‘Crash’ skids to top honours

HOLLYWOOD – The unflinching racial drama ‘Crash’ pulled off a stunning upset at Sunday’s 78th annual Academy Awards by swooping in to steal the best picture Oscar from the firm favourite ‘Brokeback Mountain’.

Walk the Line’ star Reese Witherspoon and ‘Capote’ frontman Philip Seymour Hoffman meanwhile fulfilled predictions by scooping the top acting awards, while US screen idol George Clooney and Britain’s Rachel Weisz took home the Oscars for their supporting roles in two politically charged movies. ‘Crash’ and “Brokeback” each won three Oscars, but first-time Canadian director Paul Haggis’s study of racial prejudice took the top honour — best picture, while “Brokeback,” the story of unfulfilled love between gay cowboys, had to settle for the best director statuette for Taiwan’s Ang Lee.”Thank-you for embracing our film about love, about tolerance and about truth,” said ‘Crash’ co-producer Cathy Schulman in a year dominated by low-budget films about weighty political and social issues.’Brokeback’, which went into the Oscars armed with a leading eight nominations, had long been the clear favourite to win the best picture and up to four other awards after cleaning at virtually all other award shows.But it was ‘Crash’, a complex and gritty jigsaw of a story about the lives of six ethnically-diverse people whose lives collide in a Los Angeles car accident, that stole the show by making good on three of it six nominations.”We are humbled by the other nominees in this category you have made this year one of the most breathtaking, stunning maverick years in American cinema,” Schulman said.Awards pundits said that Oscars voters had been overcome by a “gay fatigue” and had turned their backs on early frontrunner ‘Brokeback’.”Crash hit all the right notes,” said Lew Harris of Movies.com.”But there was a backlash against ‘Brokeback’, people who didn’t want to see it, who felt uncomfortable with it,” he said.Two big-budget studio spectaculars also won three Oscars each: Peter Jackson’s 200-million-dollar ‘King Kong’ and Rob Marshall’s ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’, although their victories were in the more technical categories.’Crash’, which cost just US$6,5 million (about N$40 million) to make, also won the best original screenplay award for Haggis and Bobby Moresco and a film editing statuette.The 14-million-dollar (about N$86 million) ‘Brokeback’ picked up Oscars for best adapted screenplay for Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry and best original score for Argentine composer Gustavo Santoalalla.Lee (51), the first Asian to win the directing Oscar, thanked the two fictional heroes of Annie Proulx’s short story on which his film is based.”Their names are Ennis and Jack and they taught all of us who made ‘Brokeback Mountain’ so much about not just the gay men and women whose love is denied by society, but, just as important, the greatness of love itself.”Hoffman (38) won best actor for his searing performance as eccentric author Truman Capote, while Witherspoon took best actress for her turn as another real-life character, country music singer June Carter Cash in ‘Walk the Line’.- Nampa-AFP’Crash’ and “Brokeback” each won three Oscars, but first-time Canadian director Paul Haggis’s study of racial prejudice took the top honour — best picture, while “Brokeback,” the story of unfulfilled love between gay cowboys, had to settle for the best director statuette for Taiwan’s Ang Lee.”Thank-you for embracing our film about love, about tolerance and about truth,” said ‘Crash’ co-producer Cathy Schulman in a year dominated by low-budget films about weighty political and social issues.’Brokeback’, which went into the Oscars armed with a leading eight nominations, had long been the clear favourite to win the best picture and up to four other awards after cleaning at virtually all other award shows.But it was ‘Crash’, a complex and gritty jigsaw of a story about the lives of six ethnically-diverse people whose lives collide in a Los Angeles car accident, that stole the show by making good on three of it six nominations.”We are humbled by the other nominees in this category you have made this year one of the most breathtaking, stunning maverick years in American cinema,” Schulman said.Awards pundits said that Oscars voters had been overcome by a “gay fatigue” and had turned their backs on early frontrunner ‘Brokeback’.”Crash hit all the right notes,” said Lew Harris of Movies.com.”But there was a backlash against ‘Brokeback’, people who didn’t want to see it, who felt uncomfortable with it,” he said.Two big-budget studio spectaculars also won three Oscars each: Peter Jackson’s 200-million-dollar ‘King Kong’ and Rob Marshall’s ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’, although their victories were in the more technical categories.’Crash’, which cost just US$6,5 million (about N$40 million) to make, also won the best original screenplay award for Haggis and Bobby Moresco and a film editing statuette.The 14-million-dollar (about N$86 million) ‘Brokeback’ picked up Oscars for best adapted screenplay for Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry and best original score for Argentine composer Gustavo Santoalalla.Lee (51), the first Asian to win the directing Oscar, thanked the two fictional heroes of Annie Proulx’s short story on which his film is based.”Their names are Ennis and Jack and they taught all of us who made ‘Brokeback Mountain’ so much about not just the gay men and women whose love is denied by society, but, just as important, the greatness of love itself.”Hoffman (38) won best actor for his searing performance as eccentric author Truman Capote, while Witherspoon took best actress for her turn as another real-life character, country music singer June Carter Cash in ‘Walk the Line’.- Nampa-AFP