Oscars just part of these nominees' to-do lists

You know these Hollywood superstar types: At the Oscar ceremony they'll probably use their red carpet and podium time to salute the recently striking writers. But who's going to speak for the actors and their Next Big Project? We simply cannot, and will not, let their voices go unheard! As a public service to our readers and to ensure that these actors continue to be adored, we proudly look ahead to what's next for these woefully suffering souls.

Johnny Depp: He likey the blood. After being knee-deep in it in his Oscar-nominated role in "Sweeney Todd," Depp is on board for "Public Enemies," portraying gangster John Dillinger, who (we've read) saw a lot of the red stuff himself.

George Clooney: A perennial Oscar nominee, the star of "Michael Clayton" stars in and directs April's football comedy "Leatherheads" and later headlines the Coen brothers' dark comedy "Burn After Reading."

Tom Wilkinson and Laura Linney: He's nominated for his role as an unstable lawyer in "Michael Clayton" and she's got a Best Actress nod for playing an emotionally stunted daughter in "The Savages." Both will don Revolutionary garb for HBO's miniseries "John Adams" with Wilkinson as Ben Franklin and Linney as Abigail Adams.

Javier Bardem: The psycho killer from "No Country for Old Men" gets the unavoidable Woody Allen nod. In "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," he plays a Spanish painter getting heat from his ex (Penelope Cruz) over his relationship with two American tourists, including Allen's latest go-to gal Scarlett Johansson.

Ellen Page: The It Girl and star of "Juno" will team with a couple of former It Girls. "Whip It" is not a Devo biopic but a roller-derby comedy starring Drew Barrymore. Earlier in the year, Page appears with Sarah Jessica Parker in the romantic comedy "Smart People."

Tilda Swinton: Not that she needs to, but the "Michael Clayton" Best Supporting Actress nominee is continuing to hitch her star to Clooney. She teams with him later this year in "Burn After Reading" and this time they're lovers, not fighters.

Saoirse Ronan: This girl likes the book-club books. The 13-year-old actress, who netted a Best Supporting Actress nom for "Atonement," will star in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones." Shivers!

Philip Seymour Hoffman: It was inevitable that the über-genius actor, and the only one from the star-laden "Charlie Wilson's War" to come out with a nod, would be paired with über-genius writer Charlie Kaufman for his new comedy with the über-smartypants title "Synecdoche." It's about a theater director who constructs a replica of New York City.

Roger Deakins: The cinematographer is competing against himself this year with nominations for "The Assassination of Jesse James" and "No Country for Old Men." In the can are "Doubt" and Sam Mendes' "Revolutionary Road." Also upcoming: "The Reader." Triple threat!

Ruby Dee: The 83-year-old actress, who nabbed her first nomination for "American Gangster," goes from big budget to li'l indie starring in "Steam," with Ally Sheedy. The plot? Women gabbing about their lives in the steam room of a gym.

Casey Affleck: Outshining big brother Ben with two big roles in the past year, Affleck recently signed to play an amnesiac who finds himself working for a mobster in "The Kind One," based on the just-published novel by Tom Epperson.

Tony Gilroy: The "Michael Clayton" director seems taken with corporate greed and big ol' A-listers. His next project is "Duplicity," starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts as a pair of corporate baddies in cahoots for a major con job.

Cate Blanchett: Perhaps the woman nominated for her turn as Bob Dylan was influenced by the Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone" when she chose her next role, as a villain in May's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." (Remember that scene ... Indy running from that giant rolling stone? Oh, work with us, people. ...)

Diablo Cody: The charmed-life motif continues unabated. The stripper-turned-screenwriter-turned-nominee is hooking up with ... Steven Spielberg! They're developing "The United States of Tara," a new series for Showtime about a housewife (Toni Collette) with multiple personalities. Cody's also got two movie projects: a college comedy called "Girly Style" and a horror-comedy called "Jennifer's Body."

Daniel Day-Lewis, Julie Christie, Hal Holbrook, Paul Thomas Anderson: We found nothing. Zilch. Nada. Stay tuned.