Gold Rush

By LORENZA MUNOZ and SUSAN KING

Jan. 21, 2002 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITERS

A film delving into the darkness of mental illness and a vibrant yet tragic period musical won top honors at the 59th annual Golden Globes ceremony Sunday night.

Universal/DreamWorks’ film “A Beautiful Mind” won four awards, including best drama for its depiction of mathematical genius John Nash’s battle with schizophrenia.

“You found a way to do the hardest thing--to make the mind a visual experience,” said the film’s producer, Brian Grazer, referring to his friend and partner, Ron Howard, who directed “A Beautiful Mind.”

Australian Russell Crowe won best actor in a drama for his portrayal of Nash. This was the first Golden Globe win for Crowe, who won the best actor Academy Award last year for director Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator.”

“‘A Beautiful Mind’ is just a movie,” said the bearded Crowe to the audience at the Beverly Hilton. “It’s just a piece of entertainment at the end of the day, folks. But hopefully it opens our hearts, gives us more understanding and compassion and the belief that in our lives something extraordinary can always happen.”

Baz Luhrmann’s colorful musical “Moulin Rouge” won best musical or comedy feature. Luhrmann, another Australian, said he was ending a five-year journey bringing the musical, a neglected genre in Hollywood, back to life.

Backstage, Luhrmann said his musical wasn’t a throwback to old-fashioned Hollywood musicals. Rather he said, “It’s really looking back to the past into the future to find a solution to music cinema now.”

The film also won best actress in a musical or comedy for Luhrmann’s fellow countrywoman, Nicole Kidman, and best original score.

There have been many instances when the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes have not agreed on nominations or winners. But with their wins, “A Beautiful Mind” and “Moulin Rouge” can be considered front-runners for the Academy Awards, which take place March 24 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Veteran Sissy Spacek, donning a conservative black suit and her trademark red hair in a bun, won best actress in a drama for her role as the uptight, grieving mother in Miramax’s “In the Bedroom.” Spacek, who broke into film in the early 1970s, has received several critical honors for the film, including best actress from the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

“I feel so blessed to get to do what I love to do and to work with so many wonderful people, but the best part of all is that I get to go home to my precious family,” said Spacek, 52.

In a move that surprised the man himself, 76-year-old Robert Altman won best director for his ensemble murder mystery satire “Gosford Park.” Altman is the oldest winner in the directing category since John Huston won at 79 for “Prizzi’s Honor.”

“I’m whelmed, I’m overwhelmed ... I don’t know what a best director is,” said Altman. “ ... I feel that [the actors] do the work and I get to watch, and nothing is better than that.”

Altman, who was first nominated for a Golden Globe in this category for 1970’s “MASH” and was last nominated for 1992’s “The Player,” thanked USA Films for leading an aggressive publicity campaign for the $13-million film. “And for me to say this is a lot, they are doing a terrific job,” said the notoriously maverick director, who has bucked the studio system in favor of more independent fare.

Kidman, who was accompanied by her mother and father, won for her role as the doomed courtesan Satine in “Moulin Rouge.” Kidman, who won a Golden Globe six years ago for “To Die For,” experienced one of her most successful years professionally, but a turbulent one personally with the end of her 10-year marriage to Tom Cruise.

“This is really, really special because I never thought I would be in a musical, let alone win an award for one,” said a nervous Kidman, who admitted her teeth were chattering. “I think when you win an award, you think, ‘Hmm, it’s not about me in a way, it’s about the people who helped you get here.’”

Gene Hackman won best actor in a comedy or musical for his role as an errant father in Wes Anderson’s offbeat dark comedy of a dysfunctional family, “The Royal Tenenbaums.” Hackman, who did not attend the ceremony because he missed his flight connection while in the Caribbean, was named best actor by the National Society of Critics earlier this month for “Tenenbaums.” The 71-year-old actor won his last Golden Globe in 1992 for “Unforgiven.”

In the supporting category, the awards went to understanding and long-suffering spouses.

Jennifer Connelly won for her role as Alicia, the loyal wife of John Nash in “A Beautiful Mind.”

“Oh my gosh that was fast!” said a breathless Connelly, who was the first person to win an award Sunday night. The actress, whose career began as a child actress in the mid-’80s in such films as Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in America,” made a reference to her 4-year-old son, saying, “I am a better actor and a human being because of you.”

Englishman Jim Broadbent took home his first Globe for his performance as the husband of Alzheimer’s disease-stricken writer Iris Murdoch in “Iris.”

Broadbent has been singled out by critics for his performance in “Iris,” as well as for his role as the colorful nightclub owner Harold Zidler in “Moulin Rouge.”

In the screenwriting category, Akiva Goldsman won for “A Beautiful Mind.”

“It’s my very first award ever,” said Goldsman, whose hands were shaking violently as he read his speech.

Craig Armstrong won for best original score for “Moulin Rouge,” while rock star Sting received best original song honors for “Until...” from “Kate & Leopold.”

America’s leading box-office star, Harrison Ford, was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for career achievement. The 59-year-old actor has starred in some of the biggest blockbusters in American cinema, including the “Star Wars” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” franchises; “Witness,” for which he received his only Oscar nomination; and the thriller “The Fugitive.”

The Golden Globes are sponsored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., an organization of about 80 writers and part-time journalists who vote on all the categories. In the past decade, as the Globes were broadcast on a major network and as celebrity-driven media coverage increased, the awards grew in stature.

Even though the event’s reputation has been tarnished in the past by questionable dealings among members of the Foreign Press--who are flown to junkets and are wined and dined by the studios--it has become an important barometer for the Academy Awards. In the last decade, winners of the Golden Globes have become favorites for the Oscars.

While the movies dealt mainly with sober topics, on the red carpet it was business as usual. Stars were glammed up and fans in the bleachers were screaming to catch their attention.

On the television side, HBO dominated the evening, winning six Globes, including best drama for the unlikely series set in a mortuary, “Six Feet Under,” and best comedy series for the saucy “Sex and the City.” The cable network also won best miniseries or movie made for television for the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg-produced World War II epic “Band of Brothers.”

HBO also picked up honors on the acting front with Sarah Jessica Parker of “Sex and the City,” Rachel Griffiths for “Six Feet Under” and Stanley Tucci in the World War II drama “Conspiracy.”

Jennifer Garner won for best actress in a drama for her role as a double agent in ABC’s freshman series “Alias,” beating out veterans such as Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco of “The Sopranos.”

The offspring of two popular actors each took home best actor honors. “Spin City” star Charlie Sheen won for best actor in a comedy series and Kiefer Sutherland best actor in a dramatic series for Fox’s “24,” over such favorites as Charlie Sheen’s father, Martin Sheen, for “The West Wing” and James Gandolfini of “The Sopranos.”

“This is like a sober acid trip,” said the 36-year-old Sheen, who has been in and out of drug rehab.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

The Golden Globes

Best Motion Picture,

Drama

“A Beautiful Mind”

Best Motion Picture,

Musical or Comedy

“Moulin Rouge”

Best Actor,

Drama

Russell Crowe