There has been much criticism over Crash winning the Academy Award for Best Picture over the heavily favored front-runner Brokeback Mountain. On March 6, 2006 several journalists wrote articles expressing their dislike over what was being called one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history. Brokeback Mountain led the pre-Oscar award season by winning most of the key pre-cursor honors as well as earning the leading number of Academy Award nominations and its place on over 314 critics top ten lists - more than any other film in 2005. Crash, however, was one of the least honored films of the 5 Best Picture nominees in terms of critics top ten lists, and only garnered 6 nominations.
MSNBC journalist Erik Lundegaard criticized the AMPAS by stating that "The Academy is 78 years old and acting every bit of it, and last night they took another doddering step towards irrelevancy" and "This is the worst best picture winner since 'The Greatest Show on Earth' in 1952."
LA Weekly writer Nikki Finke wrote "Hollywood showed tonight it isn't the liberal bastion it once was. That's pitiful if you're a progressive, and pleasing if you're a conservative." She also accused the Academy of being homophobic, writing "Turns out Hollywood is as homophobic as Red State country. In touch, not out of touch."
The fact that Crash was the least financially successful Best Picture winner in nearly 20 years also raised controversy, as well as the fact that no Best Picture winner has won less then 4 total Oscars since Rocky in 1976.
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