Traffic ( 2000 film ) - wikipedia Traffic ( 2000 film ) For other films with similar names, see Traffic ( disambiguation ) § In film. Traffic Theatrical release poster Directed by Steven Soderbergh Produced by Edward Zwick Marshall Herskovitz Laura Bickford Screenplay by Stephen Gaghan Based on Traffik by Simon Moore Starring Michael Douglas Don Cheadle Benicio Del Toro Dennis Quaid Catherine Zeta - Jones Music by Cliff Martinez Cinematography Peter Andrews Edited by Stephen Mirrione Production company Bedford Falls Productions Laura Bickford Productions Initial Entertainment Group Distributed by USA Films Release date December 27, 2000 ( 2000 - 12 - 27 ) ( Los Angeles premiere ) January 5, 2001 ( 2001 - 01 - 05 ) ( United States ) Running time 147 minutes Country United States Language English Spanish Budget $48 million Box office $207.5 million Traffic is a 2000 American crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives : users, enforcers, politicians, and traffickers. Their stories are edited together throughout the film, although some of the characters do not meet each other. The film is an adaptation of the 1989 British Channel 4 television series Traffik. 20th Century Fox, the original financiers of the film, demanded that Harrison Ford play a leading role and that significant changes to the screenplay be made. Soderbergh refused and proposed the script to other major Hollywood studios, but it was rejected because of the three - hour running time and the subject matter -- Traffic is more of a political film than most Hollywood productions. USA Films, however, liked the project from the start and offered the filmmakers more money than Fox. Soderbergh operated the camera himself and adopted a distinctive color grade for each story so that audiences could tell them apart. Traffic was critically acclaimed and earned numerous awards, including four Oscars : Best Director for Steven Soderbergh, Best Supporting Actor for Benicio del Toro, Best Adapted Screenplay for Stephen Gaghan and Best Film Editing for Stephen Mirrione. It was also a commercial success with a worldwide box - office revenue total of $207.5 million, well above its estimated $46 million budget. In 2004, USA Network ran a miniseries -- also called Traffic -- based on this film and the 1989 British television series. Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Mexico storyline 1.2 Wakefield storyline 1.3 Ayala / DEA storyline 2 Relationship to actual events 3 Cast 4 Development 4.1 Screenplay 4.2 Casting 4.3 Pre-production 4.4 Principal photography 4.5 Post-production 5 Release 5.1 Box office performance 5.2 Critical response 5.3 Top ten lists 5.4 Accolades 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Plot Mexico storyline In Mexico, police officer Javier Rodriguez ( del Toro ) and his partner Manolo Sanchez ( Vargas ) stop a drug transport and arrest the couriers. Their arrest is interrupted by General Salazar ( Milian ), a high - ranking Mexican official who decides to hire Javier. Salazar instructs him to apprehend Francisco Flores ( Collins ), a hitman for the Tijuana Cartel, headed by the Obregón brothers. Back in Tijuana, Flores, under torture, gives Salazar the names of important members of the Obregón cartel, who are arrested. Javier and Salazar 's efforts begin to cripple the Obregón brothers ' cocaine outfit, but Javier soon discovers Salazar is a pawn for the Juárez Cartel, the rival of the Obregón brothers. That entire portion of the Mexican anti-drug campaign is a fraud, as Salazar is wiping out one cartel because he has aligned with another for profit. Sanchez attempts to sell the information of Salazar 's true affiliation to the DEA but is killed for his betrayal. Javier, who can no longer stomach working for Salazar, decides to make a deal with the DEA. In exchange for his testimony, Javier requests electricity in his neighborhood so the youngsters can play baseball at night rather than be tempted by street gangs and crime. Salazar 's secrets are revealed to the public, and he is arrested and is shown suffering probable torture in prison. Javier explains to the media about the widespread corruption in the police force and army. Later, Javier watches as children play baseball at night in their new stadium. Wakefield storyline Meanwhile, Robert Wakefield ( Douglas ), a conservative Ohio judge, is appointed to head the President 's Office of National Drug Control Policy, taking on the title drug czar. Robert is warned by his predecessor ( Brolin ) and several influential politicians that the War on Drugs is unwinnable. Robert 's daughter, Caroline ( Christensen ), an honors student, has been using cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin which quickly develops into a drug addiction after her boyfriend Seth ( Grace ) introduces her to freebasing. Caroline, Seth, and Vanessa are all arrested when a fellow student overdoses on drugs, and they try to dump him anonymously at a hospital. As Robert and his wife Barbara ( Irving ) struggle to deal with the problem, Robert discovers that Barbara has known about their daughter 's involvement with drugs for over six months. Robert realizes his daughter is a drug addict, and is caught between his demanding new position and difficult family life. On a visit to Mexico, he is encouraged by Salazar 's successful efforts in hurting the Obregón brothers. When he returns to Ohio, Robert learns his efforts to see Caroline rehabilitated have failed. She has run away to Cincinnati, and no one knows her exact location. She steals from her parents to procure money for drugs. Robert drags Seth along as he begins to search Cincinnati for his daughter. After a drug dealer who is prostituting Caroline refuses to reveal her whereabouts, Robert breaks into a seedy hotel room and finds a semi-conscious Caroline in the company of an older man. He breaks down in tears as Seth quietly leaves. Robert returns to Washington, D.C., to give his prepared speech on a `` 10 - point plan '' to win the war on drugs. In the middle of the speech, he falters as he realizes how futile this all is, then tells the press that the War on Drugs implies a war even on some people 's own family members, which he can not endorse. He then walks out of the press conference and takes a taxi to the airport. Robert and Barbara go to Narcotics Anonymous meetings with their daughter to support her and others. Ayala / DEA storyline A third story is set in San Diego, where an undercover DEA investigation led by Montel Gordon ( Cheadle ) and Ray Castro ( Guzmán ) leads to the arrest of Eduardo Ruiz ( Ferrer ), a high - stakes dealer posing as a fisherman. Ruiz decides to take the dangerous road to immunity by giving up his boss : drug lord Carl Ayala ( Bauer ), the biggest distributor for the Obregón brothers in the United States. Ayala is indicted by a tough prosecutor, hand - selected by Robert Wakefield to send a message to the Mexican drug organizations. As the trial against Ayala begins, his pregnant wife Helena ( Zeta - Jones ) learns of her husband 's true profession from his associate, Arnie Metzger ( Quaid ). Facing the prospect of life imprisonment for her husband and death threats against her only child, Helena decides to hire Francisco Flores to assassinate Eduardo Ruiz ; she knows killing Ruiz will effectively end the trial nolle prosequi. Flores plants a car bomb on a DEA car in an assassination attempt against Ruiz. Shortly after planting the bomb, Flores is assassinated by a sniper in retaliation for his cooperation with General Salazar. The car bomb meant to kill Ruiz instead kills Agent Castro, but Gordon and Ruiz survive. Helena, knowing Ruiz is soon scheduled to testify, makes a deal with Juan Obregón ( Bratt ), lord of the drug cartel, who forgives the Ayala family 's debt and has Ruiz poisoned. Ayala is released, much to the dissatisfaction of Gordon, who is still angry over his partner 's death. During a phone conversation between Ayala and Metzger, Ayala deduces that it was Metzger who originally informed on Ruiz. Evidently in a bid for power with another drug cartel in Mexico, Metzger accepted $3 million to inform on Ruiz to the FBI and facilitate the Ayala organization 's downfall. Ayala says that Metzger was planning on taking over Ayala 's empire completely. As Ayala hangs up the phone, Metzger looks up to see two hit men entering his office. Soon after Ayala 's release, Gordon bursts into the Ayala home during his homecoming celebration. Bodyguards wrestle him to the ground, but Gordon is able to surreptitiously plant a listening bug under Ayala 's desk. Gordon is forced from the property, with the satisfaction of knowing that there is now a new opportunity to trap Ayala. Relationship to actual events Some aspects of the plotline are based on actual people and events : The character General Arturo Salazar is closely modeled after Mexican General Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo, who was secretly on the payroll of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, head of the Juarez Cartel. The character Porfirio Madrigal is modeled after Fuentes. The Obregón brothers are modeled after the Tijuana Cartel 's Arellano Félix brothers. At one point in the film, an El Paso Intelligence Center agent tells Robert his position, official in charge of drug control, does n't exist in Mexico. As noted in the original script, a Director of the Instituto Nacional para el Combate a las Drogas was created by the Attorney General of Mexico in 1996. Cast Benicio del Toro as Javier Rodriguez Jacob Vargas as Manolo Sanchez Marisol Padilla Sánchez as Ana Sanchez Tomas Milian as General Arturo Salazar Michael Douglas as Robert Wakefield Amy Irving as Barbara Wakefield Erika Christensen as Caroline Wakefield Topher Grace as Seth Abrahams D.W. Moffett as Jeff Sheridan James Brolin as General Ralph Landry Albert Finney as White House Chief of Staff Steven Bauer as Carlos Ayala Catherine Zeta - Jones as Helena Ayala Dennis Quaid as Arnie Metzger Clifton Collins, Jr. as Francisco Flores Don Cheadle as Montel Gordon Luis Guzmán as Ray Castro Miguel Ferrer as Eduardo Ruiz Peter Riegert as Michael Adler Benjamin Bratt as Juan Obregón Viola Davis as Social Worker Development Steven Soderbergh had been interested in making a film about the drug wars for some time but did not want to make one about addicts. Producer Laura Bickford obtained the rights to the United Kingdom mini-series Traffik ( 1989 ) and liked its structure. Soderbergh, who had seen the mini-series in 1990, started looking for a screenwriter to adapt it into a film. They read a script by Stephen Gaghan called Havoc, about upper - class white kids in Palisades High School doing drugs and getting involved with gangs. Soderbergh approached Gaghan to work on his film, but found he was already working for producer / director Edward Zwick. Bickford and Soderbergh approached Zwick, who agreed to merge the two projects and come aboard as a producer. Traffic was originally going to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, but it was put into turnaround unless actor Harrison Ford agreed to star. Soderbergh began shopping the film to other studios, but when Ford suddenly showed interest in Traffic, Fox 's interest in the film was renewed, and the studio took it out of turnaround. Fox CEO Bill Mechanic championed the film, but he departed from the studio by the time the first draft was finished. It went back into turnaround. Mechanic had also wanted to make some changes to the script, but Soderbergh disagreed and decided to shop the film to other major studios. They all turned him down because they were not confident in the prospects of a three - hour film about drugs, according to Gaghan. USA Films, however, had wanted to take on the movie from the first time Soderbergh approached them. They provided the filmmakers with a $46 million budget, a considerable increase from the $25 million which Fox offered. Screenplay Soderbergh had `` conceptual discussions '' with Gaghan while he was shooting The Limey in October 1998, and they finished the outline before he went off to shoot Erin Brockovich. After Soderbergh was finished with that film, Gaghan had written a first draft in six weeks that was 165 pages long. After the film was approved for production, Soderbergh and Gaghan met two separate times for three days to reformat the script. The draft they shot with had 163 pages with 135 speaking parts and featured seven cities. The film shortens the storyline of the original mini-series ; a major character arc, that of a farmer, is taken out, and the Pakistani plotline is replaced with one set in Mexico. Casting Harrison Ford was initially considered for the role of Robert Wakefield in January 2000 but would have had to take a significant cut in his usual $20 million salary. Ford met with Soderbergh to flesh out the character. Gaghan agreed to rework the role, adding several scenes that ended up in the finished film. On February 20, Ford turned down the role, and the filmmakers brought it back to Michael Douglas, who had turned down an earlier draft. He liked the changes made and agreed to star, which helped greenlight the project. Gaghan believes Ford turned down the role because he wanted to `` reconnect with his action fans ''. The filmmakers sent out letters to many politicians, both Democrat and Republican, asking them to make cameo appearances in the film. Several of the scenes had already been shot using actors in these roles, but the filmmakers went back and re-shot those scenes when real politicians agreed to be in the film. Those who agreed, including U.S. Senators Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Orrin Hatch, Charles Grassley, and Don Nickles, and Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, were filmed in a scene that was entirely improvised. Pre-production The project was obtained from Fox by Initial Entertainment Group, and was sold to USA Films by IEG for North American rights only. Steven Soderbergh never approached USA Films, and the film was fully funded by Initial Entertainment Group. After Fox dropped the film in early 2000 and before USA Films expressed interest soon after, Soderbergh paid for pre-production with his own money. USA Films agreed to give him final cut on Traffic and also agreed to his term that all the Mexican characters would speak Spanish while talking to each other. This meant that almost all of Benicio del Toro 's dialogue would be subtitled. Once the studio realized this, they suggested that his scenes be shot in both English and Spanish, but Soderbergh and del Toro rejected the suggestion. Del Toro, a native of Puerto Rico, was worried that another actor would be brought in and re-record his dialogue in English after he had worked hard to master Mexican inflections and improve his Spanish vocabulary. Del Toro remembers, `` Can you imagine ? You do the whole movie, bust your butt to get it as realistic as possible, and someone dubs your voice ? I said, ' No way. Over my dead body. ' Steven was like, ' Do n't worry. It 's not gon na happen. ' '' The director fought for subtitles for the Mexico scenes, arguing that if the characters did not speak Spanish, the film would have no integrity and would not convincingly portray what he described as the `` impenetrability of another culture ''. The filmmakers went to the Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA ) and U.S. Customs early on with the script and told them that they were trying to present as detailed and accurate a picture of the current drug war as possible. The DEA and Customs pointed out inaccuracies in the script. In addition, they gave the production team access to the border checkpoint to Mexico, as shown in the film during the scene in which Wakefield and his people talk with border officials. Despite the assistance, the DEA did not try to influence the content of the script. Soderbergh said Traffic had influences from the films of Richard Lester and Jean - Luc Godard. He also spent time analyzing The Battle of Algiers and Z, which, according to the director, had the feeling that the footage was `` caught '' and not staged. Another inspiration was Alan J. Pakula 's film All the President 's Men because of its ability to tackle serious issues while being entertaining. In the opening credits of his film, Soderbergh tried to replicate the typeface from All the President 's Men and the placement on - screen at the bottom left - hand corner. Analyzing this film helped the director deal with the large cast and working in many different locations for Traffic. Principal photography Half of the first day 's footage came out overexposed and unusable. Before the financiers or studio bosses knew about the problem, Soderbergh was already doing reshoots. The insurers made him agree that any further mishaps resulting in additional filming would come out of the director 's own pocket. Soderbergh shot in various cities in California, Ohio and Texas, on a 54 - day schedule and came in $2 million under budget. The director acted as his own cinematographer under the pseudonym Peter Andrews and operated the camera himself in an effort to `` get as close to the movie as I can, '' and to eliminate the distance between the actors and himself. Soderbergh drew inspiration from the cinema verite style of Ken Loach 's films, studying the framing of scenes, the distance of the camera to the actors, lens length, and the tightness of eyelines depending on the position of a character. Soderbergh remembers, `` I noticed that there 's a space that 's inviolate, that if you get within something, you cross the edge into a more theatrical aesthetic as opposed to a documentary aesthetic ''. Most of the day was spent shooting because a lot of the film was shot with available light. For the hand - held camera footage, Soderbergh used Panavision Millennium XLs that were smaller and lighter than previous cameras and allowed him to move freely. In order to tell the three stories apart, he adopted a distinctive look for each. For Robert Wakefield 's story, Soderbergh used tungsten film with no filter for a cold, monochrome blue feel. For Helena Ayala 's story, Soderbergh used diffusion filters, flashing the film, overexposing it for a warmer feel. For Javier Rodriguez 's story, the director used tobacco filters and a 45 - degree shutter angle whenever possible to produce a strobe - like sharp feel. Then, he took the entire film through an Ektachrome step, which increased the contrast and grain significantly. He wanted to have different looks for each story because the audience had to keep track of many characters and absorb a lot of information and he did not want them to have to figure out which story they were watching. Benicio del Toro had significant input into certain parts of the film ; for example, he suggested a simpler, more concise way of depicting his character kidnapping Francisco Flores that Soderbergh ended up using. The director cut a scene in which Robert Wakefield smokes crack after finding it in his daughter 's bedroom. After rehearsing this scene with the actors, he felt that the character would not do it ; after consulting with Gaghan, the screenwriter agreed and the filmmakers cut the scene shortly before it was scheduled to be shot. Post-production The first cut of Traffic ran three hours and ten minutes. Soderbergh cut it down to two hours and twenty minutes. Early on, there were concerns that the film might get an NC - 17 rating and he was prepared to release it with that rating, but the MPAA gave it an R. Release Box Office performance Traffic was given a limited release on December 27, 2000 in four theaters where it grossed USD $184,725 on its opening weekend. It was given a wide release on January 5, 2001 in 1,510 theaters where it grossed $15.5 million on its opening weekend. The film made $124.1 million in North America and $83.4 million in foreign markets for a worldwide total of $207.5 million, well above its estimated $48 million budget. Critical response Rotten Tomatoes reported that 92 % of critics gave the film positive write - ups, based on a sample of 154, with an average score of 8 / 10, with del Toro receiving widespread acclaim, and the consensus being `` Soderbergh successfully pulls off the highly ambitious Traffic, a movie with three different stories and a very large cast. The issues of ethics are gray rather than black - and - white, with no clear - cut good guys. Terrific acting all around. '' At Metacritic the film has received an average score of 86, based on 34 reviews. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and wrote, `` The movie is powerful precisely because it does n't preach. It is so restrained that at one moment -- the judge 's final speech -- I wanted one more sentence, making a point, but the movie lets us supply that thought for ourselves ''. Stephen Holden, in his review for The New York Times, wrote, `` Traffic is an utterly gripping, edge - of - your - seat thriller. Or rather it is several interwoven thrillers, each with its own tense rhythm and explosive payoff ''. In his review for The New York Observer, Andrew Sarris wrote, `` Traffic marks ( Soderbergh ) definitively as an enormous talent, one who never lets us guess what he 's going to do next. The promise of Sex, Lies, and Videotape has been fulfilled ''. Entertainment Weekly gave the film an `` A '' rating and praised Benicio del Toro 's performance, which critic Owen Gleiberman called, `` haunting in his understatement, ( it ) becomes the film 's quietly awakening moral center ''. Desson Howe, in his review for the Washington Post, wrote, `` Soderbergh and screenwriter Stephen Gaghan, who based this on a British television miniseries of the same name, have created an often exhilarating, soup - to - nuts exposé of the world 's most lucrative trade ''. In his review for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers wrote, `` The hand - held camerawork -- Soderbergh himself did the holding -- provides a documentary feel that rivets attention ''. However, Richard Schickel, in his review for Time, wrote, `` there is a possibly predictable downside to this multiplicity of story lines : they keep interrupting one another. Just as you get interested in one, Stephen Gaghan 's script, inspired by a British mini-series, jerks you away to another ''. In an interview, director Ingmar Bergman lauded the film as `` amazing ''. Top ten lists Traffic appeared on several critics ' top ten lists for 2000. Some of the notable top - ten list appearances are : 2nd : A.O. Scott, The New York Times 2nd : Jami Bernard, New York Daily News 2nd : Bruce Kirkland, The Toronto Sun 3rd : Stephen Holden, The New York Times 3rd : Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly 3rd : Peter Travers, Rolling Stone 4th : Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun - Times 4th : Jack Mathews, New York Daily News Accolades The film won Academy Awards in the categories Best Director ( Soderbergh ), Best Supporting Actor ( Benicio del Toro ), Best Film Editing ( Mirrione ), and Best Adapted Screenplay ( Gaghan ). It was also nominated for Best Picture, alongside another Soderbergh film, Erin Brockovich, but lost to Gladiator. Traffic was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture -- Drama, Soderbergh for Best Director, del Toro for Best Supporting Actor -- Motion Picture, Catherine Zeta - Jones for Best Supporting Actress -- Motion Picture, and Stephen Gaghan for Best Screenplay. Both del Toro and Gaghan won in their respective categories. In addition, del Toro won Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. He went on to win BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role along with Gaghan, who won for Best Adapted Screenplay. New York Film Critics Circle named Traffic as the Best Film, Soderbergh as Best Director, and del Toro as Best Supporting Actor. Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded Soderbergh Best Director. Members of the Toronto Film Critics Association voted Soderbergh as Best Director and del Toro as Best Actor. National Society of Film Critics also voted Soderbergh and del Toro as Best Director and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. See also Film portal Hyperlink cinema -- the film style of using multiple interconnected story lines Mexican Drug War References ^ Jump up to : `` Traffic ( 2000 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 03. Jump up ^ Dargis, Manohla. `` Traffic : Border Wars ''. The Criterion Collection. Jump up ^ Cason, Jim ; David Brooks ( 2001 - 03 - 09 ). `` Traffic, película que podría ser la crítica más severa a la lucha antidrogas de EU ''. La Jornada ( in Spanish ). Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 25. Jump up ^ Cavallo, Ascanio ( 2001 - 03 - 10 ). `` Traffic ''. El Mercurio ( in Spanish ). Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 25. Jump up ^ Shaw, Deborah ( 2005 ). `` '' You Are Alright, But... `` : Individual and Collective Representations of Mexicans, Latinos, Anglo - Americans and African - Americans in Steven Soderbergh 's ' Traffic ' ''. Quarterly Review of Film and Video. 22 : 211 -- 223. doi : 10.1080 / 10509200490474339. Archived from the original on 2011 - 07 - 22. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 25. ^ Jump up to : Hope, Darrell ( January 2001 ). `` The ' Traffic ' Report with Steven Soderbergh ''. DGA Magazine. Archived from the original on March 16, 2010. Retrieved 2011 - 08 - 11. ^ Jump up to : Lemons, Stephen ( 2000 - 12 - 20 ). `` Steven Soderbergh ''. Salon.com. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 25. ^ Jump up to : Divine, Christian ( 2001 - 01 - 02 ). `` Pushing Words ''. Creative Screenwriting. pp. 57 -- 58. Jump up ^ Ascher - Walsh, Rebecca ( 2000 - 02 - 15 ). `` Red Light, Green Light ''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 25. ^ Jump up to : Kaufman, Anthony ( 2001 - 01 - 03 ). `` Interview : Man of the Year, Steven Soderbergh ' Traffic ' 's in Success ''. indieWIRE. Archived from the original on 2006 - 04 - 12. Retrieved 2010 - 04 - 14. ^ Jump up to : Dargis, Manohla ( 2000 - 12 - 26 ). `` Go ! Go ! Go ! ''. L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 2010 - 04 - 14. ^ Jump up to : Daly, Steve ( 2001 - 03 - 02 ). `` Dope & Glory ''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 25. Jump up ^ Conversations with Ross : `` Featuring Sam Jaeger ''. RossCarey.com. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 03. ^ Jump up to : Lyman, Rick ( 2001 - 02 - 16 ). `` Follow the Muse : Inspiration to Balance Lofty and Light ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 26. Jump up ^ French, Phillip ( January 28, 2001 ). `` Traffic ''. The Guardian. Retrieved March 29, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Traffic ''. Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Traffic ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Traffic ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2010 - 04 - 14. Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( 2001 - 01 - 01 ). `` Traffic ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 07. Jump up ^ Holden, Stephen ( 2000 - 12 - 27 ). `` Teeming Mural of a War Fought and Lost ''. The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved 2008 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ Sarris, Andrew ( 2000 - 12 - 24 ). `` Soderbergh, on Border Patrol, Dissects the Drug Economy ''. The New York Observer. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 07. Jump up ^ Gleiberman, Owen ( 2001 - 01 - 05 ). `` The High Drama ''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 07. Jump up ^ Howe, Desson ( 2001 - 01 - 05 ). `` Green Light for ' Traffic ' ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 07. Jump up ^ Travers, Peter ( 2001 - 12 - 18 ). `` ' Traffic ' ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011 - 03 - 10. Jump up ^ Schickel, Richard ( 2000 - 12 - 31 ). `` Caution : Gridlock Ahead ''. Time. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 07. Jump up ^ `` EuroScreenwriters -- Interviews with European Film Directors -- Ingmar Bergman ''. Sydsvenskan. Retrieved March 5, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Metacritic : 2000 Film Critic Top Ten Lists ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 11. Jump up ^ Bernard, Jami ( 2000 - 12 - 29 ). `` Jami 's Top 10 Movies ''. New York Daily News. Jump up ^ Kirkland, Bruce ( 2000 - 12 - 29 ). `` The Best, and the Rest ''. Toronto Sun. Jump up ^ Mathews, Jack ( 2000 - 12 - 29 ). `` Jack 's Top 10 Movies ''. New York Daily News. Jump up ^ Hartl, John ( 2001 - 03 - 26 ). `` Rare three - way Oscar scrap ''. Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 28. Jump up ^ Lyman, Rick ( 2001 - 01 - 22 ). `` Surprises but No Dominator at the Golden Globes ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 11. Jump up ^ Holden, Stephen ( 2000 - 12 - 14 ). `` ' Traffic ' Captures Awards From New York Film Critics ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 11. Jump up ^ McCarthy, Todd ( 2000 - 12 - 18 ). `` L.A. crix take leap with ' Tiger ' ''. Variety. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Howell, Peter ( 2000 - 12 - 21 ). `` Toronto Critics Like Lee ''. Toronto Star. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Cardwell, Diane ( 2001 - 01 - 07 ). `` Critics Group Honors Quirky List of Film Favorites ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 11. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Traffic Traffic at AllMovie Traffic at Box Office Mojo Traffic on IMDb Traffic at Metacritic ' at Rotten Tomatoes Related topic navboxes Stephen Gaghan Films directed Abandon ( 2002 ) Syriana ( 2005 ) Gold ( 2016 ) The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle ( 2019 ) Films written Rules of Engagement ( 2000 ) Traffic ( 2000 ) Abandon ( 2002 ) The Alamo ( 2004 ) Havoc ( 2005 ) Syriana ( 2005 ) Gold ( 2016 ) The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle ( 2019 ) Games written Call of Duty : Ghosts ( 2013 ) Satellite Award for Best Film Musical or Comedy ( 1996 -- 2009, retired ) Evita ( 1996 ) As Good as It Gets ( 1997 ) Shakespeare in Love ( 1998 ) Being John Malkovich ( 1999 ) Nurse Betty ( 2000 ) Moulin Rouge ! ( 2001 ) My Big Fat Greek Wedding ( 2002 ) Lost in Translation ( 2003 ) Sideways ( 2004 ) Walk the Line ( 2005 ) Dreamgirls ( 2006 ) Juno ( 2007 ) Happy - Go - Lucky ( 2008 ) Nine ( 2009 ) Motion Picture Drama ( 1996 -- 2009, retired ) Fargo ( 1996 ) Titanic ( 1997 ) The Thin Red Line ( 1998 ) The Insider ( 1999 ) Traffic ( 2000 ) In the Bedroom ( 2001 ) Far from Heaven ( 2002 ) In America ( 2003 ) Hotel Rwanda ( 2004 ) Brokeback Mountain ( 2005 ) The Departed ( 2006 ) No Country for Old Men ( 2007 ) Slumdog Millionaire ( 2008 ) The Hurt Locker ( 2009 ) Motion Picture ( 2010 -- present ) The Social Network ( 2010 ) The Descendants ( 2011 ) Silver Linings Playbook ( 2012 ) 12 Years a Slave ( 2013 ) Birdman or ( The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance ) ( 2014 ) Spotlight ( 2015 ) La La Land / Manchester by the Sea ( 2016 ) God 's Own Country / Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ( 2017 ) Steven Soderbergh Films Directed 9012Live ( 1985 ) Sex, Lies, and Videotape ( 1989 ) Kafka ( 1991 ) King of the Hill ( 1993 ) The Underneath ( 1995 ) Schizopolis ( 1996 ) Gray 's Anatomy ( 1996 ) Out of Sight ( 1998 ) The Limey ( 1999 ) Erin Brockovich ( 2000 ) Traffic ( 2000 ) Ocean 's Eleven ( 2001 ) Full Frontal ( 2002 ) Solaris ( 2002 ) Eros ( 2004 ) Ocean 's Twelve ( 2004 ) Bubble ( 2005 ) The Good German ( 2006 ) Ocean 's Thirteen ( 2007 ) Che ( 2008 ) The Girlfriend Experience ( 2009 ) The Informant ! ( 2009 ) And Everything Is Going Fine ( 2010 ) Contagion ( 2011 ) Haywire ( 2012 ) Magic Mike ( 2012 ) Side Effects ( 2013 ) Behind the Candelabra ( 2013 ) Logan Lucky ( 2017 ) Unsane ( 2018 ) High Flying Bird ( 2019 ) Produced The Daytrippers ( 1996 ) Pleasantville ( 1998 ) Welcome to Collinwood ( 2002 ) Criminal ( 2004 ) The Jacket ( 2005 ) Solitary Man ( 2009 ) Ocean 's 8 ( 2018 ) Written Nightwatch ( 1997 ) Criminal ( 2004 ) Television series K Street ( 2003 ) The Knick ( 2014 -- 15 ) The Girlfriend Experience ( 2016 -- present ) Mosaic ( 2018 ) Satellite Award for Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble Boogie Nights 1997 The Thin Red Line 1998 Magnolia 1999 Traffic 2000 Gosford Park The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers 2002 `` The template below ( ScreenActorsGuildAward CastMotionPicture 1995 -- 2000 ) is being considered for merging. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. '' Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 1995 Apollo 13 Kevin Bacon, Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton, Kathleen Quinlan, Gary Sinise The Birdcage Hank Azaria, Christine Baranski, Dan Futterman, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest, Robin Williams 1997 The Full Monty Mark Addy, Paul Barber, Robert Carlyle, Deirdre Costello, Steve Huison, Bruce Jones, Lesley Sharp, William Snape, Hugo Speer, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Woof 1998 Shakespeare in Love Ben Affleck, Simon Callow, Jim Carter, Martin Clunes, Judi Dench, Joseph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Gwyneth Paltrow, Geoffrey Rush, Antony Sher, Imelda Staunton 1999 American Beauty Annette Bening, Wes Bentley, Thora Birch, Chris Cooper, Peter Gallagher, Allison Janney, Kevin Spacey, Mena Suvari 2000 Traffic Steven Bauer, Benjamin Bratt, James Brolin, Don Cheadle, Erika Christensen, Clifton Collins Jr., Benicio del Toro, Michael Douglas, Miguel Ferrer, Albert Finney, Topher Grace, Luis Guzmán, Amy Irving, Tomas Milian, D.W. Moffett, Dennis Quaid, Peter Riegert, Jacob Vargas, Catherine Zeta - Jones Complete list ( 1995 -- 2000 ) ( 2001 -- 2010 ) ( 2011 -- 2020 ) VIAF : 178854532 GND : 4678608 - 9 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Traffic_(2000_film)&oldid=833092403 '' Categories : 2000 films American films English - language films Spanish - language films 2000s crime drama films American crime drama films American crime thriller films American political drama films American political thriller films Edgar Award - winning works Films about Mexican drug cartels Films based on television series Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award - winning performance Films set in Maryland Films set in Mexico Films set in Ohio Films set in Cincinnati Films set in San Diego Films set in Texas Films set in Tijuana Films set in Washington, D.C. Films shot in Arizona Films shot in California Films shot in El Paso, Texas Films shot in Mexico Films shot in New Mexico Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award Films scored by Cliff Martinez Films directed by Steven Soderbergh Screenplays by Stephen Gaghan Hidden categories : CS1 Spanish - language sources ( es ) Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Good articles Pages using div col without cols and colwidth parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2012 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote বাংলা Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська 中文 24 more Edit links This page was last edited on 29 March 2018, at 16 : 39. 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Question: what year did the movie traffic come out
Answer: 2000