots of Fire. In my opinion, My Left Foot should win the double.

With Academy politics, it is hard to predict what will happen Monday. After all, it takes a lot more than talent to win an Academy Award.