January 1, 2004

BY CINDY PEARLMAN

Even those in Hollywood make New Year's resolutions.

A new year gives Tinseltown the opportunity to say, "Out with the old and in with the new." Enough of the Colins, Renees and Nicoles. A brand new slate as the calendar turns means that the public is ripe to embrace new favorites or rediscover some old ones. In a few months, we all might finally be saying, "Paris who? Oh, she was so last year."

One note: You don't have to be an unknown to suddenly be hot. See Robert Redford and Christopher Walken, who have been around the block, but will mark next year as one of the busiest in their careers. You can be an actress on the verge of domination who finally cements the deal, as in Queen Latifah, who has three films due out. Of course, it never hurts to have a new face -- and a handsome one at thata -- to explore. Hello Gerard Butler and Diego Luna.

Who will score in 2004? Read on.

THE QUEEN: Queen Latifah, who was good to us as Mama Morton in "Chicago," is ready to have her name over the title. To that end, she stars as a single mom in "Taxi." She has a choice role in February in "Barbershop 2" and will have her own spin-off, "Beauty Shop," which is due out later in the year. She plays the street-smart, scissors-wielding, no-nonsense Gina, who owns the beauty shop next door. In other words, she's in charge, which is the way we like her.

THE WAITING-IN-THE-WINGS WONDER: Yes, we saw Josh Hartnett try to find a pulse in Ben Affleck in "Pearl Harbor," and then he had to do the heavy lifting to get Harrison Ford through "Hollywood Homicide." No longer bogged down by his elders, Hartnett branches out soon in "Wicker Park," a thriller shot in Chicago about a young man who falls deeply in love with a woman who vanishes for two years and then shows up again. Hopefully, Hartnett will get to show his real stuff this time.

THE COOL CAT: Who let the Dogg in? Snoop Dogg beat out several bigger names in Hollywood to star in the upcoming "Soul Plane," a film about an airline that has sexy stews and loud rap music, and instead of getting leg cramps during your journey, you can work out the kinks in an onboard dance club that Snoop rules. If that weren't enough, he shows up as a cultural icon this spring opposite Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in "Starsky & Hutch." Two words: Huggy Bear.

THE UNKNOWNS: Remember these names. Chris Smith. Dan Ollman. Sarah Price. If you're saying, "Who?" well, they're the documentary filmmaking team that won a Sundance Grand Jury Prize a few years back for "American Movie." Their 2004 film, "The Yes Men," revolves around a group of pranksters pretending to be activists. Oh, and they're so good that everyone believes them.

THE PUSH-GWYNETH-AND-SANDRA-TO-THE-SIDE PLAYER: She put a smile on depressed Bill Murray's face in "Lost in Translation" and then made the period piece "Girl With a Pearl Earring" win all that critical notice. Scarlett Johansson has certainly moved past her child actress days in "The Horse Whisperer" to that lofty perch of being able to carry a film. That's exactly what she will do in the new year in "The Perfect Score," about kids heisting the SAT exam. She deals with her late mom in "A Love Song for Bobby Long." It's Scarlett and Helen Hunt in the upcoming drama "A Good Woman" and Chris and Paul Weitz just cast her in "Synergy," an office drama with Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace.

HE IS THE FUTURE: Maybe it was being cooped up in Romania for all those months that got Jude Law in an antsy mood. The handsome Brit is in overdrive in 2004. He plays Sky Captain, a flyboy who seeks adventure, in "The World of Tomorrow" opposite Gwyneth Paltrow. Then he updates that legendary womanizer made famous by Albert Finney in the remake of "Alfie." He will also star as Errol Flynn in the Howard Hughes flick "The Aviator." And then he will be your kids' favorite as the voice of Lemony Snicket.

THE TEEN QUEEN: Lindsay Lohan, our favorite star of "The Parent Trap" and "Freaky Friday," is at the 'plex with "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen," in which the 18-year-old exhibits maximum 'tude when her folks make her move from New York to what she calls "the cultural wasteland of New Jersey." In the future film "Mean Girls," she's attending high school in Illinois and dealing with cliques who won't let her sit with them at lunch.

THE NEW HARRISON FORD: While we're waiting to keep up with the Indiana Joneses again, thankfully, Hugh Jackman is around for all our summer adventure needs. The handsome Aussie stars as "Van Helsing" in a movie that kicks off the summer movie seasons. Van what? Well, he hunts monsters, gets rid of evil, deals with Count Dracula, Wolf Man and Frankenstein, makes love to Kate Beckinsale and looks adorable every single frame.

THE BOY WONDER: Just in case you're having Hogwarts withdrawal, it's now less than six months until Harry Potter and pals return for their third-year wizarding. Daniel Radcliffe is back as the Muggle minder in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," in which he deals with renegade wizard Sirius Black. We hear that he's been allowed to age like a real kid under the new direction of Alfonso Cuaron.

THE CARRY-OVER COUPLE: We're still on the Bennifer beat because if you thought "Gigli" was scrutinized last year, just wait until the coosome twosome takes another stab at the box office in "Jersey Girl" this spring. Ben is already calling it his best performance ever and spreading the word that J. Lo dies early in the movie. If that ain't true love -- and career-saving words -- well, then nothing is.

THE INSTITUTION: Robert Redford begins the year with his Sundance Film Festival and then moves on to the big, buzzworthy films "The Clearing" (in which he plays a kidnapping victim) and "An Unfinished Life" (as J. Lo's father-in-law, who lets her move to his Wyoming ranch with her young daughter). Of course, being a nature guy, Redford also gets some public service in there as the narrator in "Sacred Planet." Did we mention that he's 66 years old and not resting on his laurels?

THE HOTTIES: This year, there's Diego Luna, star of "Y Tu Mama Tambien." He has the lead in "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" and a role in Steven Spielberg's "The Terminal" with Tom Hanks. ... And then there's Gerard Butler, who has the lead in Joel Schumacher's "Phantom of the Opera," the romantic musical about a masked man who falls in love ... Lest we forget, Clive Owen finally gets to rule in "King Arthur." He has also been tapped by Mike Nichols to star in "The Closer."

ODD MAN "IN": There will be a lot of Christopher Walken moments this year. The eccentric actor is featured in a slew of upcoming movies, including "Man on Fire," where he rides shotgun opposite Denzel Washington, whose young charge has been kidnapped in Mexico City. He annoys Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler and those other "Stepford Wives" in the big-screen remake. He's a drifter in "Envy," opposite Ben Stiller. The closer is a big-screen musical opposite James Gandolfini and Susan Sarandon called "Romance & Cigarettes."

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