Entertainment Today: Showbiz news

GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS

"A Beautiful Mind" -- an account of the life of schizophrenic Noble Prize winning mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. -- won four Golden Globe awards Sunday, including one for best drama movie.

"Moulin Rouge" -- a musical set in the Paris music halls at the dawn of the 20th century -- won three statues, including one for best musical or comedy movie.

The outcome establishes the two movies as leading contenders for the best picture Oscar, which will be awarded in March. The top Oscar has gone to a Golden Globe winner in all but three of the last 16 years. The Golden Globe awards are handed out each year by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Russell Crowe won best actor in a drama movie, Jennifer Connelly won for supporting actress and Akiva Goldsman won for best screen for "A Beautiful Mind," which came into the night with six Golden Globe nominations.

Nicole Kidman won best actress in a musical or comedy movie for "Moulin Rouge," which also won best original score for composer Craig Armstrong. Moulin Rouge also came in with six nominations. No other movie won more than one award.

Sissy Spacek won for best actress in a drama movie for her performance as a mother coping with the tragic loss of a son in "In the Bedroom." Gene Hackman won for best actor in a musical or comedy movie for his portrayal of the patriarch of a dysfunctional family in "The Royal Tenenbaums." British Actor Jim Broadbent won supporting actor honors for "Iris," and veteran actor Robert Altman won best director for "Gosford Park" -- a murder mystery set in an English country estate, which came in with five nominations.

"The Lord or the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" had four nominations but was shut out.

In the TV categories, HBO's Sex and the City" won a third straight Golden Globe for best comedy series, and its star, Sarah Jessica Parker won her second straight trophy for best comedy series actress.

HBO's freshman comedy-drama "Six Feet Under" took the Golden Globe for best drama series. Kiefer Sutherland won for best actor in a drama for the Fox Series "24." Jennifer Garner of ABC's "Alias" won best actress in a drama series, and Charlie Sheen of ABC's Spin City won for actor in a comedy series.

But popular favorites were shut out at the Golden Globes. The NBC comedy "Will and Grace" came in with five nominations. The HBO crime family drama "The Sopranos" and the NBC White House drama "The West Wing" each came in with four nominations. All three series -- which had won Emmys for best comedy or drama series -- came away from the Golden Globes empty handed.

The winners:

-- Motion Pictures

Drama: "A Beautiful Mind."

Director: Robert Altman, "Gosford Park."

Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman, "A Beautiful Mind."

Actress: Sissy Spacek, "In the Bedroom."

Actor: Russell Crowe, "A Beautiful Mind."

Musical/Comedy: "Moulin Rouge."

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."

Foreign-Language Film: "No Man's Land" (Bosnia).

Original Score: Craig Armstrong, "Moulin Rouge."

Original Song: "Until ...," Sting from "Kate & Leopold."

-- Television

Drama Series, "Six Feet Under" HBO.

Actress, Drama: Jennifer Garner, "Alias," ABC.

Actor, Drama: Kiefer Sutherland, "24," FOX.

Musical or Comedy Series: "Sex and the City," HBO.

Actress, Musical or Comedy Series: Sarah Jessica Parker, "Sex and the City," HBO.

Actor, Musical or Comedy Series: Charlie Sheen, "Spin City," ABC.

Miniseries or Movie Made for Television: "Band of Brothers," HBO

Actress Miniseries or Movie Made for Television: Judy Davis, "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows," ABC.

Actor, Miniseries or Movie Made for Television: James Franco, "James Dean," TNT

Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or TV Movie: Stanley Tucci, "Conspiracy," HBO

Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or TV Movie: Rachel Griffiths, "Six Feet Under," HBO.

STUDIO PULLS PLUG ON CARREY-KIDMAN COMEDY

According to a report in Daily Variety, Universal has abruptly called off production on a comedy starring Jim Carrey and Nicole Kidman that was to have begun production in March.

Carrey was supposed to play a widower who gets back into the dating world -- where the challenge is already daunting -- only to be haunted by his dead wife, played by Kidman. Gary Ross ("Pleasantville," "Dave") was to have directed from his own screenplay, and Variety said Universal had intended a Christmas 2002 release for the picture.

It appears as though Kidman's busy schedule was a major factor in the studio's decision. She's already started work on "Dogville" with director Lars von Trier ("Dancer in the Dark," "Breaking the Waves") and when that project is finished, she's scheduled to go right to work on "The Human Stain" with Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins.

(The above two items thanks to UPI Hollywood Reporter Pat Nason)

JAMES EARL JONES

An attorney involved in the flap over a Martin Luther King plaque -- intended for actor James Earl Jones -- that mistakenly credited convicted assassin James Earl Ray with "keeping the dream alive" said no decision on any legal action has been made yet.

Instead of the actor's name, the plaque named the man who was convicted of killing King in 1968.

"We haven't let this go yet. We're looking at our options and during a further investigation," said William J. Cone, who represents Adpro Marketing of Lauderhill, Fla., which arranged for the plaque on behalf of the city's "King Day Task Force." "We're getting a lot of stories about how this could happened. We're wondering which one is the truth."

Merit Industries of Texas has apologized for the mistake.

Herbert Miller, sales manager for Merit Industries, said some of the company's workers are barely in their 20s and don't speak much English. He also said the engraver was working on another plaque for a man named Ray Johnson at the same time and that added to the confusion.

The task force elected to buy Jones a piece of African-American sculpture rather than give him a corrected plaque.

BRAD RENFRO

Nineteen-year-old actor Brad Renfro has been hauled into a Knoxville, Tenn., court, charged with public intoxication and driving without a license.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that Renfro -- whose film credits include "The Client," "The Cure," Telling Lies in America" and "Sleepers" -- would not comment about the arrest when the newspaper reached him by phone.

Renfro is currently in the middle of a two-year probationary period slapped on him by a Florida judge after he was found guilty of trying to steal a yacht from a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., marina.

(Thanks to UPI Feature Reporter Dennis Daily)

'PMRC'

Twisted Sister's Dee Snider plays himself in the VH1 original movie "P.M.R.C." It's a satiric look at the mid-1980s war on "porn rock" led by Tipper Gore and the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) -- and featuring a bizarre cast of unlikely characters who get caught up in the battle on Capitol Hill. The film -- starring Jason Priestley and Mariel Hemingway -- premieres April 17 (at 9 p.m. ET/PT).

RUSH LIMBAUGH

Columnist David Limbaugh reports that his brother, radio talk show titan Rush Limbaugh, has regained close to 80 percent of his hearing thanks to a revolutionary operation performed several weeks ago. David Limbaugh made the announcement at last Thursday night's Media Research Center dinner in Washington.

(From UPI's Capital Comment)

BOX OFFICE

War drama "Black Hawk Down" easily won a healthy weekend at the nation's box office with an estimated $29 million at 3,101 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday.

The Sony release -- which re-enacts the rescue of Marines in Somalia in 1993 -- set a record for the first three days of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend by topping last year's $23.4 million total from "Save the Last Dance."

Disney's family comedy "Snow Dogs," starring Cuba Gooding Jr., opened in second place with $21 million at 2,302 theaters. New Line's fifth weekend of "Lord of the Rings" came in third, finishing out of first for the first time with a still-impressive $13 million at 3,266 sites. It already ranks as the 20th highest domestic grosser, topping "Toy Story 2."

Universal's fourth weekend of "A Beautiful Mind" finished fourth, followed by Paramount's second weekend of teen comedy "Orange County."

Rounding out the top 10 were "Ocean's Eleven," "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Kate & Leopold," "Gosford Park," and "Vanilla Sky."

(Thanks to UPI's Dave McNary in Los Angeles)