And make room for Forest! Jacks are wild!

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone is the next of our pundits to pipe in — and he tosses in a few real pipe bombs. Not only lobbing "The Departed" into the best pic mix, but — here's the kaboom! — Jack Nicholson into the lead actor lineup. Previously, it was widely believed that Jack's role should be considered supporting.

BEST PICTURE
"Dreamgirls"
"Flags of Our Fathers"
"Babel"
"The Departed"
"The Queen"

BEST ACTOR
Forest Whitaker, "Last King of Scotland"
Peter O'Toole, "Venus"
Jack Nicholson, "The Departed"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"
Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"

BEST ACTRESS
Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"
Penelope Cruz, "Volver"
Kate Winslet, "Little Children"
Sienna Miller, "Factory Girl"

So we asked Peter: Hey, yo! Whazzup? Explain please! He replied:

"I'm putting 'The Departed' into the best picture race because:

"1. It belongs there/Scorsese is expanding on his theme of how violence is ingrained into the American character. He's showing the cost of pretending otherwise and living a lie, which couldn't be more topical in Bushworld.

"2. Scorsese's talent is shining here on its highest beams. Academy voters may be turned off by the brutality, especially in the final act, but quality is quality. Hell, they recognized that in 'Raging Bull,' 'GoodFellas' and even 'The Last Temptation of Christ.'

"3. This is one time when a low-profile campaign — few advance screenings, no festivals — pays off. I think that critics and audiences — expecting the worst — will be taken by surprise at how terrific this baby is.

"As for Jack: To call Nicholson's Irish hood a supporting role is to be blind to what's going on here. He is the corrupt soul of the movie. Big Bad Jack leeches every ounce of charm from this scumbag. He's out there corrupting people, like the Matt Damon character, from childhood. It's a big performance but not a hammy one, definitely not business as usual for Jack. Channeling Cagney in 'White Heat' and Paul Muni in 'Scarface,' he's a depraved force of nature. Maybe you think star performances like Nicholson's grow on Hollywood palm trees. Even Oscar voters will have to see that they don't make them like this anymore.

"As for 'The Queen,' it has the humor and the humanity to move out of the art-house ghetto and get audiences feeling the thing, not just talking about it. Helen Mirren should have Oscar bowing low. She brings us with her queen all the way. There aren't many serious movies that are this much fun."

Go ahead and scoff at Peter's predix, if you dare! Peter's crystal ball is notoriously uncanny. Among his many amazing really early predix — I mean waaaaaay before anyone else saw it coming: that "Gladiator" was ahead for best pic at the Golden Globes and Oscars of 2000. Back then every other pundit on the planet claimed that "Traffic" was a shoo-in to zooooom ahead.

Photos: Jack Nicholson in "The Departed," Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland" and the majestic Mirren. (Warner Bros./ Fox Searchlight/ Miramax)