Director Ridley Scott has received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director for his film Black Hawk Down. The film, based on the best-selling book written by Mark Bowden, is an account of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia, in which 19 U.S. solders and some 1,000 Somalis were killed. Scott also received a nomination for best director last year, for his film Gladiator, which won the Oscar for Best Picture. Scott's other films include Hannibal, Thelma and Louise, Blade Runner and Alien.