Mac Slocum, Senior Editor

Award Pick

Best Picture	Traffic
Best Director	Steven Soderbergh, "Traffic"
Best Actor	Russell Crowe
Best Actress	Joan Allen
Best Supporting Actor	Benicio Del Toro
Best Supporting Actress	Kate Hudson
Best Screenplay (adapted)	Traffic
Best Screenplay (original)	Almost Famous

Mac's Comments: I'm pulling for "Traffic" as Best Picture but "Gladiator's" Golden Globe win is a signal of what's to come. Historical epics and rousing scores make Academy members weep. Not that "Gladiator" isn't a good film, but "Traffic" is more important. Since 1998's "Out of Sight," Steven Soderbergh has been one of my favorite directors. Hopefully his two Best Director nominations (for "Traffic" and "Erin Brockovich") won't cancel him out. I was surprised by "The Contender's" three nominations (Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay), but now that "Contender" star Joan Allen has entered the picture as Best Actress I have to give my pick to her. Supporting Actor is the easiest category for me because Benicio Del Toro's turn in "Traffic" was the best performance of the year. His role was big enough to warrant a Best Actor nod.

Rosy Lum, Managing Editor

Award Pick

Best Picture	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best Director	Ang Lee
Best Actor	Russell Crowe or Ed Harris
Best Actress	Juliette Binoche
Best Supporting Actor	Willem Dafoe
Best Supporting Actress	Kate Hudson
Best Screenplay (adapted)	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best Screenplay (original)	Almost Famous

Eva Weber, Section Editor

Award Pick

Best Picture	Traffic
Best Director	Steven Soderbergh, "Traffic"
Best Actor	Russell Crowe
Best Actress	Julia Roberts
Best Supporting Actor	Benicio Del Toro
Best Supporting Actress	Kate Hudson or Frances McDormand
Best Screenplay (adapted)	Traffic
Best Screenplay (original)	Almost Famous

Eva's Comments: All in all nominations were pretty much what I expected, the usual Hollywood politics. I was surprised by the nominations "Chocolat" garnered — see my review.

Sean Weitner, Flak Magazine

Award Pick

Best Picture	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best Director	Steven Soderbergh, "Traffic"
Best Actor	Tom Hanks
Best Actress	Joan Allen
Best Supporting Actor	Benicio Del Toro
Best Supporting Actress	Frances McDormand
Best Screenplay (adapted)	O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Best Screenplay (original)	Erin Brockovich

Sean's Comments: For such an allegedly bad year, these were tough picks to make. At the same time, I perhaps should recuse myself because I haven't seen key films ("Chocolat," "Before Night Falls," "Pollock," "Billy Elliot," "You Can Count on Me," "Wonder Boys"), but I won't. Steven Soderbergh has been a long-time favorite, and I've anxiously awaited the day he'd get this kind of high-profile recognition. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong year — "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is better than any Best Picture winner since "Schindler's List," and it deserves the honor of Best Picture. While it may take two viewings to let all of the nuances sink in, it's certainly no less emotionally rich than something like "Sense & Sensibility," and it embodies human grace and the cinematic capacity to amaze in ways rarely seen since the days of Technicolor. Having said that, it's hard not to give Lee director as well, and it doesn't help that my Soderbergh vote is split between "Erin Brockovich" (which I prefer) and "Traffic" (which is masterfully directed). But "Traffic" is so masterfully made that Soderbergh just barely secures that nod. Of the three Best Actor choices with which I'm acquainted, it's easy to step past Russell Crowe, a great actor who was only asked to squint and flex in this role. And of the other two, Geoffrey Rush's is a real actor's role, but Tom Hanks' is a real movie role, with little dialogue and plenty of the minor pieces of business that the screen was meant for. (Though they don't deserve the award, "Cast Away" director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter William Broyles, Jr., deserved the noms. And the movie ended well, too.) Hanks is better here than in either movie that he actually won for. It's also hard not to nominate Julia Roberts for Best Actress — "Erin Brockovich" is the kind of movie Hollywood was made to make, and so much of it is carried by her incandescent star power as captured by Soderbergh. But Joan Allen finally got a role that doesn't require her to spend at least half the movie as an ice queen, and in exchange for the opportunity she gives a truly and deeply great performance. Mac's right — Benicio del Toro is the easy lock for Best Supporting Actor, which is the toughest category every year, but he should have been pushed for Best Actor. As far as Best Supporting Actress is concerned, well, three come from movies I've missed, but it's hard to imagine any of those performances moving me more than Frances McDormand's in "Almost Famous." The "O Brother, Where Art Thou" screenplay is in the wrong category; then again, if you have to consider it as an adaptation, it's even more impressive, and for me it edges out "Traffic." Finally, having not seen "You Can Count on Me," I've got to go with Susannah Grant's great work on "Erin Brockovich."

Brian Orndorf, Contributing Reviewer

Award Pick

Best Picture	Gladiator
Best Director	Ang Lee
Best Actor	Tom Hanks
Best Actress	Julia Roberts
Best Supporting Actor	Benicio Del Toro
Best Supporting Actress	Kate Hudson
Best Screenplay (adapted)	Traffic
Best Screenplay (original)	Almost Famous

Brian's Comments: Best Picture — The 2000 Oscar nominations are really the first year where I'm completely at a loss to explain the Academy's choices. Obviously, large amounts of money and/or blow was passed around to get the mediocre (at best) "Chocolat" nominated so many times. It's really the only way explain why "Almost Famous" isn't on here. Believe or not, there are a select few of us out there that strongly disliked "Gladiator" (we meet in the forests of Utah every new moon), but if I have to commit to a winner, the Ridley Scott epic certainly fits the requirements of a best picture winner: It's long, expensive, and popular. Director — Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will win the Foreign Film Oscar, but I feel that his work crafting the mystical "Crouching Tiger" will also be recognized with a Director award as well. Best Actor — Tom Hanks alone for 140 minutes of "Cast Away" is impressive. More than $200 million in domestic box office clearly show that people agree. Russell Crowe might be the popular choice, but Hanks really achieved something special in "Cast Away." I give it to him. Best Actress — Julia Robert's bombastic work in "Erin Brockovich" is a lock, though Laura Linney's work in "You Can Count on Me" was nothing short of brilliant. One of the biggest snubs has to be Bjork's work in "Dancer in the Dark." Her performance in that film was artistic and nakedly ambitious, everything Ellen Burstyn's performance in "Requiem for a Dream" wasn't. Supporting Actor & Actress — Kate Hudson positively sparkled in "Almost Famous" and Benicio Del Toro will most likely ride his buzz wave to Oscar gold. Screenplay — For the writing awards, Stephan Gaghan's Golden Globe win for "Traffic" certainly helped get him notice for his work. The spotlight will continue to shine on him March 25th. For Cameron Crowe, the very least the Academy could do is give him the Original Screenplay award. The man crafted one of the best films of the last decade, and yet "Chocolat" get a best picture nomination? The screenplay award will have to do for now.

Rob Wright, Contributing Reviewer

Award Pick

Best Picture	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best Director	Ang Lee
Best Actor	Tom Hanks
Best Actress	Laura Linney
Best Supporting Actor	Benicio Del Toro
Best Supporting Actress	Kate Hudson
Best Screenplay (adapted)	Traffic
Best Screenplay (original)	Almost Famous and You Can Count on Me

Rob's Comments: "Gladiator"? Best Picture? Come on. If I had my way, "Requiem For A Dream" and "You Can Count On Me" would be in the prestigious Oscar circle instead of Ridley Scott's action film, as would directors Darren Aronofsky and Kenneth Lonergan, respectively. I still feel "Requiem" is the best film of 2000, but since I can't have my way and Academy voters are dense, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" gets my vote. It's been a long time since I've seen true movie magic like Ang Lee's, who should also get the nod for best director. I suspect, however, the movie will take the best foreign film prize, which would leave "Traffic" as the best picture. I hate to give the same person the big award three times, but Tom Hanks in "Cast Away" is the best male performance I've seen this year (although I haven't seen "Pollock" and I love Ed Harris). As for Best Actress, Laura Linney was perfect in "You Can Count On Me" and gets my vote, although Julia Roberts was very nearly as good in "Erin Brockovich." Actually, the Best Actress category is for once full of great performances, and would be even more so if the Academy took its head out of its rear and nominated Renee Zellweger for "Nurse Betty." There's a reason why everyone has picked Benicio Del Toro for "Traffic" — he's that good, although Mark Ruffalo should have received a nomination for "You Can Count On Me." Similarly, Kate Hudson is outstanding in "Almost Famous" and edges co-star Frances McDormand, not an easy thing to do. For Best Adapted Screenplay, "Traffic" deserves the award; crafting the movie's complex structure, heavy theme and sharp dialogue is a true achievement. As for Best Original Screenplay, the choice is too hard, so I declared a tie between "Almost Famous" and "You Can Count On Me." I expect "Almost Famous" to win, however, because Cameron Crowe is due for some gratification.