Russell Crowe: Loved for his beautiful mind

By AINSLEY THOMSON

Life is beautiful for Russell Crowe. The New Zealander, who won an Oscar for his lead in the movie Gladiator, yesterday pulled off his second big award - a Golden Globe for best actor in a drama, for A Beautiful Mind.

His awards double puts him in the company of stars such as Tom Hanks, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, who have also won both.

A Beautiful Mind, about Nobel laureate and mathematician John Nash's struggle with schizophrenia, also won best drama, best supporting actress and best screenplay.

In his acceptance speech, Crowe said the film, which will screen in New Zealand from March 14, is "just a piece of entertainment at the end of the day, folks".

"But hopefully it helps us open our hearts, gives us a little more compassion ... and gives us the belief that in our lives, something extraordinary can always happen."

But something extraordinary didn't happen for the other movie with a New Zealand connection.

Although The Fellowship of the Ring (takings: over $1.2 billion worldwide and climbing) was nominated in the best picture (drama) category and Peter Jackson was nominated for best director, nothing went its way.

At the same time, the first instalment of the epic The Lord of the Rings slipped off the top spot at the North American box office at the weekend, beaten by military movie Black Hawk Down and Snow Dogs.

This year's awards are being seen as especially important because the contest for Oscars is wide open in the race for best film, with A Beautiful Mind pitted against critical hits such as Moulin Rouge and Ali, in which Will Smith plays the legendary boxer.

Wellington-born Crowe, who got his big break in Hollywood in 1995 in The Quick and the Dead alongside Gene Hackman, is a first-time winner of a Golden Globe, although he was nominated for his roles in The Insider and Gladiator.

Moulin Rouge star Nicole Kidman strengthened her Oscar hopes by taking the award for best actress in a musical or comedy. The film won two other awards.

The Golden Globes, the first major awards show of the year, are often seen as a rehearsal for the Oscars in March, although winners are just as likely to fail at the Oscars as go on to mount the Academy Awards podium.

The awards, decided by 90 foreign entertainment journalists who make up the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have separate categories for musicals/comedies and dramas - the Oscars don't - which doubles the Globes' chances of selecting a winner.

Last year, Tom Hanks won a Golden Globe for his role in Cast Away, but Crowe received the Oscar for Gladiator.

Going into the Beverly Hills ceremony, protected by some of the toughest security seen at a Hollywood event after the September 11 attacks, Peter Jackson admitted he would rather be at home watching it on television.

"It's nerve-racking," he said. "It would be almost good to have the nominations and then not to have a winner."

Afterwards he said he was not disappointed: "Film-making is not really like a sports event. We're not sportsmen, we make movies for audiences to enjoy. The competitive thing is a little weird."

Complete list of winners

Film categories

DRAMA

A Beautiful Mind


MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Moulin Rouge


ACTRESS, DRAMA

Sissy Spacek, "In the Bedroom"


ACTOR, DRAMA

Russell Crowe, "A Beautiful Mind"

ACTRESS, MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Nicole Kidman, "Moulin Rouge"

ACTOR, MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Gene Hackman, "The Royal Tenenbaums"


SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Connelly, "A Beautiful Mind"

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Jim Broadbent, "Iris"

DIRECTOR

Robert Altman, "Gosford Park"

SCREENPLAY

Akiva Goldsman, "A Beautiful Mind"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

"No Man's Land," Bosnia

ORIGINAL SCORE

Craig Armstrong, "Moulin Rouge"

ORIGINAL SONG

Until . . ., from Kate & Leopold, by Sting


Television categories

DRAMA SERIES

Six Feet Under, HBO

MUSICAL OR COMEDY SERIES

Sex and the City, HBO

ACTRESS, DRAMA

Jennifer Garner, "Alias"

ACTOR, DRAMA

Kiefer Sutherland, "24."

ACTRESS, MUSICAL OR COMEDY SERIES

Sarah Jessica Parker, "Sex and the City."

ACTOR, MUSICAL OR COMEDY SERIES

Charlie Sheen, "Spin City."

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Rachel Griffiths, "Six Feet Under"

SUPPORTING ACTOR, SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Stanley Tucci, "Conspiracy"