<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $58 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $313 million </Td> </Tr> <P> A Beautiful Mind is a 2001 American biographical drama film based on the life of John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics . The film was directed by Ron Howard, from a screenplay written by Akiva Goldsman . It was inspired by a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize - nominated 1998 book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar . The film stars Russell Crowe, along with Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Judd Hirsch, Josh Lucas, Anthony Rapp, and Christopher Plummer in supporting roles . The story begins in Nash's days as a graduate student at Princeton University . Early in the film, Nash begins to develop paranoid schizophrenia and endures delusional episodes while painfully watching the loss and burden his condition brings on wife Alicia and friends . </P> <P> The film opened in the United States cinemas on December 21, 2001 . It went on to gross over $313 million worldwide and won four Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress . It was also nominated for Best Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Best Original Score . </P>

Who was the film a beautiful mind based on