Best Supporting Actress: After losing Best Actress two years in a row, perhaps Renee Zellweger will have better luck in this category for her role as Cold Mountain’s intrepid farm girl, Ruby. Her Best Actress competition both times included Nicole Kidman, who might land in this race as well, thanks to her turn as a cleaning woman in The Human Stain.

Mystic River’s Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney are both impressive in pivotal roles, while Big Fish co-star Jessica Lange tries for her first nomination since winning Best Actress in 1995 for Blue Sky. And Emma Thompson, who already owns Oscars in the lead-actress and adapted-screenplay categories, could win a spot here for her standout performance in the ensemble romance Love Actually, while Catherine O’Hara could win her first nomination for her scene stealing in A Mighty Wind.

Indie candidates include Lost In translation breakout Scarlett Johansson, Holly Hunter as Thirteen’s frantic mom, American Splendor’s nebbishy spouse Hope Davis, The Station Agent’s reclusive artist Patricia Clarkson, The Magdalene Sister, villain Geraldine McEwan, whale Rider’s teen hero Keisha Castle-Hughes, 21 Grams suffering wife Melissa Leo, and The Cooler temptress Maria Bello. Young Stars are coming from the majors, too: Natalie Portman (Cold Mountain’s young widow, Sara); Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, and Maggie Gyllenhaal (as Julia Roberts students in Mona Lisa Smile); and Matchstick Men ingénue Alison Lohman.

Here’s their list:

Renée Zellweger – Cold Mountain
Nicole Kidman – The Human Stain
Marcia Gay Harden – Mystic River
Laura Linney – Mystic River
Jessica Lange – Big Fish
Emma Thompson – Love, Actually
Catherine O’Hara – A Mighty Wind
Scarlett Johansson – Lost In Translation
Holly Hunter – Thirteen
Hope Davis – American Splendor
Patricia Clarkson – The Station Agent
Gerladine McEwan – The Magdalene Sisters
Keisha Castles-Hughes – Whale Rider
Melissa Leo – 21 Grams
Maria Bello – The Cooler
Natalie Portman – Cold Mountain
Kirsten Dunst – Mona Lisa Smile
Julia Stiles – Mona Lisa Smile
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Mona Lisa Smile
Alison Lohman – Matchstick Men

Among Ivies, the competition is admittedly stiff. Columbia has Julia Stiles, Harvard had Natalie Portman, Princeton is getting that girl from Blue Crush with the mismatched eyes, and Brown was deemed a mecca for children of the rich and famous by Vanity Fair last February.