AND THE NOMINESS ARE... MIRAMAX'S `CIDER HOUSE' SUCCESS IRRITATES RIVALS.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer

For Miramax, it was a day to celebrate. For other studios, the good news was tempered with a mixture of fear and loathing.

Tuesday's Oscar nominations produced several story lines - the large number of first-time nominees, the absence of favorites both perennial (Tom Hanks) and otherwise (Jim Carrey) and the academy's propensity to reward mainstream films over more inventive fare.

For industry insiders, however, one topic dominated above all others: Miramax had somehow done it again.

``The Cider House Rules,'' the pleasant adaptation of John Irving's novel, received seven Oscar nominations, tying it with ``The Insider'' for second place behind favorite ``American Beauty,'' which won eight nods.

The ``Cider House'' nominations seemed to come a bit out of left field. The film didn't win any critics prizes and was shut out last month at the Golden Globes. It hasn't proved to be a favorite with audiences, either, taking in only $22 million since its December release, the least of any of the best picture nominees.

That figure is about to change, now that academy voters have spoken. Get ready to be bombarded (again) with television and newspaper ads for a movie that many people have been more than happy to ignore for the past three months. The studio plans to almost double the number of theaters showing the film, from about 800 screens to 1,500 by the end of the month. That gives Miramax a month to market it to moviegoers and academy voters before the Oscars are handed out March 26.

``To get seven nominations for that film is unbelievable,'' a rival studio executive groused. ``But that's Miramax. That's the way they play. They'll spend whatever it takes.''

Adds another studio exec: ``Miramax isn't in the movie business. They're in the Oscar business.''

The complaints echo gripes heard last year when Miramax's ``Shakespeare In Love'' scored an upset victory over DreamWorks' highly touted war film, ``Saving Private Ryan.'' Rivals charged that Miramax used ``strong-arm tactics'' to coerce voters and that it distorted the process by spending up to $15 million on ``Shakespeare's'' advertising campaign. Miramax denied both allegations.

Twentieth Century Fox studio chief Bill Mechanic went so far as to write a column in the Hollywood Reporter, decrying rampant Oscar campaign spending, saying `'the academy advertising process, which began as a way of reminding us of movies to consider, has turned into a sledgehammer system of overwhelming voters into thinking they'd be foolish not to vote for the `designated choice.' ''

While celebrating their victories Tuesday, Miramax executives were quick to point out that their Oscar campaign for ``Cider House'' was no more excessive than those run for ``American Beauty,'' ``The Green Mile'' or even ``The Hurricane,'' a movie that was all but ignored in the nominations, save for a lone nod to lead actor Denzel Washington.

Cynthia Swartz, Miramax's in-house awards consultant who ran this year's ``Cider House'' campaign, says the seven Oscar nods came as no surprise to anyone at the studio, particularly given the fact that the movie also received nominations from the producers, directors, writers and sound guilds.

``You add those votes up and you get a best picture nomination,'' Swartz says.

She added that ``Cider House'' is the latest in a long line of Miramax Oscar contenders that combine ``great word of mouth, audience appeal and expert craftsmanship . . . the kinds of things that the academy tends to look for.'' Past Miramax movies that fit that description: ``The English Patient,'' ``Life Is Beautiful,'' ``Il Postino'' and ``Shakespeare in Love.''

Another veteran Oscar consultant defends Miramax: ``They spend a lot, but you can't buy an Oscar. At least, not yet. Anyway, look at `The Sixth Sense.' They barely ran a campaign and they got six nominations, including best picture.''

Adds a rival studio executive: ``Their campaigns aren't any different from other studios - only more successful.''

And that may be what rankles people the most. Even in years that Miramax doesn't have an obvious Oscar contender, it manages to almost conjure one out of thin air.

Can the long-shot ``Cider House'' pull off an upset and beat ``American Beauty,'' which, like ``Saving Private Ryan,'' was made by DreamWorks?

Common sense says no. History indicates otherwise.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Cider House Rules

(2 -- color) The Green Mile

(3 -- color) The Insider

(4 -- color) The Sixth Sense

(5 -- color) American Beauty