Two movies, Mystic River and Seabiscuit, tied for the Scripter Award by University of Southern California (USC), which honors annual best English- language film adaptation of a book or novel, USC organizers said Friday.

A runoff is needed to determine the winner, which is expected to be announced next Thursday. It was the first time in the award' s 16-year history that the selection committee failed to pick a winner.

"It's not surprising that the Scripter voting was close in a year that featured so many great film adaptations," said Academy Award-winning screenwriter Robert Towne.

Towne, an Oscar winner for Chinatown, is in his second year as chair of the selection committee. His 47-strong panel includes Writers Guild of America members, authors, film industry executives, USC faculty members and selected members of the Friends of the USC Libraries.

Mystic River is based on the novel by Dennis Lehane and the screenplay by Brian Helgeland, a previous Scripter and Oscar winner for L.A. Confidential. Seabiscuit is based on Laura Hillenbrand 's book and a screenplay by Gary Ross, who also directed the film.

Past Scripter winners include the authors and screenwriters of The Hours, A Beautiful Mind, Wonder Boys, A Civil Action, L.A.Confidential, The English Patient, Sense and Sensibility,  Shawshank Redemption and Schindler's List.

Bestowed annually since 1989 by the USC Friends of the Libraries,the award is billed as the only honor that recognizes both the author and screenwriter for a film adaptation.

The Scripter Award winners will be honored at a Feb. 15 black- tie dinner at USC's Doheny Memorial Library. Actress Sharon Gless will serve as master of ceremonies and Hal Kanter will return as grand master of ceremonies.

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2004)