Crash` Wins Best Film Oscar Over Favorite `Brokeba

[Shahrukh Khan]

Crash,` a story of racial intolerance in Los Angeles, won the Academy Award for
best picture and picked up two other Oscars in an upset victory over the
favorite ``Brokeback Mountain.``

The Oscars for best original screenplay and film editing also went
to ``Crash`` at the 78th annual Academy Awards yesterday in Los Angeles.
``Brokeback,`` a love story of two cowboys, won three Oscars from the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, including the best director award for Ang
Lee.
``Crash`` won in a ceremony that recognized edgy, low-budget
movies. All but one best-picture nominee was made for less than $14 million,
said researcher Box Office Mojo.com. Distributor Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
laid the groundwork for an upset by sending out 130,000 copies of ``Crash`` to
studio executives and academy voters. ``Crash`` beat ``Brokeback Mountain`` for
a Screen Actors Guild award in January, a sign of industry favor.
``This is the year that Hollywood awarded rule breakers,`` Paul
Haggis, who produced and directed ``Crash,`` told reporters after accepting his
award. ``These are films that are telling very human stories, but risky human
stories.``
In ``Crash,`` individuals in Los Angeles intertwine and the
characters are forced to understand each other`s fears and biases. The movie
stars Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser and Ryan Phillippe.
The film, which cost $5.6 million to make, according to Box Office
Mojo, brought in $83.4 million in theaters worldwide.
Surprise Winner
The win for ``Crash`` surprised industry veterans including Larry
Turman, a University of Southern California film professor and academy board
member. When Lee won the best director award, many thought ``Brokeback`` was
next up, said Turman, who produced ``The Graduate`` and ``American History X.``

Until ``Crash`` took best film, the Oscars had followed the script
from January`s Golden Globe awards, raising expectations for ``Brokeback``
because of its wins for best drama and director from members of the foreign
press.
Jack Nicholson looked shocked when he read the best picture
winner, Turman said.
``I would call this an upset,`` said Chad Hartigan, a film analyst
at Los Angeles-based industry researcher Reel Source. ``It was the biggest upset
since 1998, when `Shakespeare in Love` beat `Saving Private Ryan.``` The film,
he said, ``affected people. It related to people`s stories.``
The films recognized by the academy this year tackled themes
including homosexuality and racism. The biggest budget for this year`s five
best-picture nominees was ``Munich`` at $70 million, well below the $200 million
cost of major Hollywood films with big stars and special effects.
`Capote`
Philip Seymour Hoffman won the best-actor Oscar for his portrayal
of author Truman Capote in the film ``Capote.`` Reese Witherspoon took the best
actress award for her role as June Carter Cash in ``Walk the Line.`` Hollywood
honored its best work at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles in a show broadcast on
the ABC network and hosted by comedian Jon Stewart.
``Brokeback,`` from Universal Pictures, is the tale of two young
men, a rodeo cowboy played by Jake Gyllenhaal and a ranch hand portrayed by
Heath Ledger, who meet in Wyoming in the summer of 1963 and fall in love. The
movie, made for $14 million, is still in theaters and has taken in $129.9
million worldwide, the most among best-picture nominees. It led with eight
nominations.
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana won Oscars for their adapted
screenplay of ``Brokeback.`` The film`s music also won for best original score.

Not Mainstream
For the first time in 25 years, all five films in the best-
picture category also garnered best-director nominations.
``Crash`` and ``Good Night, and Good Luck,`` a film about CBS`s
battle with Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, each received six nominations.
The other two best-picture nominees, ``Capote`` and Steven Spielberg`s
``Munich,`` were competing in five categories.
``These are not mainstream studio pictures,`` said Craig Emanuel,
co-head of the entertainment practice at the law firm Loeb & Loeb, which
represents ``Crash`` producer Cathy Schulman. The low-budget and independent
style of these films is ``quite telling in terms of what people are
recognizing.``
In other categories, George Clooney won the best supporting actor
award for his role as a CIA operative in the film ``Syriana.`` Rachel Weisz won
as best supporting actress for her portrayal of an activist in ``The Constant
Gardener.``.
``King Kong`` was honored for visual effects, sound mixing and
sound editing, and ``Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were- Rabbit`` was
named best animated feature.
Colleen Atwood won the Oscar for best costume design for Sony
Corp.`s ``Memoirs of a Geisha,`` which also won for art direction and
cinematography. ``March of the Penguins`` won the Oscar for best documentary
feature.
Still in Theaters
The academy also presented an honorary Oscar to director and
producer Robert Altman, who said during his acceptance speech he had a heart
transplant operation 11 years ago.
When they were nominated on Jan. 31, the five best picture
hopefuls had brought in $228 million in worldwide ticket revenue, the lowest
total in five years, said Exhibitor Relations Co., which tracks sales.
All but ``Crash`` is still in theaters. The other four added $43.1
million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales in the four weeks following the
nominations, the least for best-picture candidates in a decade, according to
Exhibitor Relations.
The sales may reflect the movies` serious themes. ``Capote``
follows Truman Capote as he writes ``In Cold Blood,`` a book about four murders
in a small Kansas town. ``Munich`` is about the aftermath of the murder of 11
Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games.
Nominees
In addition to Hoffman, who also won a Golden Globe for
``Capote,`` the other best-actor nominees included Ledger for ``Brokeback
Mountain,`` Terrence Howard for ``Hustle & Flow,`` David Strathairn for
``Good Night, and Good Luck,`` and Joaquin Phoenix for ``Walk the Line.``
Phoenix won the best actor Golden Globe in the musical or comedy
category for his portrayal of singer Johnny Cash.
Besides Witherspoon, best actress nominees include Felicity
Huffman for ``Transamerica,`` Judi Dench for ``Mrs. Henderson Presents,`` Keira
Knightley for ``Pride & Prejudice`` and Charlize Theron for ``North
Country.``
Sony`s ``Memoirs of a Geisha`` and Universal`s ``King Kong`` each
won three Oscars to share bragging rights with ``Crash`` and ``Brokeback.``
Among the studios, General Electric Co.`s Universal led with seven
awards, followed by Sony with four, Lions Gate with three, Walt Disney Co. and
Time Warner Inc. with two, and News Corp.`s Twentieth Century Fox with one.
Universal had more nominations than any other studio with 20 and
shared in eight more for co-productions, including ``Munich`` with DreamWorks
SKG and ``Cinderella Man`` with Miramax

[Shahrukh Khan]

best picture lolz crash sucks

[YAS]

yay ya...awesome...i loved this movie...

[Rani_Pakistanii]

i were surprised though.. when i saw crash got an award...

[YAS]

lol...it was a well deserved Award...
storyline was STRONG n the actin from all the actors was too darn good...

[Shahrukh Khan]

it wasnt too good...wrong choice

[YAS]

lol...ab to award milgaya meri fav movie ko...
hum to khush

[Rani_Pakistanii]

i don't think it was too bad but.. compared to some other nominees.. um.. forget it.

[Shahrukh Khan]

wasnt that good

[YAS]

[Shahrukh Khan]

sucked big time

[YAS]

pa g

[Rani_Pakistanii]

abh mil gaya na... so jo hona tha ho gaya..

[YAS]

wohi to...i'm lovin it...
ab dekho next year ka award bhi meri fav movie ko milega...lets see wat's comin my way

[Shahrukh Khan]

well crash jaisi movie best picture thie...is saal kya hoga