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By STEVE PERSALL
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 5, 2001
Steven Soderbergh's drug-war epic, Traffic, was named best picture of 2000 by the Florida Film Critics Circle on Thursday.
Soderbergh was named best director of the year for both his multilayered crime drama and Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts as a crusading paralegal. Traffic also earned best supporting actor honors for Benicio Del Toro, who plays a Tijuana cop chasing narcotics traders.
Traffic opens in Tampa Bay area theaters today.
Cameron Crowe's rock 'n' roll valentine, Almost Famous, also earned three awards from the 11-member panel and finished second to Traffic in best-picture balloting.
Frances McDormand was named best supporting actress both for her Almost Famous role as the overprotective mother of a 15-year-old rock journalist, and for her turn as a stressed-out academic in Wonder Boys. Kate Hudson was selected best newcomer of 2000 for her performance in Famous as a wistful groupie.
Two films were double winners: Ang Lee's martial arts adventure Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and David Mamet's romantic Hollywood satire, State and Main.
Crouching Tiger was cited as the best foreign-language film of 2000, thanks in part to the panel's choice for best cinematographer, Peter Pau. The film is scheduled to open locally Feb. 2. Mamet's screenplay for State and Main was selected as the year's top screenwriting. The comedy's cast of actors -- including Alec Baldwin, William H. Macy and Phillip Seymour Hoffman -- was voted the best ensemble. State and Main opens Jan. 12 locally.
Geoffrey Rush's deliriously decadent portrayal of the Marquis de Sade in Quills earned the critics' best actor prize. Ellen Burstyn was a first-ballot choice as best actress for her performance as a diet-drug addict in Requiem for a Dream.
Chicken Run was a unanimous choice as the best animated film of 2000. Aviva Kempner's The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg earned best documentary honors. A special prize was voted to Joel and Ethan Coen's O Brother, Where Art Thou? for its roots-country musical score. It opens here next week.
The annual Golden Orange Award for Outstanding Contribution to Film went to Florida A&M graduates William Packer and Rob Hardy. They created the movie Trois and devised a barnstorming distribution plan circumventing Hollywood obstacles for African-American filmmakers.
The Florida Film Critics Circle includes chairman Jay Boyar (Orlando Sentinel); Todd Anthony (Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel); Philip Booth (a contributor to the Times, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Orlando Weekly and Folio Weekly in Jacksonville); Hap Erstein (Palm Beach Post); Jeff Farance (Daytona News-Journal); Lance Goldenberg (Weekly Planet); George Meyer (Sarasota Herald-Tribute and Metro); Steve Persall (the Times); Rene Rodriguez (Miami Herald); Bob Ross (Tampa Tribune); and Matthew Soergel (Florida Times-Union).