By
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Julia Roberts, the law assistant who takes on a polluting power company in "Erin Brockovich,'' won best actress and Russell Crowe, the Roman general reduced to slave and arena fighter in "Gladiator,'' triumphed as best actor at last night's Academy Awards.
A giddy Roberts ascended the auditorium stage and warned that she would be speaking for a long time "because I may never get up here again.''
She clutched her first Oscar and said, "This is quite pretty.''
The audience was amused by her glee.
"I love the world. I'm so happy,'' Roberts squealed.
Crowe, who seemed distracted earlier in the program, responded exuberantly.
"Really folks, I owe this to one bloke, and his name is Ridley Scott,'' Crowe said of his director.
"If you grow up ... in the suburbs of anywhere, a dream like this seems kind of vaguely ludicrous and completely unattainable,'' the Australian actor said. "This moment is directly connected to those childhood imaginings. And for anybody who's on the downside of advantage, and relying purely on courage, it's possible.''
"Gladiator'' also won Oscars for visual effects, costume design and sound.
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,'' the dreamlike martial arts tale from Taiwan, won best foreign language film, cinematography, original score and art direction.
"This is a great honor,'' director Ang Lee said.
Benicio Del Toro, the honest Tijuana detective in "Traffic,'' and Marcia Gay Harden, who played the long-suffering wife of artist Jackson Pollock in "Pollock,'' won the Oscars for best supporting acting.
Del Toro thanked his director, Steven Soderbergh, and others connected with his movie while Harden noted that few people had seen "Pollock,'' since it opened in theaters the same week as the Oscar nominations, and thanked the voters for taking the time to review the videotapes made available to them.
"Ed Harris, thank you for inviting me to share your passion,'' she said to her director, who also played the title role.
Because "Pollock'' had little theater exposure, Harden was considered a longshot. Judi Dench of "Chocolat'' and Kate Hudson of "Almost Famous'' were thought to be more likely.
The show began from orbit as astronaut Susan Helms, with fellow crew members of the International Space Station floating by her side, introduced first-time host Steve Martin.
"By the way that introduction cost the government $1 trillion,'' Martin quipped to the glittering Shrine Auditorium throng.
Martin showed off some of his old standup silliness from the '70s, and with a mock unctuousness offered a good-natured skewering of Hollywood.
Martin joked that movie trailers these days give away too much.
"I saw the trailer for `Dude, Where's My Car?' and it ruined it for me,'' he said, drawing big laughs. "Maybe that's not fair because I had read the book.''
He said that hosting the Oscars is "like making love to a beautiful woman. It's something I only get to do when Billy Crystal's out of town.''
"Traffic'' also took the film editing Oscar, while "U-571'' won for sound editing and "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' for makeup.
In the documentary categories, "Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport'' won the feature Oscar and "Big Mama'' received the short subject honor.
The animated short film Oscar went to "Father and Daughter,'' and the live-action short film honor was picked up by "Quiero Ser (I Want to Be).''
Bob Dylan won the best-song Oscar for the rollicking "Things Have Changed,'' the tune he wrote for the quirky campus drama "Wonder Boys.''
"Oh good God, this is amazing,'' Dylan said.
The show started with more than the usual aura of excitement.
The reason: Few of the major-category nominees appeared to be a slam-dunk.
For two of the past three years, winners for best picture- "Titanic'' and "American Beauty''- emerged as strong favorites before the ceremony. In 1999, "Shakespeare in Love'' edged out early favorite "Saving Private Ryan.''
This year, "Gladiator,'' with its 12 nominations and huge theater grosses, might have been considered a cinch for multiple Oscars. But there was considerable support among Academy voters for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' and "Traffic,'' two films that seemed more innovative than the traditional sword-and-toga "Gladiator.''
