'Lord' runs rings around Oscar rivals

By David Germain
Associated Press

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" may have earned a leading 13 Academy Award nominations yesterday, but the fantasy epic faces a hurdle in a best-picture race against a more traditional drama, "A Beautiful Mind."

"Lord of the Rings" is last year's No. 2 box-office hit. But fantasies have rarely been taken seriously by Oscar voters, and an otherworldly epic such as the first film installment of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic has never won best picture.

"A Beautiful Mind" — tied with "Moulin Rouge" for second place with eight nominations — is the sort of heavy drama members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences often favor. "A Beautiful Mind" beat "Lord of the Rings" for top dramatic honors at last month's Golden Globes.

"I certainly would say, being a realist, we're definitely in a sort of underdog situation," said "Rings" director Peter Jackson.

Among nominations for "Lord of the Rings" were best picture, best director and supporting actor for Ian McKellen, while "A Beautiful Mind" — a dramatization of math genius John Nash's battle with schizophrenia — received nominations for best picture, director Ron Howard, actor Russell Crowe and supporting actress Jennifer Connelly.

"Rings" may be positioned to dominate the technical categories and come away with the most statuettes come Oscar night March 24.

Along with Crowe, the lead-actor category includes two black actors for the first time, Will Smith as Muhammad Ali in "Ali" and Denzel Washington as a bad cop in "Training Day." With Halle Berry nominated as an executed inmate's widow for "Monster's Ball," it was the first time since 1972 that three blacks were nominated in the lead-acting categories.

Complete list of 74th annual Oscar nominations announced today in Beverly Hills, Calif., by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:

• Best Picture: "A Beautiful Mind," "Gosford Park," "In the Bedroom," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Moulin Rouge."

• Actor: Russell Crowe, "A Beautiful Mind"; Sean Penn, "I Am Sam"; Will Smith, "Ali"; Denzel Washington, "Training Day"; Tom Wilkinson, "In the Bedroom."

• Actress: Halle Berry, "Monster's Ball"; Judi Dench, "Iris"; Nicole Kidman, "Moulin Rouge"; Sissy Spacek, "In the Bedroom"; Renee Zellweger, "Bridget Jones's Diary."

• Supporting Actor: Jim Broadbent, "Iris"; Ethan Hawke, "Training Day"; Ben Kingsley, "Sexy Beast"; Ian McKellen, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"; Jon Voight, "Ali."

• Supporting Actress: Jennifer Connelly, "A Beautiful Mind"; Helen Mirren, "Gosford Park"; Maggie Smith, "Gosford Park"; Marisa Tomei, "In the Bedroom"; Kate Winslet, "Iris."

• Director: Ron Howard, "A Beautiful Mind"; Ridley Scott, "Black Hawk Down"; Robert Altman, "Gosford Park"; Peter Jackson, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"; David Lynch, "Mulholland Drive."

• Animated Film: "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius"; "Monsters, Inc."; "Shrek."

• Foreign Film: "Amelie," France; "Elling," Norway; "Lagaan," India; "No Man's Land," Bosnia and Herzegovina; "Son of the Bride," Argentina.

• Screenplay (written based on material previously produced or published): Akiva Goldsman, "A Beautiful Mind"; Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff, "Ghost World"; Rob Festinger and Todd Field, "In the Bedroom"; Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"; Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Joe Stillman and Roger S.H. Schulman, "Shrek."

• Screenplay (written directly for the screen): Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, "Amelie"; Julian Fellowes, "Gosford Park"; Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, "Memento"; Milo Addica and Will Rokos, "Monster's Ball"; Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, "The Royal Tenenbaums."

• Art Direction: "Amelie," "Gosford Park," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Moulin Rouge."

• Cinematography: "Amelie," "Black Hawk Down," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Man Who Wasn't There," "Moulin Rouge."

• Sound: "Amelie," "Black Hawk Down," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Moulin Rouge," "Pearl Harbor."

• Sound Editing: "Monsters, Inc.," "Pearl Harbor."

• Original Song: "If I Didn't Have You" from "Monsters, Inc.," Randy Newman; "May It Be" from "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan; "There You'll Be" from "Pearl Harbor," Diane Warren; "Until" from "Kate & Leopold," Sting; "Vanilla Sky" from "Vanilla Sky," Paul McCartney.

• Original Score: "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," John Williams; "A Beautiful Mind," James Horner; "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," John Williams; "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," Howard Shore; "Monsters, Inc.," Randy Newman.

• Costume: "The Affair of the Necklace," "Gosford Park," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Moulin Rouge."

• Documentary Feature: "Children Underground," "LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton," "Murder on a Sunday Morning," "Promises," "War Photographer."

• Documentary (short subject): "Artists and Orphans: A True Drama," "Sing!," "Thoth."

• Film Editing: "A Beautiful Mind," "Black Hawk Down," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Memento," "Moulin Rouge."

• Makeup: "A Beautiful Mind," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Moulin Rouge."

• Animated Short Film: "Fifty Percent Grey," "For the Birds," "Give Up Yer Aul Sins," "Strange Invaders," "Stubble Trouble."

• Live Action Short Film: "the accountant," "Copy Shop," "Gregor's Greatest Invention," "A Man Thing (Meska Sprawa)," "Speed for Thespians."

• Visual Effects: "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Pearl Harbor."