DATE=3/20/2002

TYPE=ENGLISH PROGRAMS FEATURE

NUMBER=7-36078

TITLE=HOLLYWOOD HIGHLIGHTS 2002-12b (Best Picture Nominees)

BYLINE=ALAN SILVERMAN

TELEPHONE=619-2009 (editor)

DATELINE=HOLLYWOOD

EDITOR=Nancy Smart

CONTENT=

( INSERTS AVAILABLE FROM AUDIO SERVICES; VOICED VERSION 4:51vo )

Intro: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents its 74-th annual awards for excellence in filmmaking on Sunday (3/24) in Hollywood. Alan Silverman has a look at the nominees for Oscar night's top award: Best Picture of the year:

CUT ONE "A BEAUTIFUL MIND" CLIP

"PERHAPS IT IS GOOD TO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL MIND, BUT AN EVEN GREATER GIFT IS TO DISCOVER A BEAUTIFUL HEART." (MUSIC)

TEXT: Will it be a beautiful evening for "A BEAUTIFUL MIND?:"

CUT TWO "MOULIN ROUGE" CLIP

"SILLY TO THINK YOU WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE LIKE ME."

"I CAN'T FALL IN LOVE WITH ANYONE. I MAKE MEN BELIEVE WHAT THEY WANT TO BELIEVE." (MUSIC)

TEXT: Or will Academy voters believe that "MOULIN ROUGE" sang and danced its way to the top honor?:

CUT THREE "LORD OF THE RINGS" CLIP

"I WISH THE RING HAD NEVER COME TO ME. I WISH NONE OF THIS HAD HAPPENED."

"SO DO ALL WHO LIVE TO SEE SUCH TIMES."

TEXT: What about the film with the most nominations? Could the epic adventure "LORD OF THE RINGS" be lord of Oscar night?:

CUT FOUR "GOSFORD PARK" CLIP

(SUNG)"YOU'VE GOT THE LIPS FOR ME, THE HIPS FOR ME . . ." (SCREAM)

TEXT: Will they scream for the drawing room murder mystery "GOSFORD PARK?" Or will the surprise winner be the drama of a family in crisis, "IN THE BEDROOM?:"

CUT FIVE "IN THE BEDROOM" CLIP

"YOU CAN' ADMIT THE TRUTH TO ME OR TO YOURSELF. YOU ENCOURAGED HIM."

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT I'M THE ONE RESPONSIBLE?"

TEXT: Probably the most modest production in the group, "IN THE BEDROOM" is the intimate story of a husband and wife dealing with heart-wrenching grief. Their performances earned acting category nominations for co-stars Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson and Marisa Tomei. /// OPT /// "IN THE BEDROOM" writer/director Todd Field says they realistically became the characters in his script:

CUT SIX FIELD

I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT ACTORS. I THOUGHT ABOUT PEOPLE THAT I KNEW. THOSE CHARACTERS ARE BASED ON PEOPLE THAT I KNOW VERY WELL; BUT THEY WERE THE ACTORS I WAS INTERESTED IN PLAYING THESE ROLES AND I PINCH MYSELF ON A DAILY BASIS ABOUT THE FACT THEY ACTUALLY AGREED TO DO THE FILM AND TO PLAY THESE ROLES. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: "THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING" is the first film of a trilogy based on the epic novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. Peter Jackson filmed all three consecutively in his native New Zealand and this first to be released also earned him a best director nomination:

/// OPT /// CUT SEVEN JACKSON

THEY'VE BEEN KNOWN FOR 50 YEARS AS UNFILMABLE BOOKS. AT THE SAME TIME, WHAT COUNTERED THAT WAS THE SHEER EXCITEMENT ABOUT WHAT I WAS INVOLVED IN. IT WAS DAUNTING AND INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT, BUT IT WAS EXCITING. I'M GOING TO BE SPENDING EIGHT YEARS OF MY LIFE ON THIS PROJECT (FROM 1995 TO 2003 WHEN WE'RE RELEASING THE THIRD MOVIE) AND I JUST THINK IT'S WORTH IT. I LOVE WHAT I'M DOING. I LOVE MAKING MOVIES. I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO MAKE A FANTASY FILM AND I'M LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE THIS WONDERFUL BOOK AS MY MATERIAL TO USE. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: Robert Altman is also a best director contender for his best picture nominee. For "GOSFORD PARK," a classic 1930's murder mystery set in a high class British estate, the veteran American filmmaker gathered a top-notch ensemble of English actors:

/// OPT /// CUT EIGHT ALTMAN

I FIND THAT THE MORE ACTORS YOU HAVE, THE MORE THEY TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES AND THE LESS WORK I HAVE TO DO. IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: Two of Altman's "GOSFORD PARK" players (Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith) also earned acting nominations.

Nicole Kidman is a best actress nominee for "MOULIN ROUGE," a new-style musical set in the decadent Parisian nightclub at the turn of the twentieth century. The film has eight nominations, including best picture, /// OPT /// but apparently it directed itself. Academy voters overlooked "MOULIN ROUGE" director Baz Luhrman:

CUT NINE LUHRMAN

MY SINGULAR MISSION HAS BEEN TO FIND A WAY OF MAKING THE MUSICAL CINEMA WORK AGAIN FOR THIS TIME AND THIS PLACE. A MUSICAL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS WAS NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD (AND) I WAS SOMEWHERE ELSE (WITH EXCITEMENT) BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FILM. EVERY ONE OF THE DIRECTORS NOMINATED HAS DONE FANTASTIC WORK. THEY'RE INCREDIBLE DIRECTORS. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THAT. REALLY, IT IS N-O-T ABOUT ONE PICTURE BETTER THAN THE OTHER. THERE ARE FIVE OR SIX FILMS THAT HAVE PUSHED THE MEDIUM THIS YEAR AND THEY HAVE A LIGHT SHONE ON THEM. IF NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS WITH "MOULIN ROUGE," WE'RE DONE. WE'RE ALREADY THERE. AN AUDIENCE HAS EMBRACED IT. IT'S BEEN RECOGNIZED. NOTHING CAN CHANGE THAT. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: Best picture finalist "A BEAUTIFUL MIND" is also up for eight awards. The romantic drama inspired by the life of Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash has acting nominations for co-stars Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly and a best director nod for Ron Howard:

/// OPT /// CUT TEN HOWARD

ALMOST EVERYBODY IN THIS BUSINESS HAS DREAMED OF IT AND, LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, I'VE GIVEN THE SPEECH IN THE SHOWER OVER THE YEARS MANY TIMES . . . AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE SPEECH. NOW THAT THERE'S A POSSIBILITY I MIGHT NEED IT, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE HOOK THAT I'VE HAD IN THE SHOWER OVER THE YEARS, SO I'LL HAVE TO START AFRESH TO TRY TO HAVE A PLAN. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: Only one of those five will be crowned Best Picture of 2001 according to the 5700 voting members of the Motion Picture Academy, which is made up of the actors, directors, writers, producers, cinematographers and other craftspeople who make the movies. (signed)