PALM SPRINGS READY FOR ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL.

Byline: Jerry Rice  Staff Writer

After a sometimes bumpy off-season, the 12th annual Nortel Networks Palm Springs International Film Festival opens Thursday with a lineup of movies and events certain to be a real attention-getter.

On tap will be screenings of 150 films - including a healthy dose of premieres and foreign language offerings up for Academy Award consideration - celebrity parties, panel discussions and an awards gala.

For star wattage, consider this: actors Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery, director Ridley Scott and composer Randy Newman will be feted during the black-tie main event on Saturday.

``Every woman in this town will be wanting to go to that,'' says executive director Denis Pregnolato.

Cage, an Oscar winner for his doomed alcoholic in 1995's ``Leaving Las Vegas,'' will receive the festival's Charles A. Crain Desert Palm Award. Past recipients include Annette Bening, Richard Dreyfuss, Sophia Loren, Susan Sarandon and John Travolta.

Cage's latest movie, ``The Family Man,'' is now in theaters. His other 2000 film, ``Gone in 60 Seconds,'' was recently released on video.

Pregnolato's assessment of Cage: ``He's a young actor, but his body of work is tremendously strong.''

Connery, who has a lengthy film resume, will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award. He has played everything from British secret agent James Bond to the stoic Russian submariner in ``The Hunt for Red October.'' His crusading beat cop in 1987's ``The Untouchables'' earned him a best supporting actor Oscar.

In his newest release, ``Finding Forrester,'' he plays a reclusive writer and also produced the film.

``What can you say about Sean? This guy is a most amazing actor,'' Pregnolato says.

For Scott, who will be given the Director's Achievement Award, his inclusion in the gala couldn't come at a better time. His latest effort, ``Gladiator,'' the epic Roman tale of honor and courage starring Russell Crowe, is being talked up in Oscar circles for nominations in three top categories (picture, actor and director).

Scott's other films include ``Alien,'' ``Blade Runner'' and ``Thelma & Louise.'' Scott is putting the finishing touches on ``Hannibal,'' the sequel to ``The Silence of the Lambs,'' due in theaters next month.

Newman, who will be given the Frederick Loewe Award for achievement in film scoring, also is no stranger at the Academy Awards. His movie work has earned him 13 Oscar nominations - including three in 1999 (``Babe: Pig in the City,'' ``A Bug's Life'' and ``Pleasantville''). He scored both ``Toy Story'' movies, and his tribute to the City of Angels, ``I Love L.A.,'' is a crowd-pleasing wrap to Los Angeles Lakers victories at the Staples Center.

On the film side, the festival opens Thursday night with James Ivory's ``The Golden Bowl,'' bringing the Henry James novel to the screen. The cast includes Anjelica Houston, Uma Thurman, Nick Nolte and Kate Beckinsale.

Oscar derby candidates to be shown during the festival's 12-day run include ``Breaking the Silence'' from China, ``Divided We Fall'' from the Czech Republic and ``Dreams From the Middle of the World'' from Spain.

Another screening of note is ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,'' Ang Lee's artsy martial arts film that has received considerable notice from film critics around the country. The Sony Pictures Classics release is also enjoying box-office success in a limited run on the East and West coasts. ``Crouching Tiger'' will play Jan. 20 at the Palm Springs High School auditorium.

Also look for ``Chocolat'' (Jan. 18), Lasse Hallstrom's tale of how life in a small French village is upended after the opening of a chocolate shop, starring Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench and Johnny Depp; ``The House of Mirth'' (Jan. 20), with Gillian Anderson in the screen version of the Edith Wharton novel; and ``Sleep Easy Hutch Rimes'' (Saturday), co-starring Gregg Henry and Swoosie Kurtz, about a small-time insurance agent who is prone to affairs and gets himself in trouble with a jealous husband in the process.

The Gala Screenings series returns, showcasing works from a variety of noteworthy directors, including a couple actors who made the move to behind the camera - Liv Ullmann (``Faithless'' on Saturday) and Ed Harris (``Pollock'' on Sunday).

``Our Gala Screenings are unique in that they represent, and give special recognition to, the best filmmakers from across the globe,'' says Jennifer Stark, associate director of programming.

Also returning is the Cinematographer's Day, providing a behind-the- scenes look at moviemaking.

It all adds up to a program that organizers hope will help them build on the 54,000 tickets that were sold last year. For Pregnolato, a former executive at Paramount Pictures, it has been an interesting couple of months leading up to the annual event.

In November, Craig Prater, the festival's executive director, resigned after seven years on the job and eight with the festival. Among other issues, a rift had reportedly developed between board members seeking greater prominence for the event and those wanting it to maintain a more local flavor.

While there have been plenty of goings-on behind the scenes, none of it will be evident to festivalgoers.

``They won't notice anything different at all,'' Pregnolato says. ``When you step into a situation where there's some disagreement, it's best to keep that in the past,'' he adds. ``I'm not really interested in what went on. I'm more interested in making sure the festival fulfills its goals. It's just a matter of keeping things going.

Those goals include maintaining the vision of the late Sonny Bono, who established the festival with the dream of giving locals the chance to rub shoulders with movie stars much like they did in Hollywood's Golden Era.

That first event in 1990 unspooled with 50 films screened in five days; now there are 150 spread over 12 days.

``For the first few years, it was just a matter of making believers out of people,'' says Pregnolato, who was asked by Bono to help launch the festival. ``In the last four to five years, the town itself and the people of the Coachella Valley have really embraced it as one of the premier events in the area. It is something they look forward to each and every year.''

NORTEL NETWORKS PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Where: Locations include the Courtyard 10 and Festival of Arts theaters, Palm Springs High School and the Palm Springs Convention Center.

When: Thursday through Jan. 22

Tickets: Opening- and closing-night programs are $50 each; individual movie passes range from $8 to $15; a platinum pass for all 150 films is $350; the Jan. 13 awards gala is $300. Call [phone], [phone], [phone] or www.psfilmfest.org