'Mind' is a beautiful thing at foreign press awards

'ABeautiful Mind," the true-life tale of a schizophrenic math genius, led Sunday's Golden Globes with four wins, including best drama. Movie pundits now predict the honors will carry over to the Academy Awards.

Although the Globes are decided by fewer than 100 foreign journalists, some in Hollywood say the winners pick up significant Oscar momentum from the ceremony's sizable television audience. The Oscars are announced March 24.

NBC's telecast of the Globes came about two weeks before the Feb. 1 deadline for the return of nearly 4,200 Oscar nomination ballots. " 'A Beautiful Mind' really needed to pick up some steam, and it did that - and then some," Entertainment Weekly awards expert Dave Karger said Monday.

In the Golden Globe performer categories, "A Beautiful Mind" also won best dramatic actor for Russell Crowe and best supporting actress for Jennifer Connelly.

"A Beautiful Mind" also claimed best screenplay for writer Akiva Goldsman, who adapted the film from Sylvia Nasar's best-selling biography.

The screenplay win is significant because some critics claimed the movie fictionalizes too much of the story of math genius John Forbes Nash Jr., which has hurt other true-life Oscar contenders such as 1999's "The Hurricane."

"I think this proves that the so-called controversy over 'A Beautiful Mind' is not going to be as big a deal as some people had thought," Mr. Karger said.