Academy Awards a mixed bag

Almost every film got its kicks at Sunday night's Academy Awards ceremony. Although Ridley Scott's Roman epic blockbuster Gladiator took home the coveted gold statuette as the year's Best Picture, fellow nominees Traffic and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon each took home four Oscars as well, debunking all predictions of a Gladiator clean sweep.

But even the most clueless of viewers probably could have predicted how the Academy would dole out the night's top leading actor honors. The night's buzzword for success was "Julia," and as soon as the Best Actress category was announced, the Erin Brockovitch star was able to claim the trophy that the media had placed in her hands pretty much from the film's opening weekend.

If Julia Roberts has played the role of America's sweetheart for the past few weeks, Best Actor Russell Crowe has been her foil as the International Badboy. Television audiences were treated to a wealth of jokes and camera footage of Crowe throughout the night, whose trophy for Gladiator capped off his year of notoriety for kidnapping plots, romantic trysts, and home-wrecking capabilities.

Barely-recognized yet critically-acclaimed films like Almost Famous and the artist biopic Pollock also received top honors. Screenwriter/Director Cameron Crowe was awarded the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for his autobiographical film documenting the adventures of a teen rock journalist in the music-saturated '70s. And while everyone thought that ingenue Kate Hudson would add to the film's award total with a Best Supporting Actress trophy, Pollock's Marcia Gay Harden upset with her performance as 20th century artist Jackson Pollock's loyal and determined wife.

Director Steven Soderbergh (nominated twice for Traffic, and for Erin Brockovich) might not have directed the Best Picture of the year, but he received honors as the year's Best Director for Traffic, a portrayal of America's war on drugs. Soderbergh's direction of a powerful ensemble cast was also noted when Benicio Del Toro took home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as a Mexican cop. Traffic also brought in a trophy for Stephen Gaghan's Best Adapted Screenplay.

Soderbergh's win was considered an upset by many who thought Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's Ang Lee would follow up his Golden Globe win with an Oscar. But this visually stunning martial arts love story went far from unrecognized. The film was awarded with Best Foreign Language Film, Best Score, Art Direction, and Cinematography.

Comic legend Steve Martin conducted the surprisingly brief ceremony, poking fun at the industry, making fun of Bjork's dress made out of a swan, and ensuring that the festivities clocked in under three and a half hours.

A selection of this year's winners:

Best Picture

Gladiator

Best Director

Best Actor

Best Actress

Best Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actress

Best Foreign Language Film

Best Original Screenplay

Best Adapted Screenplay

Best Score