A Beautiful Mind

On October 11th, 1994, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced their Nobel prize winners. Three brilliant scientists jointly won the coveted award. They were Professor John C. Harsanyi from the University of California, Berkley, Dr. John F. Nash from Princeton University and Professor Dr. Reinhard Selten, from the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany. Less than a month later, on November 13th, 1994, a writer for The New York Times wrote a great article called The Lost Years of a Nobel Laureate which told the story of one of those men, Dr. John Nash. The author of that article was Sylvia Nasar. Sylvia, who was a staff writer at the Times when she wrote the article, would go on to expand on the article. In 1998, her book called A Beautiful Mind was released to critical acclaim. It would go on to be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and win the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography. Soon after, muti-award winning Hollywood producer Brian Grazer read an excerpt from Sylvia's book in the Vanity Fair magazine. Brian is the co-founder of Imagine Entertainment, a company he co-founded with director Ron Howard in 1986. Brian's films, which include some we've covered on the podcast such as Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon, have won 43 Academy Awards and 131 Emmys. Needless to say, he knows a good story when he sees one. And he wasted no time in purchasing the film rights for Sylvia's book. On December 13th, 2001, the film A Beautiful Mind premiered to a limited audience before it's nation-wide release on January 4th, 2002. With a budget of about $58 million, A Beautiful Mind had an all-star cast led by Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Paul Bettany and more. All under the helm of the talented Ron Howard as director. The film was a smash hit as it earned over $317 million worldwide on its way to winning the coveted Oscar for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Despite such great numbers, many critics said the filmmakers changed around many of the key details, and omitted many more. Are they correct? Let's find out as we dive into the world of the Nobel Laureate John Forbes Nash, Jr., as we learn the true story behind A Beautiful Mind. BOATS Links Join the Based on a True Story Facebook page Support the show at Patreon Let me know what you think of the show on Twitter Books & Resources A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar A Beautiful Mind [Blu-ray] Other Resources A Beautiful Mind (film) A Beautiful Mind (2001) - IMDb A Beautiful Mind (2001) - Synopsis A Beautiful Mind (2001) - Financial Information A Beautiful Mind Details and Credits - Metacritic A Beautiful Mind (2001) - Rotten Tomatoes The Free Information Society - Nash Jr., John Forbes Sylvia Nasar, 'Beautiful Mind' Author, Suing Columbia University For Nearly $1 Million | The Huffington Post Columbia News ::: Sylvia Nasar Discusses Her Book, 'A Beautiful Mind;' Psychiatrist Roberto Gil: Schizophrenia and Recovery Mathematics to Madness, and Back The Lost Years of a Nobel Laureate The Prize in Economics 1994 - Press Release Why was John Nash's 1950 Game Theory paper such a big deal? - MathOverflow Nash equilibrium - Wikipedia Explaining a Cornerstone of Game Theory: John Nash’s Equilibrium - The New York Times MIT facts meet fiction in 'A Beautiful Mind' | MIT News A Beautiful Mind's John Nash is less complex than the real one. A Beautiful Mind (2001) 6 Movies Based on a True Story (That Are Also Full of Shit) Monkey Migraine Mountain: A Beautiful Lie: The Truth Behind "A Beautiful Mind" Nash: Film No Whitewash - CBS News How Realistic Is 'A Beautiful Mind'? - ABC News History vs. Hollywood: A Beautiful Mind | The American Spectator A Beautiful Mind hides ugly truths | Film | The Guardian John Forbes Nash Jr. - Wikipedia John F. Nash Jr. - Biographical Alicia Nash - Wikipedia Sylvia Nasar - Wikipedia Brian Grazer - Wikipedia Film Description Further Reading Timeline of Mental Illness 400 B.C. - 1949 Timeline of Mental Illness 1950s - 1992 People & Events: Mental Illness in Film People & Events: Recovery from Schizophrenia People & Events: A Definition of Schizophrenia People & Events: A Definition of Schizophrenia People & Events: Cold War Hysteria People & Events: RAND Corporation People & Events: Math and Science Achievement in the U.S. People & Events: Alicia Nash (1933-) People & Events: John Nash (1928 - ) People & Events: John Nash and the Nobel Prize Teacher's Guide: Suggestions for Active Learning Interview with John Nash: Discovering Math Interview with John Nash: The Most Original Interview with John Nash: Non-Conformity Interview with John Nash: Alicia Interview with John Nash: The Downward Spiral Interview with John Nash: Hearing Voices Interview with John Nash: Misconceptions about Mental Illness Interview with John Nash: My Experience with Mental Illness Interview with John Nash: Being Institutionalized Interview with John Nash: Insulin Coma Therapy Interview with John Nash: Medication Interview with John Nash: Delusional Thinking Interview with John Nash: Paths Toward Recovery Interview with John Nash: How Does Recovery Happen? Interview with John Nash: The Nobel Prize -- and the Future Bluefield Sanitarium (historical) (hospital)