Beautiful Mind example essay topic

Hollywood Readies for the Oscars By DAVID GERMAIN. c The Associated Press LOS ANGELES (March 24) - The Academy Awards moved into a new home Sunday with the usual glitz, plenty of head-to-head battles in top categories and some lingering antagonism over the harsh tone of the awards campaigning. The Oscars returned to Hollywood for the first time since 1960. The new site for the 74th awards was the recently opened Kodak Theatre, just across Hollywood Boulevard from the hotel where the first Oscars were presented in 1929. Unlike many years, when a clear favorite such as 'Titanic' or last year's 'Gladiator' emerged as likely best-picture winner, two main films dueled for the top Oscar. 'A Beautiful Mind,' 's tarring Russell Crowe as schizophrenic math scholar John Nash, and the fantasy epic 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring's pl it many film honors leading up to the Academy Awards. Some Oscar analysts gave 'A Beautiful Mind' the edge because it was a more down-to-earth drama that voters in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences often favor.

' 'Moulin Rouge,' ' a comic tragedy set in 1899 Paris that became the first musical to compete for best picture in 22 years, was a long shot spoiler. The ensemble satire 'Gosford Park' and the dark family drama 'In the Bedroom,' ' though widely acclaimed, generally were thought to have little chance of winning. ' 'Fellowship of the Ring' had a leading 13 nominations, with 'A Beautiful Mind' and 'Moulin Rouge' next with eight apiece. Awards season was sullied by rumors of a smear campaign against 'A Beautiful Mind,' ' the subject of news and Internet reports that the film overlooked unflattering elements of Nash's life. Universal Pictures, which owns domestic rights to 'A Beautiful Mind,' ' claimed there was an orchestrated campaign against the film, though the studio provided no evidence that any rivals were involved.

There were no overwhelming favorites in most major individual categories. Crowe for 'A Beautiful Mind' and Denzel Washington for 'Training Day' appeared to be neck-and-neck for best actor. The other nominees were Sean Penn, 'I Am Sam'; Will Smith, 'Ali'; and Tom Wilkinson, 'In the Bedroom. ' 'Best-actress seemed likely to come down to Halle Berry for 'Monster's Ball' and Sissy Spacek for 'In the Bedroom,' ' with Nicole Kidman of 'Moulin Rouge' as a potential spoiler. Also nominated were Judi Dench for 'Iris' and Renee Zellweger for 'Bridget Jones's Diary. ' 'Nominations for Berry, Smith and Washington marked the first time in 29 years that three blacks competed in the lead-acting categories.

Sidney Poitier, the only black to win a lead-acting Academy Award, was to receive a lifetime achievement Oscar, while Whoopi Goldberg, one of five blacks to win an Oscar for supporting roles, returned as the show's host. Directing honors appeared to be a three-way race among Ron Howard for 'A Beautiful Mind,' ' Robert Altman for 'Gosford Park' and Peter Jackson for 'Fellowship of the Ring. ' ' Without best-picture nominations, Ridley Scott of 'Black Hawk Down' and David Lynch of 'Mulholland Drive' were long shots. New this year was a category for best animated feature film, with 'Shrek' the likely winner over 'Monsters, Inc. ' ' and 'Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. ' 'AP-NY-03-24-02 1549 EST Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.