The Invisible Man
MARK HOROWITZ
He’s lived and worked in New York for almost two decades, but Ron Howard still doesn’t get the East-Coast cred he deserves. Now, with the release of A Beautiful Mind, attention must be paid.
A Seat at Bob’s Table
By GEORGE KALOGERAKIS
The buzz is good, the cast is stellar, and the legendary director of Nashville and The Player is back in business with a new film, Gosford Park. Dare Robert Altman contemplate a hit? “Be still my heart,” he murmurs.
The Ring Leaders
ROBERT LEVINE
With their three-film, $270 million wager on the Lord of the Rings, are New Line’s robert Shaye and Michael Lynne risking the company? Or is this “ultimate macho filmmaking” at its best?
Left of Center
By LOGAN HILL
A red-diaper baby with roots in New York’s avant-garde theater, director Jessie Nelson gets tough guy Sean Penn in touch with his soft side (Hello, Oscar!) in I Am Sam, about a complicated dad and his struggle to win back his daughter.
Expatriate Dreams
BY JENNIFER SENIOR
Living quietly among us in Westchester, the Swedish director Lasse Hallström has made peace with what Ingmar Bergman once called “the meat grinder” of Hollywood. After two straight years of Oscar nominations and with similar hopes for his new film, The Shipping News, Hallström is finally where he wants to be.
The Best of the Rest
BY MARK HOROWITZ
As we head down to the wire in what may be one of the fiercest Oscar derbies in years, a scorecard to the remaining contenders (and also-rans).