How Much for That Oscar?

By Kathleen Adams, Melissa August, Amanda Bower, Val Castronovo, Randy Hartwell, Ellin Martens, Sora Song and Josh Tyrangiel

Next week the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce its lustrous list of Oscar 2000 nominees. For weeks studio execs have been clambering to raise their products' profiles to catch the attention of Academy voters. Seducing Academy members with gifts is officially banned, but rules were meant to be bent. Here's a look at how studios are stumping:

WORTH A BITE Chocolat MIRAMAX Faced with lackluster reviews, the studio ran an ad quoting endorsements by Jesse Jackson and the Anti-Defamation League. It also drummed up press with a White House screening.

GREAT BRAWL OF CHINA CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON SONY PICTURES CLASSICS The bid for grass-roots buzz resulted in screenings for the Wu-Tang Clan and various players for the Yankees and Jets, plus a successful push to nab Entertainment Weekly's coveted Oscar-preview cover.

NOVEL SLEEPER BEFORE NIGHT FALLS FINE LINE Little-known Javier Bardem, who portrays Cuban novelist Reinaldo Arenas, was booked on the Early Show, Rosie, Charlie Rose and Weekend Today, while his director appeared in bookstores nationwide to sign copies of Arenas' work.

CINEMUS MAXIMUS Gladiator DREAMWORKS Long absent from most theaters, the film was screened at Academy HQ to "celebrate the DVD release." In further celebration, the studio sent out extravagant "making-of" coffee-table books.