Hail Maximus!

March Madness is upon us, but for the film biz, it's not about winning a shiny golden NCAA Championship trophy. This month is about the quest for Oscar. Sunday, March 25 will see 50 plus Oscars handed out in 23 categories at the 73rd Annual Academy Awards.

The classic phrase for nominees is: It's an honor just to be nominated. Whether or not anyone actually believes that depends on whom you ask. Achieving the honor twice this year is director Steven Soderbergh, whose films, "Erin Brockovich" and "Traffic," are nominated both in the Directing and Best Picture categories.

"Traffic" is also nominated for three other Academy Awards: Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, and Film Editing. Benicio Del Toro ("The Usual Suspects") has a good shot at taking the Oscar for Supporting Actor. He has virtually swept the award this year including a win at the Golden Globe Awards in January. The exceptional writing of "Traffic" really stands out, but Adapted Screenplay is a hotly contested category this year, so an Oscar there is less likely.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Picture, Director, and Cinematography, is almost a sure win for Best Foreign Language Film and will likely grab a few more, but not any of the majors. Despite the spectacular artistry of the film and the choreography of Yuen Wo Ping, who also staged the fight scenes in "The Matrix," the Academy just doesn't go for foreign films when push comes to shove.

I raved about "Almost Famous" and would have to give it the nod for Best Original Screenplay. With both newcomer Kate Hudson (a future star) and Frances McDormand ("Fargo, Wonder Boys") picking up nominations for Best Supporting Actress, the film has good odds in that category as well.

Audiences have gotten quite used to seeing Tom Hanks listed under the nominations for Best Actor in a leading role. This year Hanks is up for his work in "Cast Away." Hanks is solely responsible for carrying a large portion of the film, as he deals with the isolation of being marooned on an island. My hunch is that Hanks will have to do without his third Oscar, having previously won the award for his performances in "Philadelphia" (1993) and "Forrest Gump" (1994).

Ed Harris is due, and he put years of work into developing "Pollock" — the story of the ground-breaking abstract painter Jackson Pollock. Russell Crowe will have many more chances, but in the end he'll probably take home the Best Actor Oscar — which brings me to "Gladiator." Director Ridley Scott has had an on-again off-again career. He's responsible for such classics as "Blade Runner" (1982) and "Thelma & Louise" (1991), and the not-so-classic "White Squall" (1996), which you probably didn't see (and neither did I).

"Gladiator" is nominated for just about everything under the Los Angeles sun — 12 Oscars in all. With that number, one has to conclude that the film will fare well. With a Golden Globe award for Best Drama already in hand, prospects for "Gladiator" taking Best Picture look good.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is out, "Chocolat" is too cute a film to win, "Traffic" is the better of the Soderbergh films, but "Gladiator" is definitely the movie to beat.

Best Director has tag-teamed with Best Picture in nine of the past 10 years — "Shakespeare in Love" (1998) being the exception, when Stephen Spielberg won for "Saving Private Ryan" — and is likely to do so again this year.

"Will it be a Roman conquest on March 25. Lend host Steve Martin your ears, and be patient until the last award is given.