Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe 'MIND' WINS USC SCRIPTER AWARD The University of Southern California has honored the screenplay for "A Beautiful Mind" with its 14th annual Scripter Award, presented each year to recognize the best film adaptation of a book or story. Advertisement Sylvia Nasar, who wrote the book, and Akiva Goldsman, who wrote the screenplay, will be honored with crystal book awards at a black-tie dinner on March 16 at USC. The Ron Howard-directed movie was inspired by events in the life of brilliant but schizophrenic mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. Nasar's book was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. Goldsman also wrote screen adaptations of John Grisham's "The Client" and "A Time to Kill," and the upcoming movie versions of Tom Clancy's "The Sum of All Fears" and Arthur S. Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha." His credits also include "Batman Forever" and "Lost in Space." Advertisement Previous Scripter winners include the authors and screenwriters of "The English Patient," "Fried Green Tomatoes," "L.A. Confidential," "Schindler's List," "Sense and Sensibility," "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Wonder Boys." DOWNEY'S NEXT According to a report in Daily Variety, Robert Downey Jr. is in talks to star in "Six Bullets From Now" -- described as the story of the 1972 robbery of $10 million in cash and jewelry from the Pierre Hotel in New York. Director Ridley Scott ("Black Hawk Down," "Gladiator") is producing the project. A competing project -- based on the 1988 book, "The Man Who Robbed the Pierre" -- is being developed by DreamWorks. AT A LOSS FOR WORDS Iyanla Vanzant's experiment in TV talk has ended with the cancellation of her syndicated talk show, "Iyanla," just four months after it premiered to high expectations. Vanzant, author of several best-selling books, issued a statement blaming the failure of the show on the fact that it couldn't get traction with TV audiences who were preoccupied with news coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "It would have been great if the show would have worked, but it is really OK that it didn't," said the statement. "Sometimes the climate is not right for what you are doing." Advertisement Although production has been stopped on the show, it is expected to continue on the air until March in most markets where it was picked up. BUT HE PROBABLY WON'T GET THE UNDERWEAR QUESTION MTV has announced that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will lead a global town meeting on the air in February -- and will take questions from young viewers. The subject of the open forum will be the U.S. war on terrorism. The event will be the latest in a growing list of MTV programs intended to bring public affairs coverage to the cable network's youthful audience. The best known MTV public affairs program is probably the appearance by then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton, in which a questioner wanted to know which kind of underwear he preferred -- boxers or jockey shorts -- and he actually answered on the air! Powell said he looks forward to "speaking one-on-one with young people from across the world in this unique forum to discuss world affairs." CALLING ALL ANNES NBC is looking for people -- women or men -- who look like "Weakest Link" moderator Anne Robinson. They want to put together a Robinson look-alike episode. The network is appealing to people who have been told they look like Robinson to send videotape of themselves to: Weakest Link Contestant Department, 330 S. Bob Hope Drive, Trailer C, Burbank, Calif. 91523. Advertisement They want you to talk on tape about why you think you look like Robinson, and possibly include funny stories about the times others mistook you for her. The tape should also show what you look like from head to toe. The deadline for the tapes to reach NBC is Jan. 31. OSCARS TURN TO AN OLD HAND Producers of the upcoming Academy Awards telecast announced Tuesday that veteran director Louis J. Horvitz will call the shots for a sixth straight Oscars show. Horvitz has won the Emmy three times for directing the Oscars telecast, most recently in 2000 for the 72nd annual Academy Awards. Laura Ziskin, the rookie producer of the upcoming telecast, said she feels "blessed" to have Horvitz on board. Last year alone, Horvitz directed 10 high-profile TV specials in addition to the 73rd Annual Academy Awards, including the primetime daytime Emmy Awards shows, "The Kennedy Center Honors," "VH 1 Tribute to New York City," "The 28th Annual People's Choice Awards" and The United Negro College Fund's "An Evening of Stars." The 74th Annual Academy Awards will be presented on March 24 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. THAILAND GIVES A BREAK TO THE A-LIST Advertisement The government of Thailand has announced that foreign actors will get a tax break in a move apparently intended to persuade producers to make more movies there. The head of the Thai Revenue Department said the government will set a flat 10 percent income tax rate on foreign actors' paychecks. Currently, actors are taxed on a progressive scale from 5 percent to 30 percent. The prime minister's office said the change was being made in response to complaints by a number of Hollywood filmmakers last year.
