Non-scientific poll results of WashingtonPost.com readers:
Which was the biggest snub at this year's Academy Awards?
11482 responses so far:
Giamatti Losing to Clooney (17.1%), 1962 votes
No Oscar for Heath Ledger (6.2%), 710 votes
No Best Picture for 'Brokeback' (42.6%), 4886 votes
No Oscar for Joaquin Phoenix (26.5%), 3045 votes
Williams Losing to Weisz (7.7%), 879 votes
(While the 42.6% for BBM didn't surprise me, the 26.5% for Joaquin did.)
Stephen King can kiss my Irish ar**!
Thanks everyone for the articles posted in this thread...
I read 2 of the big national newspapers here in Holland today and what I found interesting was this:
One had a huge photo of Ang Lee with the article covering the oscars and only two lines in the article devoted to crash winning and the other had another article explaining the importance of Brokeback, right next to a small one in which all the winners were named...
I found it interesting how they really couldn't pay any less attention to Crash while still mentioning it ;D
FWIW
I don't know if this was mentioned before somewhere on this forum or not. I noticed the ommission right away. This is from the Defamer site:
Ang Lee Thanks Billions, But Not Heath Or Jake
Two Washington Post staff writers were granted golden tickets to both the Vanity Fair and Elton John Oscar parties, and take us along on their Roald Dahlesque adventures. At VF they spot Madonna ("...she was heard to say 'oy' after experiencing a press photobarrage going in"), Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller sprawled on couches, J-Lo begging Marc Anthony to dance with her (he does not), Paul Haggis being gracious at a urinal (next movie: "Flush?"), and an affable, smoking Joaquin Phoenix; at Elton's: a bored George Lucas, alone but for his security guards, Pamela Anderson, and a "sea of women with Duck Face," including the world's reigning duck-faced monarchs, Amanda Lepore and Lisa Rinna.
Spirits overall were high; but there's always the exception:
Oscar-winning "Brokeback Mountain" screenwriter Diana Ossana, in a tight blue gown, kittens up to her sheepherding cowboys (mixed animal metaphor? Hello, we've been drinking?) and she has a long, serious conversation with Heath Ledger, and the only snippet we overhear is this: "He didn't even thank the cast," Ledger says.
While he could have been talking about anyone, a review of Ang Lee's acceptance speech revealed the director managed to thank the fictional characters of Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, short story writer Annie Proulx, screenwriters Ossana and Larry McMurtry, a long list of Focus executives, and closed with a thank you to his family, and "everyone in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China." Not mentioned: Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, or any Brokeback Mountain actor for that matter. And while the entire population of China undoubtedly was thrilled to get their Oscar night due, let's face facts: it was Ledger and Gyllenhaal who really did the heavy lifting here, and probably deserved a tip of the gay cowboy hat.
http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/oscars/ang-lee-thanks-billions-but-not-heath-or-jake-158919.php
The entire article from the Washington Post, they categorized Heath's statement as as "carping", is at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/06/AR2006030601897.html
Spirits overall were high; but there's always the exception:
Oscar-winning "Brokeback Mountain" screenwriter Diana Ossana, in a tight blue gown, kittens up to her sheepherding cowboys (mixed animal metaphor? Hello, we've been drinking?) and she has a long, serious conversation with Heath Ledger, and the only snippet we overhear is this: "He didn't even thank the cast," Ledger says.
There's no point in Brokeback fans getting angry and upset, however. In the long run, Brokeback will win -- its esteem will grow and its message will spread. Keep in mind that the Academy seldom selects the best movie of the year for an Oscar. "Citizen Kane" lost to "How Green Was My Valley", "Grand Illusion" lost to "You Can't Take It With You", "High Noon" lost to "The Greatest Show on Earth", and "A Place in the Sun" and "A Streetcar Named Desire" lost to "An American In Paris". "GoodFellas" lost to "Dances With Wolves". And in one year three of the greatest movies ever made -- "All the President's Men", "Taxi Driver", and "Network" -- were all nominated. They lost. To "Rocky".
Stephen King can kiss my Irish ar**!
Let this tiresome duo burn in hell. I am tired of listening to them.
If picking "Brokeback" was wrong, I don't want to be right
Steve Pond, LA Times
All along, I'd been convinced that the talk about a "Crash" upset was just wishful thinking on the part of people desperate to make the race more interesting. "Brokeback Mountain" did seem as if it might be vulnerable — but not to the other films in contention this year, not after all the previous awards it had swept, and not after it won a trio of acting nominations as compared to a single acting nod for "Crash," which was being touted as the presumed favorite of the actors branch.
Crash
Because of that — and, let's face it, because I happen to believe that "Brokeback" is a very good movie and "Crash" is not a very good movie — I ignored the omens. I shrugged off reports that "Brokeback" was not playing well at its final academy screenings, rationalizing that members who waited until late February to see it probably weren't going to vote for it anyway.
I figured that Roger Ebert was wrong, that the anecdotal evidence was meaningless, that Tony Curtis' reluctance to even see "Brokeback" meant nothing.
I managed to ignore all the omens until about 8:10 last night, when I left my usual spot in the wings of the stage and walked into the lower-lobby bar of the Kodak Theatre. The bar was crowded as Uma Thurman prepared to hand out the award for original screenplay. She read the nominees, mentioned "Crash," and the room erupted.
The ruckus got even louder when Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco won. That's when it finally clicked: this "Crash" thing might be a lot bigger than I thought.
About 15 minutes later, I was back on the side of the stage. Haggis was standing a few feet away with a dazed look on his face.
"I've got a (bleeping) Oscar in my hand!" he yelled.
My thoughts exactly.
Paul Ryan on OutQ just said that Ernest Borgnine refused to see BBM, too. He's 89. So maybe many of the older voters behaved the same way.
Paul Ryan on OutQ just said that Ernest Borgnine refused to see BBM, too. He's 89. So maybe many of the older voters behaved the same way.
Ernest Borgnine is still alive?
Paul Ryan on OutQ just said that Ernest Borgnine refused to see BBM, too. He's 89. So maybe many of the older voters behaved the same way.
Ernest Borgnine is still alive?
Barely!the average age of the Academy members is aprox 148 years old, their from old scholl, let be happy that soon they'lle bite the dust or Crash
Ernest Borgnine is still alive? YIKES.
Ernest Borgnine is still alive? YIKES.
...so are Olivia de Haviland, Deborah Kerr, and Celete Holm. Kerr is 94. Holm is in her 80s. I don't know how old de Haviland is. There are probably at lot more.
Ernest Borgnine is still alive? YIKES.
...so are Olivia de Haviland, Deborah Kerr, and Celete Holm. Kerr is 94. Holm is in her 80s. I don't know how old de Haviland is. There are probably at lot more.
Olivia de Haviland is 89. She's the last of the major cast members of "Gone With the Wind" - she was Melanie Hamilton later Wilkes in the movie.
Ernest Borgnine is sitting in God's waiting room. ;D
I love Olivia De Haviland (I was surprised to learn years ago that Joan Fontaine was her sister).
Celeste Holm is AWESOME!
Deborah Kerr - I can live without.
God's waiting room...what the HEAD of Ernest Borgnine?
I love Olivia De Haviland (I was surprised to learn years ago that Joan Fontaine was her sister).
Celeste Holm is AWESOME!
Deborah Kerr - I can live without.
God's waiting room...what the HEAD of Ernest Borgnine?
Holm is the last surviving major cast member of All About Eve. Loved de Haviland in The Heiress with Monty Clift (he was so....DAMN!).
You're welcome Ethan.
Roger Ebert has been defending "Crash" for a long time. Earlier Ebert criticized Scott Foundas of LA Weekly for tagging "Crash" as one the worst films of 2005. This is Foundas's reply to Ebert:
Roger and Me[/b]
ive seen "crash" and really like it! I dont remember thandie newton going mad when she was touched by the racist cop( matt dilon) so i dont understand the post above.. i dont see steroetypes there, or if is welle let s admit we are sometimes sterteotypes!
i know its not the subject here but if anyone had seen "crash" and disliked it please help me to understand...
ive seen "crash" and really like it! I dont remember thandie newton going mad when she was touched by the racist cop( matt dilon) so i dont understand the post above.. i dont see steroetypes there, or if is welle let s admit we are sometimes sterteotypes!
i know its not the subject here but if anyone had seen "crash" and disliked it please help me to understand...
I did not like it. Because it is not subtle. It is not life. It is not art.
i'am with you on this - tpe. Count my vote.
I've seen "crash" and really like it! I dont remember thandie newton going mad when she was touched by the racist cop( matt dilon) so i dont understand the post above.. i dont see steroetypes there, or if is welle let s admit we are sometimes sterteotypes!
i know its not the subject here but if anyone had seen "crash" and disliked it please help me to understand...
[/b]
I don't care how much trouble "Crash" had getting financing or getting people on board, the reality of this film, the reason it won the best picture Oscar, is that it is, at its core, a standard Hollywood movie, as manipulative and unrealistic as the day is long. And something more.
For "Crash's" biggest asset is its ability to give people a carload of those standard Hollywood satisfactions but make them think they are seeing something groundbreaking and daring. It is, in some ways, a feel-good film about racism, a film you could see and feel like a better person, a film that could make you believe that you had done your moral duty and examined your soul when in fact you were just getting your buttons pushed and your preconceptions reconfirmed.
The Independent Spirit Awards are schizophrenic: they honor and introduce the audience to truly independent films that we would never hear of in the first place, and I appreciate that part. But, the show spends alot of time mocking Hollywood while maintaining the same format of the other awards shows (e.g., lame host, inane introductory remarks prior to handing out awards, and really insipid song parodies ). There appears to be a segment of the Independent Film audience who only want to send the big F**k You to the AMPAS. But, I think there are some sour grapes on their part, too. Honestly, Capote (Sony Pictures) and BBM (Universal) are questionable as independent Films anyway. GNGL and The Squid and the Whale seemed to be more of a match for that organization. The Independent Spirit Awards needs to define itself clearly, stop bitching about Hollywood, and behave with dignity--if you want the viewing audience to embrace your films, do not denigrate your own awards show. The Golden Globes did fall out of favor then reinvented itself. Also, don't forget to check out all of the Film Festivals..Venice out BBM on the map in a big way!
Thanks so much E&J for the link to Annie Proulx's article in The Guardian.
Why let the Academy which is a self-perpetuating group of reactionaries dictate what is "Best" in motion pictures. We all know it's money, politics and prejudice that dictates the Academy Awards and not the "best" in any category. A group of self-perpetuating reactionaries don't reflect my views about films. We should shun it in future years.
The Academy has been severely bruised by the "Crash" affair. Looking at their past patterns of voting, the Academy will try to make amends by honoring some gay themed film in the next few years. After all they see themselves as "liberal" and don't want their "liberal card" pulled, even though we know they are closet reactionaries. The problem is that any gay themed films they honor to "make amends" for this year won't be BBM, the one film that deserved it.
The academy is a totally irrelevant organization. They should do themselves a favor and disband. I agree with Annie, the Independent Spirit Awards are the ones to follow.
The Independent Spirit Awards are schizophrenic: they honor and introduce the audience to truly independent films that we would never hear of in the first place, and I appreciate that part. But, the show spends alot of time mocking Hollywood while maintaining the same format of the other awards shows (e.g., lame host, inane introductory remarks prior to handing out awards, and really insipid song parodies ). There appears to be a segment of the Independent Film audience who only want to send the big F**k You to the AMPAS. But, I think there are some sour grapes on their part, too. Honestly, Capote (Sony Pictures) and BBM (Universal) are questionable as independent Films anyway. GNGL and The Squid and the Whale seemed to be more of a match for that organization. The Independent Spirit Awards needs to define itself clearly, stop bitching about Hollywood, and behave with dignity--if you want the viewing audience to embrace your films, do not denigrate your own awards show. The Golden Globes did fall out of favor then reinvented itself. Also, don't forget to check out all of the Film Festivals..Venice out BBM on the map in a big way!
I've seen "crash" and really like it! I dont remember thandie newton going mad when she was touched by the racist cop( matt dilon) so i dont understand the post above.. i dont see steroetypes there, or if is welle let s admit we are sometimes sterteotypes!
i know its not the subject here but if anyone had seen "crash" and disliked it please help me to understand...
It's toward the beginning of the film, Quentin. Matt Dillon and Ryan Phillippe are partners and stop the SUV with the African-American couple, Terence Howard and Thandie Newton. Dillon is searching the wife (Thandie) and does it very thoroughly.
Later in the film, Dillon's character just happens to respond to a vehicle accident and guess who the victim is in the car - Thandie's character and he saves her life when gas starts leaking. Another coicidence, another contrivance - the film is full of it.
A stupid film. Don't waste your money renting it - we don't want to give Lion's Gate any more revenue.
To quote that brilliant response by Kenneth Turan:Quote[/b]
I
Thanks so much E&J for the link to Annie Proulx's article in The Guardian.
Why let the Academy which is a self-perpetuating group of reactionaries dictate what is "Best" in motion pictures. We all know it's money, politics and prejudice that dictates the Academy Awards and not the "best" in any category. A group of self-perpetuating reactionaries don't reflect my views about films. We should shun it in future years.
The Academy has been severely brused by the "Crash" affair. Looking at their past patterns of voting, the Academy will try to make amends by honoring some gay themed film in the next few years. After all they see themselves as "liberal" and don't want their "liberal card" pulled, even though we know they are closet reactionaries. The problem is that any gay themed films they honor to "make amends" for this year won't be BBM, the one film that deserved it.
The academy is a totally irrelevant organization. They should do themselves a favor and disband. I agree with Annie, the Independent Spirit Awards are the ones to follow.
http://articles.news.aol.com/movies/article.adp?id=20060310030609990002&ncid=NWS00010000000001
And then there was the Oprah Winfrey factor. "Hey everybody!," she wrote on her website last summer. "I just saw Crash. Go see this movie. It's superb! I'm on 'vacay' - otherwise I'd be on the show telling everybody to GO SEE THIS MOVIE! It's so well done. So thought-provoking. I saw it a week ago ... and I can't stop talking about it!"
The film's writer-director-producer Paul Haggis duly appeared on Oprah's TV show to tell how his real-life carjack drama led to the film, while the key members of the cast also appeared to ask: "Are you a racist?" Oprah's O magazine also ran articles on the film. "I believe everybody should have this in their movie collection," Oprah told viewers.
HIDESERT I couldn't agree more with you, she the lady O surely went out of her way in praising "Crash " and little to propegate the greatness of BBM, you know why and wont say it, but I am thinking in the same mannerWhile she didn't give BBM the kiss of death, she didn't give it the support she gave to Crash. Hmmm...like she damned BBM with faint praise.
Oprah and Roger Ebert are both in Chicago - wonder if it's a conspiracy.
3/10 In the Opinon Exchange, Syl Jones has a piece that trashes Crash as best picture. At the end of his column he writes:
"Brokeback Mountain is an enduring story that accurately portrays the problems inherent in any love relationship: It's hard, it's painful, and the social context in which we love may lead to death and disillusionment. Long after we are gone, future audiences will wonder how such a stunning achievement could have been overlooked for the Best Picture Award."
That is where our emphasis should be, making certain that BBM endures, not only in ourselves, but in others.
Many won’t understand my disappointment. Why did I need validation of a gold statue and a spot on the wall at the Kodak Theater? Because I’ve never had it.
Year after year, I keep taking partial acceptance of my history and my life "the best I can get." I want more. I am no longer satisfied with nominations, critical acclaim and straight people portraying my life.
After 40 years you would think I could wake up tomorrow and forget it all, blend back into the world. Not this time. Because for once I honestly believed it was going to happen. The landmark portrayal of a gay life would win. Immortalized with an Oscar. This "once in a lifetime" moment was my lifetime. And it didn’t happen.
hidesert, thank you for posting the last two great articles. I really like the one which I quoted below. It sums well and speaks how I really feel.
Many won’t understand my disappointment. Why did I need validation of a gold statue and a spot on the wall at the Kodak Theater? Because I’ve never had it.
Year after year, I keep taking partial acceptance of my history and my life "the best I can get." I want more. I am no longer satisfied with nominations, critical acclaim and straight people portraying my life.
After 40 years you would think I could wake up tomorrow and forget it all, blend back into the world. Not this time. Because for once I honestly believed it was going to happen. The landmark portrayal of a gay life would win. Immortalized with an Oscar. This "once in a lifetime" moment was my lifetime. And it didn’t happen.
Thanks Lost Girl. I saw that article "Homophobia? Hogwash!" and debated with myself about posting it. I disagree with the writer on so many of his statements that I guess I didn't want to raise my blood pressure, but since you posted it, I'll reply.
1- The gay community has no say in how people respond to a film. Comedians will always make jokes and ordinary straight people especially straight men respond with jokes when a topic makes them uncomfortable - it's human nature. And BBM made many many people uncomfortable. Karel's statement that Academy members didn't vote for BBM because it was a joke makes no sense.
Of course homosexuality should be taken seriously. Race (Crash), the murder of Jewish athletes (Munich), multiple murder (Capote) and McCarthyism (Good Night and Good LUck), were not the subject of jokes during the lead up to Oscars and at the Oscar ceremony, but gay cowboys were. Hollywood has always taken homosexuality humorously - just look at American TV, "Will and Grace", "Straight Guy" etc. There are quite a few gay writers in Hollywood who have contributed to these shows and other TV shows and films. BBM fans could not stop the gay cowboy jokes because it's part of our homophobic culture.
2- As I posted before in this thread, Capote isn't a gay film. The subject of the film is a gay writer but the movie is not about his sexuality. There are no sex scenes. It's like stating that a movie about John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missle crisis is about his Catholicism, because Kennedy just happened to be Roman Catholic.
3- Undoubtedly there were Academy members and movie critics who saw Crash as a better film. Everyone including Roger Ebert are entitled to their opinions.
4- I do agree with part of his last two sentences, "But when Crash is in the $5.50 bin at Wal-Mart or Target ... Brokeback will, in fact, become a classic spoken about for many years to come. So we win after all."
I agree with you especially about the issues around humour, which is clearly a mainstream tactic used to ridicule gays and trivialize gay issues. The fact that the film deals with gay bashing and other painful subjects makes it even more appalling. However, I'm sure if glaad or anyone else criticised people making jokes like jay leno they would have just used it against us.
The other thought that hit me when I read this article is how in denial people can be about the reality of homophobia. We all know that the academy wouldn't honour black actors and actresses because of racism. Its reality. However, when it comes to homophobia no-one seems to want to call it for what it is. Ever other excuse possible is conjured in its place despite documented proof that academy voters were refusing to even watch the film, were voting against brokeback so it wouldn't win and that the outcome for BP went against 77 years of academy history.
AMPAS policy: If you skipped 'Brokeback,' you shouldn't have voted
Asked about the comments this week, AMPAS Executive Director Bruce Davis said that academy guidelines are unmistakable: Members who skipped any of the nominees should not have voted in the best picture race.
"The ballot contains a very clear instruction that you're not supposed to vote in the categories in which you haven't seen every nominee," he says. "So we assume that the people who haven't seen all five of the films don't vote for best picture."
Davis wouldn't speculate on how many members ignore the ballot guidelines. "All I can say is that we hope that the people who haven't seen everything leave those categories blank."
When told that Rick Rosas, one of the two PricewaterhouseCoopers partners who supervise the count, recently told Oscar Beat that very few voters leave any categories blank, Davis paused.
"Rick told you that?" he said. "That's odd, because we've asked them about it in the past. They've told us that there has been quite a difference in the total number of votes cast between the different categories listed on the main ballot."
Davis also addressed an assertion made on the "Live with Regis and Kelly" television show the morning after the Oscars ceremony, in which "an academy source" suggested that this year saw an abnormally low voter turnout, with the usual return rate of close to 100% falling to about 80%.
"First of all, we have never had a year in which there was a 100% return, or anything like it," he says. "We have a good rate of return, but it's never 100%, or even 90%."
As for this year's exact rate, he says, nobody inside the academy knows the figures. "PricewaterhouseCoopers have standing instructions to report to us if anything unusual happens with the voting patters, and they have not reported anything this year," he says.
"They would consider a 20% drop a very unusual occurrence — in fact, they'd consider a 10% drop unusual. They haven't said anything to us, so we know that the turnout was similar to other years."
Here's the write-up on Annie Proulx's reaction:
'Brokeback' Author Peeved About Oscar Loss
Mar 14, 6:01 PM EST
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Annie Proulx, whose 1997 short story inspired the film "Brokeback Mountain," has penned a scattershot blast in a British newspaper unleashing her anger over the film's best-picture Oscar loss.
Proulx criticizes Oscar voters and the Academy Awards ceremony in the 1,094-word rant, which appeared in Saturday's issue of The Guardian, a liberal paper boasting 1.2 million readers daily.
The best-picture Oscar went to "Crash," which focuses on race relations in Los Angeles.
Academy members who vote for the year's best film are "out of touch not only with the shifting larger culture and the yeasty ferment that is America these days, but also out of touch with their own segregated city," Proulx writes.
The 70-year-old Pulitzer-prize winning author points out that "Brokeback," which was nominated for eight Academy Awards, was named best picture at the Independent Spirit Awards one day before the March 5 Oscars.
"If you are looking for smart judging based on merit, skip the Academy Awards next year and pay attention to the Independent Spirit choices," Proulx advises.
She even lashes out at Lionsgate, the distribution company behind "Crash."
"Rumour has it that Lionsgate inundated the academy voters with DVD copies of Trash — excuse me — Crash a few weeks before the ballot deadline," Proulx writes.
She decries the "atmosphere of insufferable self-importance" inside the Kodak Theatre, the Oscars site, and describes the audience as a "somewhat dim LA crowd." The show, she writes, was "reminiscent of a small-town talent-show night."
"Clapping wildly for bad stuff enhances this," Proulx writes. She notes that "Brokeback's" three Oscar wins, for original score, adapted screenplay and direction for Ang Lee put it "on equal footing with King Kong."
When Jack Nicholson announced "Crash" as the best-picture winner, "there was a gasp of shock," Proulx writes.
"It was a safe pick of `controversial film' for the heffalumps," she writes, using the elephant-like "Winnie the Pooh" character to describe academy voters.
"For those who call this little piece a Sour Grapes Rant," Proulx concludes, "play it as it lays."
Calls by the Associated Press to Proulx's Wyoming home and her literary agent, Elizabeth Darhansoff, were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Nice, yet too brief, article on Annie Proulx's reaction to the Oscar loss for Best Picture:
http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=218583>1=7701
Petition on : Oscar Voters Who Have Not Viewed All Nominees Should Be Disqualified From Voting
NOTE: The COUNTRY of CANADA is not listed on this petition, I have sent them a notice to that effect, hoever the rest of the world can sign up for this petition
http://www.gopetition.com/region/237/8222.html
Thanks, Michael for posting this. Yes it is pretty lame. For example
"AE: I think many gay people would feel better if Crash had been running closer to Brokeback. Its win wouldn't seem so suspect. Even the Las Vegas odds-makers had Brokeback as a sure thing. To then have it lose has been hard for a lot of people to accept.
RE: You know last year my wife and I went to the Kentucky Derby and the horse my wife bet on she bet on because horse that had the same name as Sting's son and she is a Sting fan. The odds on it were fifty to one and it won, and we we're surrounded by a hell of a lot of pissed off people. How could the fifty to one long-shot win the Kentucky Derby? Occasionally your horse doesn't win.
Pretty lame analogy. The Oscar is not a horse race. At least the horse can run all by itself and not voted by others to decide who the winner should be.
AE: Yes. Again, looking at all the historical precedents the Academy had used over the years as the guideline.
RE: But it didn't win the Editors Guild and no Best Picture in decades has won without winning the Editors Guild. [It Happened One Night, The Godfather II, Annie Hall and Ordinary People all won without the Editor's Guild award.]
One could also point out other historical precedents. The winner should not be based on the precedents but the merits, period.
Personally, making a prediction is one thing but going out all the way to defend Crash and even denouncing the fans and Annie Proulx is beyond my comprehension. And below is just for the record.
"'Brokeback' bitching
Author Annie Proulx, who penned the original short story on which "Brokeback Mountain" was based, has joined the chorus of "Brokeback" complainers. In the Guardian, Proulx writes:
"The people connected with 'Brokeback Mountain,' including me, hoped that, having been nominated for eight Academy Awards, it would get Best Picture as it had at the funny, lively Independent Spirit Awards the day before. (If you are looking for smart judging based on merit, skip the Academy Awards next year and pay attention to the Independent Spirit choices.) We should have known the conservative heffalump academy voters would have rather different ideas of what was stirring contemporary culture ..."
I guess that would be the same conservative voting body that awarded best song to "It's Hard Out There for a Pimp."
One week after the Oscars, I'm still hearing from fans of "Brokeback" who are offended and outraged by the best picture win for "Crash." Some folks are even calling me terrible names for predicting a "Crash" victory and saying I didn't believe "Brokeback" should have been nominated.
What can I say? On my list of 2005's best movies, I had "Brokeback Mountain" at No. 7, behind "Syriana," "The New World," "Crash," "Munich," "Nine Lives" and "Capote." So that means I'm homophobic? Please.
The "Brokeback" camp seems to feel their film is morally superior to the other nominated films, particularly "Crash," and that a vote against "Brokeback" is a vote against tolerance.
What a bunch of bull.
Why is a film about two gay cowboys more noble than a film about race relations? Or a movie about an Israeli hit squad avenging the massacre at the Munich Olympic Games? Or a film about an author's book about the murders of an innocent family? Or a movie about a journalist's crusade against a witch-hunting senator?
In two decades of writing about movies, I have never heard such bitching and moaning and griping about a film not winning best picture. Enough is enough. You lost. Try to handle it with some grace."
Can someone go back to this quote and label who said what? Some quotes are Ebert, some Proulx, and some Roeper!!! We need to be accurate with these quotes. Roger really loved Crash (for whatever reasons) more than he really liked BBM.
If Brokeback Mountain had won, as had been widely predicted, would that suddenly make the Oscars any more “valid” as an arbiter of excellence?
It’s time to stop looking at them—the Academy voters—because their interests are not yours. The interest of moviegoers would be better served by ignoring them entirely.
If Brokeback Mountain had won, as had been widely predicted, would that suddenly make the Oscars any more “valid” as an arbiter of excellence?
Perhaps. As I have mentioned before, the academy needs BBM more than BBM needs the academy. For whatever reason, the academy decided to pass it and it's their loss.QuoteIt’s time to stop looking at them—the Academy voters—because their interests are not yours. The interest of moviegoers would be better served by ignoring them entirely.
Thanks, hidesert for posting this article. Yes that is what I have decided too - to ignore and here I say again - bye bye. Perhaps I should say "Adios" since the subject of this year is "racism" ;D
Hidesert:
You beat me to it. I was just about to post TIMES' Farber piece.
Now I'll write him to express appreciation for the obvious!
Thanks, hidesert. It is already two weeks past the Oscar and the news media is still talking about it. Viva BBM!
Let's just put it this way...the Academy is just jealous of BBM's achievement.
From: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/movies/19broke.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1142798627-mjzzLfysffZD6gLbdWXofw
From: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/movies/19broke.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1142798627-mjzzLfysffZD6gLbdWXofw
Oscar, I Can Quit You
Published: March 19, 2006
Many "Brokeback Mountain" fans were disappointed when the Academy Award for best picture went to "Crash" instead. Some moped. Some swore. A great many lost money. One fan did more than mourn: he organized. At left, excerpts from a manifesto circulating on the Internet.
To the barricades, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender cinephiles! You have nothing to lose but your statuettes — and lavish gift bags, of course.
Thanks for that article tpe!
made my day haha!
From: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/movies/19broke.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1142798627-mjzzLfysffZD6gLbdWXofw
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Oscar, I Can Quit You
Published: March 19, 2006
Many "Brokeback Mountain" fans were disappointed when the Academy Award for best picture went to "Crash" instead. Some moped. Some swore. A great many lost money. One fan did more than mourn: he organized. At left, excerpts from a manifesto circulating on the Internet.
A 'Brokeback'-Inspired Boycott:
(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgraphics8.nytimes.com%2Fimages%2F2006%2F03%2F17%2Fmovies%2F19emial.300.jpg&hash=ca21aeb53bc94ba1b44fa10252559338db8c9277)
To the barricades, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender cinephiles! You have nothing to lose but your statuettes — and lavish gift bags, of course.
Thanks for that article tpe!
made my day haha!
"Crash" (2005). This jeremiad bemoaning our society's intolerance is filtered through a fanciful plot built on a heap of outlandish coincidences. Can you really imagine audiences in another decade or two giving this movie, which somehow combines grandiosity and whimsical eccentricity, any more respect than they give "Rocky" or "The Greatest Show on Earth" today? Like all of these prize-winning embarrassments, "Crash" is destined to be remembered as just one more footnote in the annals of Oscar blunders.LOL
Here is an article, I BELIEVE written by Proulx, concerning "Crash" winning Best Picture instead of BBM.
... SNIP for brevity ...
It's an interesting article. What do you all think?
Did anyone see this before?
(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi72.imagethrust.com%2Fi%2F80005%2Foscarballot.jpg&hash=2310cc7ba5a46079754ef4580778c3b9fa428a7f)
I found it on the net after the Oscar. Too bad I do not remember in what site. :-\\
Did anyone see this before?
(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi72.imagethrust.com%2Fi%2F80005%2Foscarballot.jpg&hash=2310cc7ba5a46079754ef4580778c3b9fa428a7f)
I found it on the net after the Oscar. Too bad I do not remember in what site. :-\\
Did anyone see this before?I heard that some of the older academy voters never wanted to see BBM :s)
(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi72.imagethrust.com%2Fi%2F80005%2Foscarballot.jpg&hash=2310cc7ba5a46079754ef4580778c3b9fa428a7f)
I found it on the net after the Oscar. Too bad I do not remember in what site. :-