Hmmmm: Paul Haggis, Brendan Fraser Win $12 Million From 'Crash' Producer

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

We Could Have Told You That Five Years Ago Dep't




http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2011/01/28/oscar_controversies_revisited/slideshow.html


All-time greatest Oscar heists
Slide show:
From Judy Garland to "Brokeback Mountain,"
we take another look at the Academy Awards'
biggest mistakes




2006: "Crash" beats "Brokeback Mountain" for best picture

How did this happen? Maybe homophobia is alive and well in one of the gayest industries in all of human history, and Oscar voters just couldn't bring themselves to give the top prize to a 1960s drama about a couple of homosexual cowboys who consummate their relationship in a tent while they're out herding sheep, then go on to live closeted "respectable" lives while nurturing their love in secret. You might think the film's unexpected popular success might have tipped the balance, but no: Oscar voters went for Paul Haggis' "Racism is bad!" film "Crash," an ensemble picture in which modern Los Angelenos of every race and ethnic group spent every minute of every day fuming about the honkies, the coloreds, the beaners, etc; granted they didn't use such obsolete slang, but there were definitely times when it felt as though you were watching a film whose social attitudes were stuck in about 1971. Watch the scene in "Brokeback" where Heath Ledger holds his dead lover's shirt up to his face -- one of the most iconic scenes of the entire decade -- and then try to make a case for Haggis' movie being the more profound work.

[Meryl]

We wuz robbed!  It's still hard to think about it. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

We wuz robbed!  It's still hard to think about it. 

Ain't dat de truff? 

[delalluvia]

We wuz robbed!  It's still hard to think about it. 

It is. 

I've only watched the Oscars once since.

[Penthesilea]

We wuz robbed!  It's still hard to think about it. 

You can say that twice and mean it!

I was spared the shock of Oscar night 2006, since BBM came out in Germany only after the Oscars. But that doesn't mean I wasn't angry about it later.

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_(2004_film)

Crash (2004 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


(....)


Best Picture Oscar

In 2006, Crash  controversially won the Best Picture Oscar over the critically-favored Brokeback Mountain,  making it the second film ever (the other being The Sting ) to win the Academy Award for Best Picture without even being nominated for either of the three Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture (Best Drama, Best Comedy/Musical and Best Foreign film).

Critic Kenneth Turan suggested that Crash  benefited from anti-homosexual discomfort among Academy members while critic Roger Ebert was on a different opinion citing the better film won that year. He went on to question why many critics weren't mentioning the other nominees and that they were just mindlessly bashing Crash  just because it won over Brokeback Mountain.  Ebert also placed Crash  on his best ten list as number one best film of 2005 and also correctly predicted it to win best picture.

Crash  was nominated for six awards in the 78th Academy Awards (2006), and won three of them, including a win for Best Picture. It was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards: one for Best Supporting Actor (Matt Dillon) and the other for Best Screenplay (Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco).

(....)

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brokeback_Mountain

Brokeback Mountain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


(....)


Reception

Professional film critics have heaped praise on Brokeback Mountain. The film won four Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture-Drama, and was nominated for seven, leading all other films in the 2005 awards. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, as well as the title Best Picture from the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association, the Florida Film Critics Circle, the Las Vegas Film Critics Society, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the Utah Film Critics Society, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (the BAFTAs).

Brokeback Mountain  received an 87% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compiled from 223 reviews, with the consensus that "a beautifully epic Western, Brokeback Mountain 's gay love story is imbued with heartbreaking universality, helped by the moving performances of Ledger and Gyllenhaal." The film was given a "two thumbs up" rating by Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, the former giving a four-star review in the Chicago Sun-Times.  The film received positive reviews from Christianity Today.  Conservative radio host Michael Medved gave the film three and a half stars, stating that while the film's "agenda" is blatant, it is an artistic work.

The film's significance has been attributed to its portrayal of a same-sex relationship without any reference to the history of the gay civil rights movement. This emphasizes the tragic love story aspect, which leads many commentators to effectively compare Ennis and Jack's drama to classic and modern romances like Romeo and Juliet or Titanic, often using the term star-crossed lovers. This link to classic romances is no coincidence: the poster for the film was inspired by that of James Cameron's Titanic,  after Ang Lee's collaborator James Schamus looked at the posters of "the 50 most romantic movies ever made".






(....)

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/13/business/media/13brokeback.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=Brokeback%20Mountain%20poster&st=cse




Upset 'Brokeback' Fans
Advertise Their Feelings
By STUART ELLIOTT
Published: March 13, 2006

Fans of the film "L.A. Confidential" did not take out advertisements in entertainment publications after it lost the best picture Academy Award to "Titanic." It did not happen when "Goodfellas" lost to "Dances With Wolves" or even when "Citizen Kane" lost to "How Green Was My Valley."

But after "Brokeback Mountain" lost the best picture Oscar to "Crash," more than 800 fans — participants in an online discussion group known as the Ultimate Brokeback Forum — chipped in more than $24,000 to buy a full-page ad in Daily Variety.  The ad, which ran Friday, thanked the makers of the movie "for transforming countless lives through the most honored film of the year."

"I felt we had to do something," said Dave Cullen, a journalist in Denver who bought the ad after setting up several Brokeback sites, at addresses including brokeback.davecullen.com. "People were distraught, upset, angry; they couldn't believe it."

A poster who goes by Texas Girl suggested buying the ad, he said, and after some discussion that they protest the "Crash" victory, the forum participants decided to run "a positive ad."

Charles C. Koones, president and publisher of Daily Variety  and Variety,  owned by Reed Elsevier, said, " 'Brokeback' really touched a chord with certain audiences. There are those in Hollywood who feel it was robbed." Although his publications have run fan group ads in the past, they typically urged networks not to cancel favorite TV series.

Mr. Cullen said that the Daily Variety  ad cost $15,435, adding that contributors were discussing what to do with the leftover money.

Mr. Koones offered this advice: "You need another ad."

[Front-Ranger]

We Could Have Told You That Five Years Ago Dep't

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2011/01/28/oscar_controversies_revisited/slideshow.html


All-time greatest Oscar heists
Slide show:
From Judy Garland to "Brokeback Mountain,"
we take another look at the Academy Awards'
biggest mistakes




2006: "Crash" beats "Brokeback Mountain" for best picture

How did this happen? Maybe homophobia is alive and well in one of the gayest industries in all of human history, and Oscar voters just couldn't bring themselves to give the top prize to a 1960s drama about a couple of homosexual cowboys who consummate their relationship in a tent while they're out herding sheep, then go on to live closeted "respectable" lives while nurturing their love in secret. You might think the film's unexpected popular success might have tipped the balance, but no: Oscar voters went for Paul Haggis' "Racism is bad!" film "Crash," an ensemble picture in which modern Los Angelenos of every race and ethnic group spent every minute of every day fuming about the honkies, the coloreds, the beaners, etc; granted they didn't use such obsolete slang, but there were definitely times when it felt as though you were watching a film whose social attitudes were stuck in about 1971. Watch the scene in "Brokeback" where Heath Ledger holds his dead lover's shirt up to his face -- one of the most iconic scenes of the entire decade -- and then try to make a case for Haggis' movie being the more profound work.

Interesting that this is the culmination of the article!

[Luvlylittlewing]

It was a travesty!  Crash isn't even BP material any year, and it doesn't hold a candle to BBM.  The Oscars played it safe that year and people are still fuming about it!