• Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind”) • Daniel Clowes ‘ Terry Zwigoff (“Ghost World”) • Rod Festinger ‘ Todd Field (“In The Bedroom”) • Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens ‘ Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings”) • Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman ‘ Roger S.H. Schulman (“Shrek”)
“A Beautiful Mind” seems relatively unaffected both by allegations that it misrepresents the realities of its main character and by Russell Crowe’s acting like … well, like Russell Crowe. So, Akiva Goldsman’s script seems to be the best bet here. Todd Field and Robert Festinger’s work for the devastating “In the Bedroom” could get some recognition, especially since Field is owed some after being snubbed in the Best Director category. “Lord of the Rings,” while doing a great job at compressing the novel into a feature film, relies too much on action and eye candy to win here, and “Shrek” just seems completely out of place in this category. And then there’s “Ghost World,” adapted by Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff from Clowes’ comic book — this is the deserving winner, but unfortunately, it has about as much chance at an Oscar as the Steve Buscemi character has at getting a real date.
WILL WIN: Akiva Goldsman for “A Beautiful Mind” SHOULD WIN: Daniel Clowes, Terry Zwigoff for “Ghost World” REALISTIC UPSET: Todd Field, Robert Festinger for “In the Bedroom”
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