'Crash' beats 'Brokeback
Mountain' at Oscars
Alyse Knorr / Arts & Entertainment
Editor
There is one big shocker at every Academy Awards show, and
this year, after three hours of waiting, the shocker finally
came with the announcement of the very last award.
"Crash" beat "Brokeback Mountain" for
Best Picture.
Although the film that wins Best Director also usually wins
Best Picture, this year the case was different. Ang Lee,
director of "Brokeback Mountain," won Best
Director, while "Crash" took the Oscar for Best
Picture at the 78th Annual Academy Awards Sunday night.
This year's nominees mainly consisted of small,
independent films, many of which dealt with very
controversial, touchy subjects.
Among the nominees for Best Picture, for example, was
"Munich," which took place shortly after
Palestinian terrorists murdered 11 Israeli athletes during
the 1972 Olympics. "Crash" examined intense racial
issues with a moving plot and stellar cast and
"Brokeback Mountain" followed the lives of two gay
cowboys and society's lack of acceptance for
homosexuality.
Jon Stewart, comedian and anchor of the satirical news show
"The Daily Show," hosted the Awards, adding an even
more political slant to the already tense political
atmosphere.
Stewart cracked jokes with the same sarcastic charisma that
he uses on his own show.
"The Oscars is really, I guess, the one night of the
year where you could see all your favorite stars without
having to donate any money to the Democratic Party,"
Stewart said. "And it's exciting for the stars as
well. This is the first time many of you have ever voted for
a winner."
Stewart also often poked fun at the controversial nature of
the films themselves.
"Capote was a groundbreaking film that broke taboos,
that showed America not all gay people are virile
cowboys," Stewart said. "Some are actually effete
New York intellectuals."
The two most coveted acting awards went to actors who played
actual people. Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of
Truman Capote won him the Best Actor award, and Reese
Witherspoon's role as June Carter Cash in
"Walk the Line" won her the Best Actress Oscar.
The theme for this year's Academy Awards was "old
Hollywood glamour," which gave the show a classier, more
nostalgic feel. Montages from old, classic Hollywood films
were shown throughout the event, and the stage was decorated
to look like a 1930s movie house.
All of the candidates for Best Picture and Best Actor were
very worthy of nomination, particularly in a time when big
budget movie sequels and Blockbuster remakes dominate the
quality acting and original screenwriting that make
independent films so special.
Although the Academy Awards viewer ratings were down 8
percent from last year, Stewart's hilarious performance
as host of the event could encourage more viewers to tune in
to next year's Oscars.
Contact Alyse Knorr at pendulum@elon.edu or
278-7247.
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Photo
courtesy of KRT Campus