Why "TRASH" won and "Brokeback" lost

[father_of_hope]

The award had nothing to do with quality or artistic values. It had nothing to do with homophobia in the Academy either.

The corporate media would NEVER glorify a film about gay cowboys and Heath Ledger would NEVER win playing a gay man, especially on LIVE worldwide television. According to their pitiful little minds, it would send the wrong message to young teenagers and closeted young gays.

I saw both films and Crash is horrendous, pretentious. But again, ROCKY won best picture as well, always remember that.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. Just a small detail -

they weren't cowboys. Not a cow in sight in that absurd film (I thought it was just awful).

They were sheepherders. Maybe even called "shepherds."

Gay shepherds. NOT gay cowboys.

There's a whole other story there, in the subtext, and I think Annie Proulx was having us on, just a bit.

[sui generis]

4. well you're out there on your own

or at the very least in questionable company.

Your last line of commentary was absurd, compounded by wishful thinking.

Issues.

[TomInTib]

12. And how about them accents?

Wooden.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

16. Lord, yes.....

and the endless panoramic shots that felt like filler. As if the moviegoer weren't smart enough to know where the story took place.

You'd know the accent, would you not, Tom?

Hmmmm?

baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[TomInTib]

25. And how about them horseback scenes?

Might as well have taped two Ken Dolls to two "My Little Ponies".

[sui generis]

31. oh and what about bridges of madison county

don't forget to spread your humor a little before it starts looking contrived and bigoted.

Hey hey hey, what about Oprah looking like Al Jolsen in Beloved!????

Isn't that funny? Woo hoo.

[TomInTib]

54. Spent much time working horseback? I have...

and we were laughing our asses off.

Didn't the film win for Direction?

Contrived and bigoted? I think not.

They shoulda just left out the horseback scenes, those guys looked like clowns.

But then, what do I know? I have only spent my entire life working with REAL horsemen.

I will admit, tho, I have never had the pleasure of working sheep.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

57. If and when you do,

make sure you have the sheep standing facing the edge of a cliff.

George Carlin will explain it to you. If necessary.

And jackboots. Cowboy boots won't work; you'll need kneehighs. I know this from a WWII vet who had some adventures in France during the War.

heh heh heh

[TomInTib]

63. You talkin' bout my kneehighs?....

The custom ones I had made in Dallas?

The ones with the little loops down on the ankles and the steel toes?

[OldLeftieLawyer]

68. Them

The cliff. Don't forget the cliff.

The sheep keeps trying to back away.

<bow to George Carlin>

[TomInTib]

79. Hell, I live on a cliff....

Oh, what have I been missing?

The door of opportunity has never been more wide open.

I am headed to the Auction Barn on Wednesday.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

88. A hint

Rub yourself all over with lanolin..........

[sui generis]

81. ya'll need to get a room

at the Brokeback Inn.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

50. I do that, sometimes,

when it's a slow day and there's no one else around to play with.

Wanna make somethin' of it, huh?

[TomInTib]

60. Hey, I'll put my...

Ken dolls up against anything you got, buster.

Is that a muli-entendre or what?

Sheesh, does one sense some onion-like skin around these parts?

Bad is just bad. I am glad McMurtry and the lady won.

But that Director guy don't know shit about sheepboying.

So why did he win?

"I can't quit you"?

[OldLeftieLawyer]

66. My Barbie

can take your Ken. And his horse.

I liked the dresses at the Oscars. And I thought Jon Stewart did a great job in an impossible situation. Will Ferrell and The Forty-Year-Old Virgin presenting the makeup awards were wonderful, and there was a distinct and elegant East Coast (read "Manhattan") aspect to the whole show. Even the set, so art deco, was simple and elegant.

My Barbie can quit anybody.

[TomInTib]

74. I agree....

I think Stewart was a little over the collective head of the audience, but it was clicking here.

The makeup bit was hilarious.

And Lily Tomlin and what's-her-name cracked me up.

An Altman was himself.

[TomInTib]

85. Hey oll...

go back and scroll down to

"yep- you got that right"

You are just gonna love it.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

87. I can't find that one ......

But, like whomever referred to OLL as a guy, that's just one of my Legions Of The Ignored.

heh heh heh

You'll send it to me, that "yep - you got that right" thread?

Thanks.

PS - I got four ET CDs now, and the afternoon here is young ........... xo

[TomInTib]

91. It is here....

in this thread- about 4 replies down.

[sui generis]

92. Oh TIT, OLL is ignoring me.

didn't you get that? Does she have to spell it out for you? She has LEGIONS of people she ignores.

heh heh heh. and all that.

[TomInTib]

93. So I heard....

Now me, I don't want to miss a thing.

I have already missed out on way too much in life to selectively ignore anything in the future.

Hey sui- no offense meant.

I just take horsework seriously. And oll knows it.

And I am from Dallas, as well.

Tell everybody "Hey!" from me.

[Leopolds Ghost]

99. "I've been called paranoid by entire CITIES of ASS-holes...

...but I know who they are... AND THEY'RE ON MY LIST!" ;-) --R. Crumb

[sui generis]

72. yep - you got that right

Didn't used to be onion skin until three decades of hearing crap and "multi entendre" jokes wore it down.

Anyway, you and you aging lawyer man pal might just think about getting together for a fishin' trip. You can check out each other's tackle boxes - make sure it's all authentic, wifely notes aside.

You can admire each other's riding style, comment on each others boots, and what the heck, wrestle down a few sheep and show the rest of us how it's done in them thar parts.

[TomInTib]

82. Uhh... my "lawyer man pal"?

Are we stereotyping here?

"Lawyer man pal"?

One should speak only when one knows what one is talking about.

I will let OLL set the record straight.

[sui generis]

84. I'm waiting

:rofl:

thank you for permission to speak - is there anything else I require of you?

OH. How unusual. Disabled profile. Explains a lot. No, really. Come on TIT, can't fight your own battles?

[Yollam]

18. Most hollywood actors do the same generic "country" accent.

Doesn't matter if it's Montana, Texas or Alabama, it's the same and it's obvious to anyone who grew up in flyover country.

But you learn to ignore it...

[Kukesa]

I read the short story by Annie Proulx but haven't seen the movie

and the short story took my breath away; Proulx at her best.

I have to remind myself that my most favorite book of all times, "The Shipping News," was also penned by Ms. Proulx.

If the movie is even half as powerful as the book, it should have won. (I saw "Crash" and almost fell asleep in the middle of it.)

So to me it doesn't matter -- cowboys, sheepherders, shepherds, whatever. The story stayed in my mind for days and I have the luxury of recalling it any time I want.

Thanks, Annie Proulx, you've done it again.

[fishwax]

39. they were both

They were working as sheepherders when they met and fell in love, but that was a summer job, not a vocation. The Gyllenhal character (who was raised in Wyoming but carried a Texas accent even before he moved to Texas later in the film) did cowboy stuff (rodeo) before and after, and the Ledger character (who, unlike Gyllenhal, rang eerily true to this former Wyomingite) made his living later on a ranch with cattle. So they might not have been working as cowboys when they fell in love, but they were cowboys on at least a few other occasions :)

For what it's worth, though, I think Annie Proulx might agree with you. I read a quote of hers (no idea where it was or if it was a reliable source, but ...) in which she took an interviewer to task for calling them gay cowboys, when in fact she deliberately made them sheepherders (at least in that formative summer) because of the lower/outcast status of sheepherders in the hierarchy of the wyoming range.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

48. "might agree......"?

They were shepherds, and if people didn't get the joke, then the author has to be mighty frustrated.

[fishwax]

53. meh, just sharing an anecdote

haven't read the story and haven't looked into the issue or heard her speaking about it in any real media source.

liked the movie, though.

[Danieljay]

44. ah yes, Brokeback Mountain, where the men are men and the sheep are scared

Ya know, Brokeback was a pretty good movie, my gf and I both liked it but neither of us LOVED it. Great acting, great message, and gutsy -- though not in my opinion "best film" by far.

[sui generis]

2. well as nice as Clooney's speech was about Hattie McDaniels

it was another fifty years before Whoopi won Best Supporting for Ghost. The awards (or lack of them) change nothing in reality.

It's just an awards show. It doesn't make BBM any less of a landmark film, or any less enjoyable.

[xchrom]

15. like other films -- ledger or gyllenhaal may win

another time for a film they don't really deserve it for.

the academy often does that with actors -- both were really terrific.

i also think the dollars made by brokeback will attract other folks to the very deep well of lgbtq stories there are to be told.

we do offer hollywood some very, very new perspectives and that could be very, very good for them.

[Democrats_win]

24. Exactly. The show is fun, and we should never be upset about the choices

John Stewart implied this when he talked about the "poor" actors who can´t afford the material to cover their (chests). Rich people see the world differenlty.

[Yollam]

3. Crash was an excellent film.

"Corporate media" didn't pick the winner, the motion picture academy did. And they honored Ang Lee as best director.

Get over it - it's just a MOVIE.

[emulatorloo]

5. Brokeback won best screenplay (adapted) and best director

it is not like it wasn't recognized on worldwide television.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Rocky was a terrific movie.

How "Ordinary People" won, I'll never know.

I don't think most Academy voters considered the corporate take on the results of BBM winning.

[MemphisTiger]

107. I couldn't agree more

[Punkingal]

7. Then why did Phillip Seymour Hoffman win....

For playing a gay man?

[QC]

21. Because he played a safe gay man.

You know, nice and stereotypical, easy to distinguish from real men like the Academy members. The medi have always loved stereotypical gays, but when you start suggesting that a masculine guy might be gay, well, that's too subversive for many.

[sui generis]

23. bingo - got it in one.

[QC]

26. Thanks! n/t

[Punkingal]

30. Interesting point.....

I hadn't thought of that.

[baby_mouse]

33. ?

Well, perhaps. Alternatively, they may actually have thought "Crash" was better. How do you KNOW these things, QC?

[QC]

37. Have you ever considered responding to what people actually write?

It makes for a much more grownup discussion.

If you try reading what I actually posted, you'll find that I was commenting on the Capote win, not Crash, which is another issue.

[baby_mouse]

47. Oops. nt.

[jane_pippin]

43. Or maybe, and I know I'm going out on a limb here, maybe

Hoffman gave a better performance? Not that Ledger wasn't good too. Just a thought. (You do make a good point but I'm not entirely sure it applies here is all).

And dammit, I went and broke my "no more commenting on the oscars" rule. D'oh. I'm logging off until the Oscar fever is cured around here. Later. :)

[OldLeftieLawyer]

62. I don't think it was because of the gayness,

I really don't.

The Academy notoriously loves the aberration - the Forrest Gumps, the Rainmen, and I'm still surprised that Sean Penn didn't win for "I Am Sam," because they're absolutely crazy about the mentally challenged.

No one was more mentally challenged than Capote, and that wasn't acting that Hoffman did - although I really like a lot of his work. It was mimicry - Capote's persona lent itself to mimicry and posing. Not acting.

Read Gore Vidal's comments about Capote here - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gore-vidal/on-capote-brokeback-m_b_16740.html

He nails Capote perfectly.

[QC]

80. Oooo--Vidal and Capote loathed one another!

And I agree about Hoffman's performance--it was more Rich Little than anything else.

[Democrats_win]

29. Seymour Hoffman has also played VERY scary men too.

If the wing nuts knew, they would all drop dead from anger.

[Malikshah]

76. Use this little rule of thumb

Could any of his fellow nominees done this role?

No.

Could he have conceivably done their roles justice. Yup

It's not the only criteria, but it's a decent place to start

[jane_pippin]

8. Heath might not, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman did.

And that's going to be my only contribution to any of this Oscar chat. :hi:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

9. I think DU has officially...

...run out of things to argue about. :)

[sui generis]

14. yeah all you gay people just get over it

like everything else.

:)

[baby_mouse]

35. Are you gay, sui? nt

[sui generis]

38. that was sarcasm

I detect a subthread here of "get over it", compounded by "I didn't actually see BBM, but Crash was the better of the two anyway", plus a few odd posters up top showing their true colors.

Check the sig line for your answer.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

51. My subthread is "I don't care"

I haven't seen either movie, and I couldn't care less what the Academy has to say about... anything, really.

[baby_mouse]

52. Jolly good.

Hmf. Well, *I* don't think it matters much how well BBM did in the Oscars.

In fact, the entire movie annoyed me.

[KyuzoGator]

10. Yawn...yeah, Hollywood hates gays. Whatever.

And Rocky, while perhaps not deserving of a Best Picture, is indeed one of the best films ever made. I think you're letting its horrible sequels tarnish it.

[Lorien]

11. The corporate media doesn't get a vote in the Academy

one must have credits in the same working capacity on three Nationally distributed films and be supported by at least two voting Academy members to become a member oneself.

[father_of_hope]

71. that's naive

You think that 'votes' count in the Academy. Votes don't count anywhere in America.

The corporate media has the final say on EVERYTHING that goes on the air, especially on the most watched TV event in the world.

[Lorien]

83. Oh please. I've worked in the film industry and have quite a few

friends in the Academy. Take off the damn tinfoil-it's as much a popularity vote for the producers and others involved in the production itself as it is for the film.

[npincus]

13. I loved "Crash"- each to his/her own

[KyndCulture]

17. I love Crash too.... and Brokeback...

they were different. But both good.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

19. Come to think of it,

didn't "My Fair Lady" beat "Dr. Strangelove" for Best Picture back in the sixties?

There's no gayer picture than "My Fair Lady." Still.

[AValdoux]

20. Biggest Oscar Crime

When "Shakespeare in Love" beat "Saving Private Ryan" for best movie.

We have to keep in the context that this is the "movie people's" award show. They nominate and vote on the winners. I don't see how the corporate machine can influence the voting. I haven't seen "Crash" or "Brokeback". I have seen "Walk the Line" and thought it sucked. There is so much more to Cash's story than what they showed. It was pretty much how he chased June Carter. The performances were good, but the script and story were lacking considering the life story they had to work with.


AValdoux

[fishnfla]

22. I think the producers of Crash lobbied the acadamy hard

they sent all the members a DVD of the show. They almost matched their entire budget on marketing for the award

[AX10]

27. Link please?

Thanks.

[fishnfla]

41. heard it on NPR this am

they even mentioned the dollar amount spent. The point being, the amount spent on marketing to the acadamy compared to the films budget was quite significant

[onenote]

32. most studios send out dvds of their nominated films

not just Crash...

onenote

[fishwax]

28. Heath Ledger lost to an actor playing a gay man n/t

[KyuzoGator]

34. And a very influential gay man, at that. nt

[fishwax]

42. but, as someone pointed out upthread, a very safe gay man n/t

[QC]

95. "I like my beer cold, my TV loud, and my homosexuals FLAMING!"

Homer Simpson said that, but it's also the mainstream media's attitude.

[k_jerome]

36. actually, this time the hollywood hype machine failed...

and the better movie won. no titanic or gump this year thank god.

[Protagoras]

40. Good Night and Good Luck was the best movie regardless

and David Strathairn put in the best performance and neither won. What's the conspiracy there?

And Crash was a great movie and a great message of at least equal measure to Brokeback. Getting Nominated IS the award. It's recognizing that the movie so nominated did something theat the vast majority of movies can't imagine doing. Getting real sick of this (IF IT AIN'T THE GOLD MEDAL THEN YOU ARE A LOSER mentality.)

That being said, picking between the nominees is (as it was this year) a choice between apples and tricycles. This year I picked the Box Kite over the Tricycle and the voters picked the Apple over both. Clooney said as much last night...can't compare most of it unless everyone actually did the same thing.

If they got featured...that's a win. I am just buying time while I drink my coffee before work or I'd say something about how silly this thread is :P

[OldLeftieLawyer]

55. hee hee

Well, yeah.

The sheep agree with you.

baaaaaa EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

[NYCGirl]

58. I agree with you about both "Good Night" and Strathairn.

Now that David Strathairn has "broken out" of the supporting actor pack, I hope to see him in a lot more movies.

I also agree about how silly the thread is.

[AX10]

65. Good Night and Good Luck was my choice too.

[bowens43]

70. I disagree.

I found Good Night and Good Luck to be barely watchable.

[f-bush]

45. I hate to put a damper on all this Oscar chit chat but......

we have more important issues to discuss like...HOW ABOUT TAKING OUR COUNTRY BACK!!! Restore civil rights, get out of Iraq, reset our spending priorities!!!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

56. Don't be a scold

There are things to discuss, and then there are things to discuss.

How come you're online and not out there, actually DOING something?

Tsk, tsk.

[sui generis]

61. get over it

seriously. Get over it. Those who can, multitask.

The rest just try to tell everyone else what they should be doing.

[VOX]

114. Uh... this **is** the Entertainment forum.

I'm sure even St. George took a break from slaying the dragon. :thumbsup:

[Suich]

115. Good point!

:hi:

[zulchzulu]

46. Brokeback wasn't chosen due to fear about new Patriot Act

There's a theory we can nibble on for a while.

OK, I'll start.

The new Patriot Act goes after Hollywood director types (especially foreigners) that want to spread the gay agenda in mosques, hence causing the mosque members to get pissed and want to join the Taliban.

Hence, the Taliban would be working or owning in local 7-11s, Wawa's, Quick Stop's, Circle K's, Kwik Trip's, Stop and Go's and other convenience stores... muslims in convenience stores....scary...

:wow: :sarcasm:

[Radical Activist]

49. Yawn

Bullshit. Why didn't Good Night and Good Luck win? Because the Academy won't take on the corporations that make their movies AND the news media being criticized in the movie? Brokeback was hardly the best movie among those nominated.

[MISSDem]

125. I thought it was. I've watched BBM many times now

and every time I see it I see something I missed before and I love it even more. But it is heart wrenching. The kid in me (I guess) hopes each time that it will have a different outcome.

[MoeHayNow]

59. What about Tom Hanks?

He won for playing a gay man.
Or was that OK with the corporate media because he was playing a gay man afflicted with a "gay man's disease?"

(Of course, when Tom Hanks won for "Philadelphia," there was no need to invoke the phrase "corporate media." Funny how things have changed.)

[Freddie Stubbs]

69. Wasn't most of the media owned by corportations back then?

:shrug:

[MoeHayNow]

77. Most assuredly!

It's just that most people (myself included) didn't have to refer to it as such.
I wasn't calling it "mainstream media" then either.

They were both corporate and mainstream, they just weren't as whorish and complicit.

[father_of_hope]

104. Tom Hanks played a gay man

who died of Aids, in their pitiful little minds he was PUNISHED for being gay.

That's something worth giving an award to.

[qanda]

64. Excuse me, but didn't Brokeback win a Golden Globe Award

For best picture and other Oscars in last night's award ceremony. I'm not buying the whole homophobic thing. I even read upthread that Capote won because he was an acceptable gay-- Oh, give me a break!

[bowens43]

67. Trash???

Crash was an EXCELLENT movie well deserving of an Oscar. I think that you are reading more into this then is actually there.

[standup]

89. I too think Crash deserved best pic. Brokeback deserved best director

and nothing more.
The gay community ought to grow up and quit whining. If the next Democratic presidential nominee is not gay, are they gonna whine about Democrats being anti-gay too?? Gimme a break.

[Bridget Burke]

94. Are you sure the Gay Community is "whining"?

Have you talked to all of them?

There are many reasons that movies get Oscars--the most deserving do not always win. This year, there were a bunch of good ones.

Can't you just say you preferred Crash--rather than telling people to "get over it?"

[Puglover]

97. "The gay community ought to grow up and quit whining."

You're painting with a mighty broad brush there pal.

And wow, the question you posed is the most thought provoking thing I've read on DU today.
:sarcasm:

[AtomicKitten]

109. Loved "Crash"

Sorry, I thought it was the better of the two.

[geomon666]

73. I thought you said it had nothing to do with homophobia?

And then you rant about homophobia?

I don't get why Brokeback Mountain is so special. It's just a generic love story, only catch being is that the lovers are two guys. Great dialogue (Best Screenplay). Beautiful looking (Best Director). But best movie?.....It could've gone either way. I wasn't impressed with this years crop of movies anyway. They were all pretty ho hum. And what's with the shot at Rocky? True it shouldn't have beaten out All The President's Men, Network, and Taxi Driver but it's still a better movie than Brokeback was.

[debbierlus]

75. Rocky was great film

It really was...

It was very honest.

It still is a great watch.

[sadiesworld]

78. Crash was an obvious piece of propaganda destined to win.

It is no coincidence that the latino characters are almost, without fail, portrayed as sympathetic victims while the others receive more "complex" treatment. I think the real clinchers are the almost, without fail, unsympathetic black characters and the ultimately "redeemed" Matt Dillion. The more "complex" white and black characters are the hook for rightwingers weary of "liberal" formulaic portrayals. The treatment given the latinos is the message meant to be internalized.

If you wish to dispute my analysis please ask yourself why RW radio has been talking up this movie (they have).

I told my husband weeks ago that this movie would win and he didn't believe me--he'd never even heard of it. (I rented it while he was out of town on business)

[SeattleRob]

86. I think it's more of an LA thing

I thought "Crash" was not deserving of a best picture nod. I don't think the corporate media had anything to do with it - though technically speaking Hollywood is a part of the "corporate media."

I think the reason "Crash" won was because it resonated with the people who live in the LA/Hollywood area - where I suspect a majority of the Oscar Voters live. In my opinion, there were some good moments in "Crash" and some very good performances. I think the portrayal of race relations used too many cliches and the film didn't delve deep enough into the characters. I also believe the multiple character stories - and their connections seemed "borrowed" from the far more interesting film, "Magnolia." "Crash also ended with a weather anomaly - snow in Southern California. I preferred the frogs in "Magnolia."


My vote for best film would have been for "Good Night and Good Luck."

[k_jerome]

90. bitterness. nt.

[fknobbit]

96. On fixed income here

Genre wise if John wayne coulda played either role, even without ole tuscadero (sp), I would not have went. I'll wait till the Grand kids buy it on PPV, and watch it free.

[kevinbgoode]

98. The movie was set up to LOSE

Every comedian, every wingnut columnist, every partisan operative was running around the country screaming, laughing, making fun of this motion picture until it had become a caricature. Then a major lobbying effort appeared for Crash in the last few weeks - lots of ads, lots of pushing for members of the Academy to see the film, a very large and aggressive campaign. It isn't a stretch to think that this was a relief to those in Hollywood who didn't want to endure a wingnut backlash if they names Brokeback best picture, even if just about every other major film organization and association had already done so. . .

Judging by the headlines now, which act as if Brokeback was "crashed," "snubbed," "rejected" by the Academy, it sure seems like the Academy was willing to let the gay community take a hit in order to spare themselves any sort of backlash. . .and that is just plan sad.

There aren't many movies made with primary gay characters, and even fewer made about the drama and truth about our relationships. . .and with the current climate, there won't be again for quite some time. That is what makes this whole damned thing very disappointing.

I'm not dissing "Crash". . .but the point is, it launched a big campaign for attention and it would be naive to think that members of the academy were not influenced by the non-stop paroding and parroting about the "gay cowboy" movie. It became a daily jabfest, and even if some of them were funny, it became suspect after awhile. But it was an effective strategy - the straight comics could go on and on only slightly diminishing the freepers "fudgepacker" comment until the film became almost an embarassing caricature of the love story it portrayed.

[father_of_hope]

105. It still had a victory of sorts

3 Oscars, that's not totally bad.

Best Director and Best Screenplay (Adapted). But the film deserved more.

The right-wing corporate media indeed started a campaign early against the movie. A Best Film Oscar would add 40 million to its box office.

[dsc]

100. Yeah Rocky winning was something

plus it won for script. Christ Jesus the Academy messed that up.

[fknobbit]

102. "Gonna fly now" and "Eye of the tiger"

Sinply the best workout music around, still have and use them today.

[Rowdyboy]

101. "The Color Purple" didn't win a single Oscar either

Some years the voters of the Academy just have their heads up their asses.

[dsc]

103. that was largely because

many African Americans were outraged at the treatment of the story. The felt it was too happy, not serious enough.

[father_of_hope]

106. plus the incest

a little too heavy.

[ccpup]

108. Actually,

Heath Ledger did himself in with his obvious embarrassement over the role. When he walked onto the stage at the SAG Awards with his hand on his hip, in an amateurish attempt at gay humour, the table I was at actually fell silent and almost recoiled. And then a well-known Producer turned to me and said "he just lost the Oscar". It's widely understood that Heath Ledger has some growing up to do before he gets any kudos. Hoffman has been around forever, has the Industry's respect and is known for being a hard worker. Ledger? Not so much. Again, he has growing up to do. I think he'll be fine in the end, but this Oscar wasn't his to have. Not this year.

[Paladin]

110. Finally Rented "Crash" And Watched It.....

...and my reaction was pretty much what I thought it would be: while "Crash" was good, in a sort of earnest, TV-movie sort of way, it wasn't anywhere near as good as "Brokeback Mountain." Twenty years from now, people will still be watching and talking about "Brokeback Mountain," while "Crash" will be forgotten.

Certainly not the first time the Academy has awarded an inferior product; I'll never forgive them for favoring "Titanic" over "L.A. Confidential".....

[shrike]

112. I loved Crash

Had fully intended to see Brokeback, but no longer plan to because I'm sick to death of the whiner/sore loser attitude of (apparently) everyone associated with it.

[MISSDem]

126. You are cutting off your nose to spite your face.

You're depriving yourself of one of the best movies I've ever seen.

[theobscure]

111. wow, finally

I thought I was the only in the world who thought that Crash was just a bad movie. It was so manipulative and preposterous. My eyes were rolling the whole 2nd half. The acting performances of Brendan Fraser and Sandra Bullock were two of the worst you'll ever see in a star studded ensemble piece.

[dr.zoidberg]

113. The REAL reason.

It's so obvious I can't believe that everyone missed it.

Grandpa Simpson: Oh, sure. Let's see...
I'm an elk, a Mason, a communist. I'm the president of the
Gay and Lesbian Alliance for some reason...ah, here it is. The
Stonecutters.

Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do.
Who leaves the Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do! We do.
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do! We do.
Who robs cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do! We do.

[catbert836]

116. I saw all 5 movies

and here's my response:

"Crash" did not deserve to win. As other posters have stated, I found it quite pretentious and phony. "Brokeback Mountain" was a lot better; I'm a straight guy and even I found myself crying at the end. But I don't think it deserved to win the Oscar either. "Capote", "Good Night, and Good Luck", and "Munich" were all better movies than those two. However, both of the latter two got completely shut out, and "Capote" got only Best Actor (that I remember), so don't feel too bad that your movie didn't win Best Picture, when it won several other Oscars.

Did homophobia enter into their decision? Maybe. We can't really know.

As for Heath Ledger, you'll remember that Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won the Oscar for Best Actor, played a gay man, Truman Capote. Also, his performance was just a lot better than Ledger's, which I think is why he got the Oscar.

[mduffy31]

117. I find it disturbing

That people are still going on about this. It has passed, and I don't think that Hollywood is in danger of being taken over by fundies.

[Onceuponalife]

118. here is my top ten films of 2005, fwiw

1. Crash
2. Syriana
3. Munich
4. Good Night, and Good Luck
5. Brokeback Mountain
6. Sin City
7. Capote
8. Walk the Line
9. Hustle & Flow
10. The Interpreter

[MISSDem]

119. I loved Brokeback Mountain but wait, I also loved Rocky.

Sly is one of my favorites. BM though is, maybe the best film I've ever seen.

[Democrats_win]

120. Crash is more universal than BBM

In addition to dealing with racism, Crash deals with the power of redemption. Crash also considers other issues such as the plight of older Americans suffering within the medical system, problems that police officers have, and hypocrisy.

To me the thought that once again my fellow gays would put their interests ahead of correcting the things that are really wrong with America is sad. My fellow gays fucked up when they rushed to get married in San Francisco and gave the fascists four more years. Yes, BBM showing America what a great loss they're causing us by not letting us marry, is important.

Still, the morality that "christians" believe in was road kill in this country prior to 1800. Crash captures the fact that America is nothing but a cesspool and every American is adding shit to it. Yet it also offers hope that if and ONLY if we start caring for each other we can redeem ourselves and this country.

But don't hold your breath, today a gay man in the military was lead away in handcuffs. Crash describes the trajectory of this fucking country and the false morality that the fucking wingnuts offer will no sooner stop this crash than road kill.

[shrike]

121. Thank you so very much

You expressed it so nicely. I'd fully intended to see BBM, but set up my own personal boycott after everyone involved with the film (plus seemingly every tragically hip soul in this country) began to trash Crash, though. You have made me reconsider my boycott, though.

[MISSDem]

122. Rocky was (is) a great movie !

In fact, I have and love all of the Rocky movies. Love Stallone!

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

123. In that case you might enjoy this Rocky 6 teaser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtxJsVPfzfY&search=rocky%206

[MISSDem]

124. I don't know if that is a 'for real' teaser but I can't wait

for the movie. Rocky 4-ever!

[trixie]

127. Just saw Brokeback

I found it very, very boring. Great scenery. Great message. Boring!!!