33 Musts For 2004

13 Oscar Comes Early

Hoping to brush some of the glitter off the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the 76th Annual Academy Awards telecast moves up from late March to February 29 this year, with Billy Crystal as host. (It'll be his eighth time at the podium; he last held court in 2000). The big question: Do we have to wait for the next leap day for the 77th ceremony? (ABC)

14 Rufus, the Sequel

Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright intended Want, released last September to critical acclaim, to be a double album. But cooler heads (okay, music-industry realities) prevailed and instead it was cut in half; the first half was sent out as Want One. The rest, Want Two, arrives soon. (DreamWorks)

15 Rockin' in Style

Artist Guy Peellaert and author Nik Cohn's "colorful hallucinations" of a world where Otis Redding hangs on the dock of a bay--literally, if surreally--are the stuff of Rock Dreams, the latest title from fine-books publisher Taschen. The book is one of the must-browse titles at the company's new Beverly Hills store, itself a vision courtesy of design guru Philippe Starck. All in all, a pretty stylish way to spend an afternoon. (354 N. Beverly Dr., 310/274-4300)

16 Shutterbuggin'

Who needs a digicam? Not such pioneering photographers as Depression-era documentarian Walker Evans and absurdist Diane Arbus. These and more than 30 classic names are gathered for the March 16-July 25 Getty Center exhibit Photographers of Genius. Spanning the 19th and 20th centuries, it's all to commmemorate the 20th anniversary of the Getty's photo collection. (1200 Getty Center Dr., 310/440-7300)

17 Ahnuld's Coattails

Here's a cliffhanger: Will the newly elected Republican governor of California, one Arnold Schwarzenegger, help President Bush take the Golden State's whopping 55 electoral votes? Here's another: Will Dennis Miller--yes, that Dennis Miller--take on California U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer? This is one drama you can participate in--go to the polls. The general election's November 2.

18 Go West, Young Man

HBO made primo prime-time fodder of morticians, carnival freaks and mobsters. Next up: Old West types. The 13-episode Deadwood, from NYPD Blue cocreator David Milch, takes place in 1876 in the town of Deadwood, South Dakota, two weeks after General Custer and his troops got taken out there at Little Big Horn. Timothy Olyphant (Go) stars. No premiere date yet.

19 Mel on the Cross

No film will be debated on more talk shows or pews than Mel Gibson's reportedly self-financed, $30-million crucifixion epic The Passion of Christ. Already praised by evangelicals, denounced by Jewish leaders and bypassed by all the major studios, look for it on February 25. That's Ash Wednesday, for you non-Catholics.

20 So Long, Central Perk

Will Rachel and Joey's love bloom? Will Rachel and Ross's love return--again? Oh, who cares? After 10 years, this is our last season with some longtime Friends. But even though you're tired, and the cast is tired--they're only making 18 episodes, instead of the usual 24--these last episodes are must-sees. After all, it's not like we've got high hopes for that Joey spinoff. (NBC)

21 Ryan Seacrest, uh, Talks!

To be pop-culturally literate, you must keep tabs on this spiky haired, man-tanned man, who launches his new hybrid talk-variety syndicated show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, January 12. For the best view, visit his new two-floor studio at the Hollywood & Highland complex--either get seats inside or ogle TRL-style from just outside its glass walls.

22 Going Greek

Time is running out for the first major retrospective of 16th-century Spanish painter Domenikos Theotokopoulos--that's El Greco to his friends. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's three-month-long retrospective, featuring 70 works, closes January 11. So what's so great about El Greco? His paintings showed modernists like Picasso and Pollock how to get with it. (1000 Fifth Ave., New York City, 212/535-7710)

23 Hugh Jackman'll Slay Ya

Van Helsing, opening May 7, features Dracula, the Wolf Man and the Frankenstein monster for the kids--and a lanky, extension-haired Jackman (minus those marring X-Men muttonchops) for the rest of us. Sure, we like the concept: Jackman as author Bram Stoker's monster slayer. But mostly we like the Jackman: His first solo outing as an action star. (Universal)

24 Healthy and Hyper

The Urth Caffe, specializing in fresh-roasted, whole bean organic coffee, has been helping famous faces such as Hugh Jackman and Minnie Driver buzz up responsibly for almost a decade on Melrose and recently in Beverly Hills. This year, the Urth comes to the Republic of Santa Monica. Act like a regular and order the soy latte--rated tops in 2002 in the Los Angeles Times. (2327 Main St., Santa Monica)

25 Big Pussy Lives!

More than a half-dozen characters "whacked" by Tony Soprano--including Vincent Pastore's Big Pussy and maybe Joe Pantoliano's Ralph--will come back to life for an all-new episode of The Sopranos to air during the HBO series' fifth season, kicking off in March. More mob news: All the major players--even grumbly James Gandolfini--are on board for a sixth season, to begin shooting in 2005.

26 Beck Cheers Up

It doesn't yet have a title. It doesn't yet have a release date. But any new Beck album is an Event, and word is the gloomy guy has broken out of the somber funk he sank into on 2002's Sea Change. For the new album, Beck is back with the Dust Brothers, the magic-touch producers who previously helped with the kaleidoscopic Odelay. (Geffen Records)

27 Being Charlie Kaufman

The screenwriter of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation subverts the traditional three-act structure again with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, about a guy (Jim Carrey) who undergoes a procedure to erase his girlfriend (Kate Winslet) from his memory. Further plot points of the flick, scheduled for release March 19, could be discussed here, but Kaufman scripts are best marveled at in the theater. (Focus Features)

28 Goose-Spruced

Stefani as Harlow. Blanchett as Hepburn. Beckinsalc as Gardner. The Aviator, Martin Scorsese's December 2004 biopic about mogul Howard Hughes, is either going to be a brilliant opportunity for today's stars to show they can glam it up with the best of the studio-era giants--or an epic-sized Gable and Lombard misfire. And, oh yeah, some guy named Leo stars as Hughes. (Warner Bros.)

29 Show Some Enthusiasm

Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm brings navel-gazing to new heights--or depths. Now it brings that navel to DVD with a two-disc, first-season set due out January 13. Click on the commentary track and let David, TV wife Cheryl Hines, TV agent Jeff Garlin and series co-executive producer Robert B. Weide guide you through TV Larry's Hollywood misadventures. (HBO Video)

30 Happy Potter

Jonathan Adler's pottery has actually been described as "witty." And while the works don't tell jokes, they are rather personable. (The white-and-brown-striped Capuchine collection looks as if it were stolen from Matt Helm's bachelor pad.) The designmeister's ubercool eye for fashionable furnishings is now available at his ubercool new So Ho store, where you can stock up on groovy dog bowls, with-it beddings, dashing dinner-ware and some of that oh-so-witty pottery. (47 Greene St., 212/213-7880)

31 Salt Up the Popcorn

These two'll have you downing the Orville Redenbacher: Starsky & Hutch (Warner Bros.), opening March 5, and Spider-Man 2 (Sony), opening July 2. Yes, Starsky is another TV-show flick, but this one features Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in bad hair that's more entertaining than that in the last Charlie's Angels movie. The Spidey sequel is packed with all the people that made the first movie so fun (director Sam Raimi, stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco), plus Alfred Molina signs on as the evil Doc Ock. (Molina couldn't possibly chew as much scenery as Willem Dafoe...could he?)

32 Speaking of Spiders...

The title of hippest arachnid goes to the Spider Club, the brand-new, ultra-exclusive VIP wing of the Avalon Hollywood nightspot. Word is, access passes go for as much as $5,000. What's the attraction? Maybe it's the late-1960s/early-1970s-vibe. Maybe it's the creative director, seminal hipster Donovan Leitch, whose dad, singer Donovan, was all the thing in the real '60s. (1735 N. Vine St., 323/462-8900)

33 Don't Worry, Be Grimm

Terry Gilliam's visions are hit (Brazil) or miss (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), but they're always interesting. The director's latest--and first since his infamously ill-fated Don Quixote project--is the all-star fantasy The Brothers Grimm, with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as the story-spinning siblings. Watch for it in the fall. (MGM/Dimension Films)

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