Brokeback Mountain -- I'm thankful for what we did receive

[donheld]

I won't focus on what we did not get. Maybe we lost the best picture oscar, but over the award season we did quite well if you think about it.


P.S. As far as best actor award, the winner was for a portrayal of a gay man so that can't be called homophobic.

[Why Syzygy]

1. Very true.

Capote. He was a great man.

[Clarkie1]

2. Who is "we?" n/t

[Divine Discontent]

3. another clarkie here, believing there was nothing gained in the oscars

Capote's portrayal was only as an ODD man, there wasn't gay sex like BBM and the romance that flared from it. They didn't want to give it to BBM, is all that can be said, it's really all that needs to be said.

We've seen lots of racism stories that have been far more powerful than Crash, in fact, Crash was forgotten soon after it was released. It was only getting a "SURGE" right near the end.... yeah, right. wonder why.

[melissaf]

6. because the people who made the movie

did a lot of Oscar campaigning at the very last minute. I'm sure their aim wasn't to quash a gay-themed movie. They simply wanted _their_ movie to win, because it was _their_ movie.

[QC]

7. Capote was the sort of gay man the establishment loves:

the safely stereotypical one, the kind easily identifiable as gay. Characters like him have been in films since the days of the silents. Implying that an icon of manliness could be gay is just too much for the timid souls in Hollywood.

What is more, this Capote was made perfectly sexless: anyone who didn't know better would assume that Jack Dunphy was his roommate.

Safe, safe, safe. And yeah, timid.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

12. So what's the point?

It's an award show. They give awards based on subjective opinion. Does not winning an Oscar diminish BBM to you or anyone who loved it? Are all the folks who preferred "Crash" homophobes? Or does that make the people who liked BBM better racists?

Or is the right wing correct that the Oscars are nothing more than an opportunity to push a political agenda, and whoever's political agenda is not pushed is going to scream bigotry? Good lord, I hope not. My hope is that it's about picking what was the best movie. Again, that's based on subjective opinion.......

If it's really about picking what was a better movie, well join the club if you feel the film you preferred didn't win. I've been saying for years they usually miss the best picture, and it's all about politics....studio politics. They split the baby all the time and give multiple films bites at the apple. Ang Lee did get "Best Director". Hell, Scorsese can't even get arrested on Oscar night......

[Erika]

17. Those days are over

We even have posters here giving opinions who haven't seen the movies. It's all political bias. The movies or actors be damned. PC to a new dimension.

[tallahasseedem]

4. We? Are you back and posting from the Oscars so soon?

[Erika]

5. Agreed. Capote was pictured as out of the mainstream

as gay. That seems to be the only definition Hollywood allows as gay. Shame on them.

[Katherine Brengle]

10. Um, be that as it may, the award was for Best Performance by an Actor--

not, Most Socially Meaningful Role of the Year.

If that was the award, it probably would have gone to Felicity Huffman.

[Erika]

14. Yeah they let a little strange gay man

win the award.

[Katherine Brengle]

20. I didn't see either film, so I am not going to expound one over the other,

but regardless of the subject matter:

1) Capote did not win Best Picture, so this aspect is irrelevant.

2) Philip Seymour-Hoffman won Best Actor because he is an amazing actor. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall are hot, and decent actors, but I'd bet anything neither gave as good a performance as PS-H. The award is not just about the character portrayed--it is mostly about how well the actor portrays that character. Also, there were other nominees in the category--Heath Ledger was not the only loser in the bunch--and I think that there were others on that list who are generally better actors than Ledger, so he may have lost even if PS-H didn't win.

3) A lot of people here seem like they were/are championing Brokeback and its actors solely because of the subject matter. While I agree that the film's "message" was/is an important one, that doesn't automatically make it a great film, and doesn't automatically make everyone in it great actors.

The opinions I am seeing seem to be stemming primarily from emotion and not from any real analysis of the merits of those who did or did not win the awards. Sure, the Oscars aren't perfect--what human institution is? The awards are decided by people (incidentally, people who I am guessing have seen the films in question) and people are far from perfect. However, it could just be that the Academy voters chose these winners based on merit--go figure--and not their personal emotional leanings.

(Also, has anyone heard the recorded version of the Best Original Song? I thought the quality of the sound in general on all of the songs was pretty bad, and may have contributed to the seemingly craptastic nature of the winning song...)

[Katherine Brengle]

8. I have to also ask, who is "we"? I haven't even seen it yet.

I'll tell you what made my night--Philip Seymour-Hoffman.

He is so unbelievably, heart-breakingly talented, and it was nice to see him get some recognition for it. Of course, being how he is, I am sure we will continue to see great, outside the box performances from him regardless of the Oscar win.

He's a true artist.

[eggman67]

9. The Academy got it right

I've seen all the films. Hoffman's performance was brilliant. He deserved that Oscar. Crash was the better overall film. That doesn't diminish BBM.

[Katherine Brengle]

11. One last time--PS-H is my hero--what a guy... n/t

[Erika]

15. Crash should have come in 5'th

But it was the most PC movie. I guess Hollywood lost its spine.

[cynatnite]

13. Nice balance of movies

I haven't seen Crash, but it seems that with movies like that, Brokeback, Munich, Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck, Hollywood did right tonight.

Jon Stewart did a great job as host and George Clooney gave the best speech of the night.

[Erika]

16. Hollywood went PC but Jon Stewart did a great job

Crash would have been approved by Barbara and Laura Bush. The other films would have never made it to the WH theatre.

[melissaf]

18. Are you kidding?

So many plots...so many actors...

George Dub's brain would implode just from trying to follow the first 10 minutes!

[countmyvote4real]

19. enough already. WTF were they wearing?

just kidding. (sort of)

The Academy Awards is the ultimate infomercial for theatrical box office sales and ancillary rights like PPV, cable and DVD. AND yes, whatever the pimps and whores wore to the group slurp also counts.

It’s so sad for me to see artists compromising (and whoring themselves to mindless interviews on E, etc.) their art, but I guess they have to make a living. It’s really no wonder that the pimp song won.