With Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walken, Michael Caine and Paul Newman all nominated for Academy Awards this year, the Oscars promise to more closely resemble an AARP convention than an actual awards show.

Nicholson and Caine are nominated in the lead category for “About Schmidt” and “The Quiet American,” respectively. They are accompanied by Adrien Brody, nominated for “The Pianist,” Nicholas Cage for “Adaptation” and Daniel Day-Lewis for “Gangs of New York.”

Walken and Newman are honored with supporting actor nominations for “Catch Me If You Can” and “The Road to Perdition,” also respectively. They are joined by Chris Cooper, nominated for “Adaptation,” Ed Harris for “The Hours” and John C. Reilly for “Chicago.”

In the supporting actor race, Newman certainly boasts the most notable career of the group. However, despite his nine previous nominations and two honorary Oscars, he has only actually walked home a winner once before, that for Best Actor in 1987’s “The Color of Money.”

Walken is another previous winner, claming supporting honors in 1979 for “The Deer Hunter.” Harris is no stranger to the awards ? he has been notably snubbed over the course of the past decade for roles in “The Truman Show,” “Apollo 13” and “Pollock.” Reilly has garnered praise for his work in films like “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia” as well as his Broadway performance in “True West,” where he and co-lead Philip Seymour Hoffman switched roles from show to show. Cooper is clearly the relative rookie of the group, although many noted his disturbing turn as a militant father in “American Beauty.”

In the lead category, Brody plays the “rookie” of the group, although with praised performances in films like “Summer of Sam” and “Liberty Heights,” he is hardly a great unknown.

The other four nominees have already established themselves among Hollywood’s upper echelons. Nicholson won his first Best Actor in 1976 for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and has picked up a total of 12 nominations and three wins over his storied career.

Caine has twice won supporting honors, for “Hannah and Her Sisters” (1987) and “Cider House Rules” (2000). He also found the time to make nearly 100 movies and to be knighted by the Queen of England.

Cage receives only his second nomination, winning in 1996 for his turn as a suicidal drunk in “Leaving Las Vegas.” However, Cage’s career is hardly limited to such heavy dramas — he has carved out a niche for himself with highly successful action movies like “The Rock,” “Con Air” and “Face/Off.”

Lewis rounds out the group with his third career nomination, winning for “My Left Foot” in 1990 and receiving widespread acclaim for his role in “The Boxer.”

When it comes to actually making predictions, both categories are agonizingly close. In the supporting field, John C. Reilly has the backing of Miramax, a studio that specializes in purchasing Academy Awards. “Chicago” could sweep the show, and, if it does, Reilly’s convincing performance as the naive Amos Hart should carry him to victory.

However, voters may be looking to bestow a final honor upon Newman who is nearing 80 years and putting the finishing touches on a career that many argue is cinema’s finest ever.

Also don’t be surprised if voters decide to go with Walken for his serious role in a more light-hearted film, something that may make a welcome contrast as American politics face heavy times.

Do count on Harris being snubbed yet again, and despite his Golden Globe win, should Cooper take home the prize, one may expect cosmic changes of a spectacular degree, as hell will have surely frozen over.

In the lead group, Lewis is the only actor backed by Miramax, and he did win several critics’ awards, but the poor public reception of “Gangs of New York” should severely hamper his chances. Look for Brody to upset his elders and go home a winner for his painfully emotional role in “The Pianist,” a performance that Peter Travers of “Rolling Stone” praises as, “showing bruises beyond words and tears.”

Caine’s work simply isn’t on par with the other nominees and Cage’s film is a tad too strange for the Academy’s taste. If there’s going to be an upset, look for Nicholson, riding high after a Golden Globe win, to take the stage in his trademark black shades.