Oscar night serves up at least one surprise

03/25/2001

By Chris Vognar / The Dallas Morning News

LOS ANGELES – The most wide-open Oscar competition in years started out with a surprise winner, as Texan Marcia Gay Harden grabbed the best supporting actress award for her role as artist Lee Krasner in the independent film Pollock.

The favorite going in was 21-year-old Kate Hudson, who played a dedicated rock 'n' roll groupie in Almost Famous. Ms. Hudson's main competition was believed to be 1998 winner Judi Dench of Chocolat. But Ms. Harden's win seemed appropriate on a night that offered possible surprises in most major categories. Ms. Harden's co-star, Ed Harris, was one of those upset candidates in the best actor category.

"I want to thank Ed Harris for sharing his passion with me," said Ms. Harden. "This means more to me personally than it does for my career. I would be lying if I said I haven't dreamed about this, during all those years working as a waitress in New York. I told myself I would say thank you to all the waiters and waitresses I've worked with, but I couldn't do it in 45 seconds."

Backstage, Ms. Harden sounded grateful and more than a bit surprised. "I'm a New York stage actress, and now I'm here," she said. "Thank you, Oscar."

The supporting actor category proved a bit more predictable, as favorite Benicio Del Toro took home the award for his role as a wily, scrupulous Mexican policeman in Traffic. Mr. Del Toro was considered the front-runner after winning the Screen Actors Guild award for best actor. But Albert Finney of Erin Brockovich was set to provide stiff competition, as was Shadow of the Vampire's Willem Dafoe.

Though many have described Mr. Del Toro as underappreciated in the past, he said his victory came right on time for him.

"I don't think it took that long," he said. "There are a lot of people out there who have been doing great work for a long time and haven't been nominated. The train came to the stop and I was there with my suitcase. I got lucky."

The sword-and-sandals epic Gladiator; the art house sensation Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and Steven Soderbergh's drug epic Traffic were considered the top contenders to snag the evening's crown jewel, the best picture award. Unlike last year, when American Beauty was seen as the overwhelming favorite going into the awards, the 2001 Oscars had three strong horses in the running.

If nomination totals are an indicator, as they often have been in the past, Gladiator looked the toughest foe. It garnered 12 nods, edging out Crouching Tiger's 10. If Crouching Tiger could pull off the upset, it would become the first foreign-language film to capture a best picture award. But that was just the highest profile of several closely contested races.

Among the others:

• Gladiator star Russell Crowe, who was nominated last year for The Insider, was seen as a slim favorite over two-time winner Tom Hanks for Cast Away. But two art film contenders, Mr. Harris for Pollock and Javier Bardem for Before Night Falls, also seemed to have a fighting chance.

• Ang Lee was seen as the favorite in the best director bracket, by virtue of his Directors Guild award. But Gladiator's Ridley Scott or Mr. Soderbergh, with either Traffic or Erin Brockovich, could easily jump in front.

The only sure thing in this year's contest – if it's possible to have a sure thing in the Oscars – was Julia Roberts, a longtime industry favorite who charmed viewers with a commanding performance in Erin Brockovich. Her closest competitor, Ellen Burstyn, appeared in the dark Requiem for a Dream, hardly an academy kind of film. Next in line would be Laura Linney, who lit up the small You Can Count on Me, which was seen as a favorite for Kenneth Lonergan's original screenplay.

Early winners in technical categories were divided among the three strongest best-picture nominees. Crouching Tiger won for Tim Yip's art direction, Traffic for Stephen Mirrione's editing and Gladiator for Janty Ytes' costumes.

Outside the Shrine Auditorium, on the police-lined sidewalks of Figureoa Boulevard, the usual assortment of protesters staked out their turf and made their feelings known. Last year, their primary target was The Cider House Rules and its abortion storyline. This time, most of the sign wielders seemed to stick to the reliable "Hollywood is corrupting our morals" theme.

Fundamentalist literature and bellowing bullhorns were ubiquitous. Meanwhile, a man dressed as Jesus was engaged in dance with a Marilyn Monroe look-alike.

These Oscars are expected to be the last held at the Shrine, as the academy prepares to move into spacious new digs in Hollywood next year.