Nick-Davis.com: 2000 Oscar Winners

2000 Academy Awards:
Predictions and Winners

All of this will go down easier if we ignore the fact that an unbelievably hokey and technically sloppy wisp of cotton candy won Best Picture. Again. At least I've learned in 1995 and again now that if I ever want to win Oscar's top honor, I just have to film some battle scenes, dress men in skirts, cue some percussive music, and stand way back for some picturesque long shots. For crying out loud!

But, I choose not to emphasize the Best Picture win, nor the equally galling Visual Effects triumph of the same film (though at least in that race it defeated no deserving rivals). There was plenty to savor among the Oscar winners in 2000, including a hugely deserving and, I thought, endearingly overwhelmed Julia Roberts; an elating victory for Marcia Gay Harden, whom I so wanted to win; a succinct, deeply heartfelt acceptance from surprise Best Director winner Steven Soderbergh, who made me burst into tears (oops), and the lively camarederie of Crouching Tiger's champion technicians and craftsmen, who also had my misty-eyed. As did Marcia Gay Harden and her delighted costar/director Ed Harris. What am I complaining about? That's some good TV! And I thought Steve Martin was a riot. He deserves an Emmy just for the line, "You loved him in Meet the Parents, you loved him in There's Something About Mary, and you were fine with him in Mystery Men—ladies and gentleman, Ben Stiller."

P.S.: Best Dressed: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Marcia Gay Harden, Michelle Yeoh, Hilary Swank, Laura Linney, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Judi Dench, Coco Lee, and Annette Bening. And, in her own category: I love you, Björk. Swans forever, my dear!

Who I Predicted

BEST PICTURE
Chocolat
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Erin Brockovich
Gladiator
Traffic

BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot
Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Ridley Scott, Gladiator
Steven Soderbergh, Erin Brockovich
Steven Soderbergh, Traffic

BEST ACTRESS
Joan Allen, The Contender
Juliette Binoche, Chocolat
Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me
Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich

BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem, Before Night Falls
Russell Crowe, Gladiator
Tom Hanks, Cast Away
Ed Harris, Pollock
Geoffrey Rush, Quills

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Judi Dench, Chocolat
Marcia Gay Harden, Pollock
Kate Hudson, Almost Famous
Frances McDormand, Almost Famous
Julie Walters, Billy Elliot

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, The Contender
Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire
Benicio Del Toro, Traffic
Albert Finney, Erin Brockovich
Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe
Billy Elliot, Lee Hall
Erin Brockovich, Susannah Grant
Gladiator, Franzoni/Logan/Nicholson
You Can Count on Me, Kenneth Lonergan

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chocolat, Robert Nelson Jacobs
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Wang/Schamus/Tsai
O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Joel & Ethan Coen
Traffic, Stephen Gaghan
Wonder Boys, Steve Kloves

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Peter Pau
Gladiator, John Mathieson
Malèna, Lajos Koltai
O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Roger Deakins
The Patriot, Caleb Deschanel

ART DIRECTION
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Tim Yip
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch..., Michael Corenblith
Gladiator, Arthur Max
Quills, Martin Childs
Vatel, Jean Rabasse

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Tim Yip
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch..., Rita Ryack
Gladiator, Janty Yates
102 Dalmatians, Anthony Powell
Quills, Jacqueline West

BEST EDITING
Almost Famous, Joe Hutshing & Saar Klein
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Tim Squyres
Gladiator, Pietro Scalia
Traffic, Stephen Mirrione
Wonder Boys, Dede Allen

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Chocolat, Rachel Portman
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Tan Dun
Gladiator, Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard
Malèna, Ennio Morricone
The Patriot, John Williams

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Amores Perros
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Divided We Fall
Everybody Famous!
The Taste of Others

BEST DOC. FEATURE
Into the Arms of Strangers
Legacy
Long Night's Journey into Day
Scottsboro: An American Tragedy
Sound and Fury

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"A Fool in Love," Meet the Parents
"I've Seen It All," Dancer in the Dark
"A Love Before Time," Crouching Tiger...
"My Funny Friend and Me," Emperor's New...
"Things Have Changed," Wonder Boys

BEST SOUND
Cast Away
Gladiator
The Patriot
The Perfect Storm
U-571

BEST SOUND EFFECTS
Space Cowboys
U-571

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gladiator
Hollow Man
The Perfect Storm

BEST MAKEUP
The Cell
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Shadow of the Vampire

Who Won the Oscar