“A Beautiful Mind,” produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard

“Gosford Park,” produced by Robert Altman, Bob Balaban and David Levy

“In The Bedroom,” produced by Graham Leader, Ross Katz and Todd Field

“The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring,” Nominees to be determined

“Moulin Rouge,” produced by Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann and Fred Baron

Director/producer Ron Howard received his first two Oscar nods ever for “A Beautiful Mind.” Brian Grazer has had two previous nominations, including one for Best Picture for his work on “Apollo” in 1995. “Lord of the Rings” received 12 other nominations for this year’s awards.

Beell: “Lord of the Rings.” “Normally you would think that if a movie was selected best movie, the director automatically should win. But I think people like to split their votes. It doesn’t happen very often.”

McDonough: “A Beautiful Mind.” “I think everything in that was well-rounded. Good actors, good director, good writing, compelling story. It has all the elements it needs to be best picture. Pretty much every element of it is worthy of Oscar consideration.”

Roman: “Lord of the Rings.” “Beautiful Mind wasn’t as entertaining. I wasn’t as excited as I was when I saw `The Lord of the Rings.’ It didn’t drone on, I wasn’t waiting for it to end. I was very excited.”

Russell Crowe, in “A Beautiful Mind;” Sean Penn, in “I Am Sam;” Will Smith, in “Ali;” Denzel Washington, in “Training Day;” and Tom Wilkinson, in “In the Bedroom”

This is the first year two African American actors have been nominated in this category. Denzel Washington has been nominated four previous times, including his award-winning performance in “Glory” in 1989. This is Will Smith’s first nomination. Russell Crowe won in 2000 for “Gladiator.”

Beell: Denzel Washington. “Washington’s performance was contrary to what he’s been doing. He played a miserable, mean, vicious scumbag, giving a compelling performance.”

McDonough: Russell Crowe. “He seems to really just embody the people he plays and really gets into those roles. He really is an impressive actor. It’s probably long overdue. It would be impressive if one of them [Smith or Washington] were to win, but I think Russell has it this year.

Roman: Russell Crowe. “He made the movie interesting besides just the storyline. (Jokingly) I was hoping Jack Black would get it for Orange County.”

Halle Berry, in “Monster’s Ball;” Judi Dench, in “Iris;” Nicole Kidman, in “Moulin Rouge;” Sissy Spacek, in “In the Bedroom;” and Ren‚e Zellweger, in “Bridget Jones’s Diary”

“Moulin Rouge,” the movie that gave Nicole Kidman her first Oscar nod, was also nominated in seven other categories, including Makeup, Art Direction, and Costume Design.

Beell: Sissy Spacek. “Halle Berry was superb, really good. But Sissy Spacek’s performance is very nuanced. You can see her doing so much with her face.”

McDonough: Nicole Kidman. “Out of any Nicole Kidman movie I’ve seen, this is been her best so far, and I think that this could be a good year for her.”

Roman: Undecided. “`Monster’s Ball’ was supposed to be a very good movie.”

“A Beautiful Mind,” directed by Ron Howard; “Black Hawk Down,” directed by Ridley Scott; “Gosford Park,” directed by Robert Altman; “The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring,” directed by Peter Jackson; and “Mullholland Drive,” directed by David Lynch

Beell: Ron Howard. “[Ridley Scott’s work] was very competent. Peter Jackson will be seriously considered. I think Robert Altman will be given an honorary award. There’s a lot of sentiment for him right now. But ultimately, it will be between Ron Howard and Peter Jackson.”

McDonough: Ron Howard. “It’s just been nominated in so many different things. Russell Crowe really helped to carry that movie and that’s going to reflect well for Ron Howard too.”

Roman: Peter Jackson “`A Beautiful Mind’ and `Mullholland Drive’ follow a trend in movies, which is to confuse the audience throughout the entire beginning and surprise them in the end. It’s just not as interesting. `Lord of the Rings’ was just really entertaining.”

Jim Broadbent, in “Iris;” Ethan Hawke, in “Training Day;” Ben Kingsley, in “Sexy Beast;” Ian McKellen, in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring;” and Jon Voight in “Ali”

Beell: Ian McKellen. “There’s going to be a lot of academy interest in `Lord of the Rings.’ It has a lot of good performances to compete with.”

McDonough: Undecided. “Ian McKellen was impressive. I thought the entire movie was impressive. He seemed like the perfect person to play the role.”

Roman: Ian McKellen. “He’s a really good actor, period. He just totally played a character I’ve never seen before. The movie’s reputation helps him also.”

Jennifer Connelly, in “A Beautiful Mind;” Helen Mirren, in “Gosford Park;” Maggie Smith, in “Gosford Park;” Marisa Tomei, in “In the Bedroom;” Kate Winslet in “Iris”

Beell: Maggie Smith. “Smith is the one I would pick, but generally when two are nominated from the same movie, votes are split and neither nominee gets it.”

McDonough: Jennifer Connelly. “She had a good actor to work off of and a good director. They both helped her to craft her performance and helped her to probably do better than she would have if she was working with other people. I think `Beautiful Mind’ is going to win some other awards too, so she might have a good shot at this one.”

Roman: Undecided. “I really liked Jennifer Connelly, but she didn’t play as big a part as I thought she would. I thought they could have made her part a little bigger.”