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Crash Beats Out Brokeback Mountain For Best Picture
By Rich Drees
Unlike several other years, there was no one film that dominated the ceremony. Four films – Brokeback Mountain, Crash, King Kong and Memoirs Of A Geisha – all won three awards each. The Academy Awards were held in Los Angeles at the Academy’s Kodak Theatre.
Both Brokeback Mountain and Crash received notice for their controversial storylines. Crash dealt with several intersecting storylines that paint a portrait of racial tensions in Los Angeles, while Brokeback Mountain had already won several awards for its story of two gay ranchers conflicted by their love.
Accepting the Best Picture Oscar was Crash’s two producers Cathy Schulman and Robert Moresco. “Thank you for embracing our film about love, tolerance and truth,” stated Schulman. "You have made this year one of the most breathtaking and stunning maverick years in American cinema. We are humbled by the other nominees in this category"
In addition to its Best Picture nod, Crash also won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing.
Out of its eight nominations, Brokeback Mountain also garnered awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. Accepting his Best Director statue, Lee thanked the lead characters of the film as, “They taught us about the greatness of love itself.”
Peter Jackson’s blockbuster remake King Kong took home three of the four awards it was nominated for- Visual Effects, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing – loosing the Art Direction award to Memoirs Of A Geisha. Geisha also won the Best Costumes and Cinematography awards.
As host, comic Jon Stewart brought his snarky East Coast attitude to the awards, never letting the proceedings to take themselves, or himself, too seriously. On being chosen to host, Stewart commented, “Tonight is the night we celebrate excellence in film, with me, the fourth male lead in Death To Smoochy,” referring to the failure of the 2002 comedy he appeared in. Also bringing laughs were presenters Ben Stiller dressed in a special effects leotard while handing out the Best Visual Effects trophy and an overly rouged and powdered Will Farrell and Steve Corell presenting the Best Makeup award.
George Clooney took home the first award of the evening for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a CIA agency in the drama Syriana. In his acceptance speech, Clooney noted that the Academy had often embraced progressive causes noting, “This Academy gave an award to Hattie McDaniel when black people had to sit in the back of the theatre. I am proud to be part of that tradition.” Clooney had also been nominated for writing and producing the drama Good Night, And Good Luck.
Accepting his award for Best Actor, Capote’s Philip Seymour Hoffman thanked his mother for taking him to his first play. Reese Witherspoon won the Oscar for Best Actress for portraying and doing her own singing as June Carter Cash in the Johnny Cash bio Walk The Line. The Best Supporting Actress Academy Award went to Rachel Weisz for her role in the political thriller The Constant Gardner.
Taking the Oscar for best animated feature was director Nick Park for his stop-motion comedy Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. Previously, Park has won 3 Academy Awards in the Best Animated Short - two for short films featuring the Wallace & Gromit characters (The Wrong Trousers (1993) and A Close Shave (1995)) and a third for the short Creature Comforts (1989).
Winning the award for Best Documentary Feature, March Of The Penguins director Luc Jacquet and several of the film's crew took to the stage with stuffed penguins to accept their award. "Looking at all the tuxedos tonight, its like seeing the movie all over again," quipped producer Christophe Lioude.
This year’s Honorary Oscar went to director Robert Altman. Though nominated five times for directing, he had never won an Oscar statue.
“I always thought that this kind of award meant that your career is over,” Altman said, accepting the award from actresses Lilly Tomlin and Meryl Streep. “I’m here under false pretenses. Ten years ago I had a total heart transplant. I got the heart of a 30-year old woman I think, so by my calculations you gave me this award about forty years too early.”
You can read the complete list of Academy Award winners here.
You can discuss the Academy Awards at the FilmBuffOnLine Bulletin Board here.
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March 6, 2006
