NYT: Upset 'Brokeback' Fans Advertise Their Feelings

[DeepModem Mom]

Upset 'Brokeback' Fans Advertise Their Feelings
By STUART ELLIOTT
Published: March 13, 2006


Fans of the film "L.A. Confidential" did not take out advertisements in entertainment publications after it lost the best picture Academy Award to "Titanic." It did not happen when "Goodfellas" lost to "Dances With Wolves" or even when "Citizen Kane" lost to "How Green Was My Valley."

But after "Brokeback Mountain" lost the best picture Oscar to "Crash," more than 800 fans — participants in an online discussion group known as the Ultimate Brokeback Forum — chipped in more than $24,000 to buy a full-page ad in Daily Variety. The ad, which ran Friday, thanked the makers of the movie "for transforming countless lives through the most honored film of the year."

"I felt we had to do something," said Dave Cullen, a journalist in Denver who bought the ad after setting up several Brokeback sites, at addresses including brokeback.davecullen.com. "People were distraught, upset, angry; they couldn't believe it."

A poster who goes by Texas Girl suggested buying the ad, he said, and after some discussion that they protest the "Crash" victory, the forum participants decided to run "a positive ad."

Charles C. Koones, president and publisher of Daily Variety and Variety, owned by Reed Elsevier, said, " 'Brokeback' really touched a chord with certain audiences. There are those in Hollywood who feel it was robbed." Although his publications have run fan group ads in the past, they typically urged networks not to cancel favorite TV series....


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/13/business/media/13brokeback.html

[Erika]

1. Yep. Brokeback Mountain was robbed.

Crash was mediocre in comparison. It was especially ironic that the actor representing Capote won. He was seen as as the non-intimidating and quiet status quo gay. You know, the intellectual and effeminate type gay. Hollywood sold out big time.

[Chipper Chat]

2. I am still in shock about it.

All the posts in here propping up Crash as the better picture have not convinced me. I truly believe homophobia was at work, especially after reading Tony Curtis's comments. And this from a man who starred in the movie "Some Like It Hot!"

[Erika]

3. Yeah, George Clooney should have included

Hollywood was out of touch in recognizing every day gays and lesbians. He didn't. He talked about the Blacks in the back of the theatre, etc. but he was silent on gays.

[question everything]

20. And a previous Oscar winner - Philadelphia- was about, what? (nt)

[Bluebear]

34. AIDS. Not what I would call a gay love story. nt

[lakemonster11]

10. Not to mention his role in Spartacus.

[LostinVA]

13. Please remember, the huge majority of Hollywood is very liberal

However, there is a relatively small older crowd that are crazy nuts, and like to "spoil" the Best Picture Award. Borgnine, Curtis )who is so gay, imo), etc. Ginger Rogers was a another huge RWer.

At least this year they didn't have a softball to vote for like :"Driving Miss Daisy." I betcha they threw votes at "Munich," which allowed "Crash" to edge out "BBN." At least Crash was a hard-hitting movie.\

And, also remember that these people are dropping like flies.... they weren't able to stop BBN or Good Night from getting nominated. In the past, there was enough of them that they might have.

So, it's not Hollywood teh entity that's homophobic... it's this cluster of elderly RWer SAG members...

[question everything]

21. Oh for crying out loud

Will someone always scream "conspiracy" whenever a voting results does not fit one's wishes?

[LostinVA]

25. I believe you need to back off a bit

If you had actually read my post instead of skimming it and spinning it, you would never have said that. Ever. And, if you read what Borgnine, etc./ have said, you would know this isn't a conspiracy at all -- it's a fact that many older, conservative SAG members will never vote for a gay movie.

What Is aid was true -- it's well known in the industry that this bloc of elderly, ultra-conservative voters is known for doing this. I have a friend that is a movie producer -- and he says everyone in LA knows this is probably what happened.

If you actually researched ANYTHING, you would see that I defended Crash as the winner after the Oscars, and said the bookies were saying it was only running a Little behind BBN in the odds. A tilt of 100 votes would have given the Best Picture to Crash instead of BBN. I also said it was a night to celebrate, not whine tc. But no, it's easier for you to just slam someone.

So, "for crying out loud" back to you.

[saracat]

4. Baloney. Brokeback could not compete with Crash.

End of story. I am so tired of this. Just the fact that it had gay characters does NOT make Brokeback the better film.They would have sold out if they voted for Brokeback to make the gay political arm happy. Art is art. This is NOT homophobia.

[Erika]

5. Crash was an L.A. film the locals doted on

Brokeback had better actors and was the better film. Art is art. End of story.

[Connie_Corleone]

12. Then how come some of us midwest folks loved it??

Anyone who lives in a city with diverse people can relate to the movie.

[saracat]

15. The actors do not agree with you.

And apparently , neither do a majority of 6000 other professionals. Crash was awarded an award by its peers. This is not about public opinion. We are all entitled to our opinions.Art is subjective. Both DH and I voted for Crash in the SAG awarded. It was our professional opinion that CRash was the superior film. We did not do so as an act of homophobia.And I find it offensive that people seem to be implying that all votes for Crash were 'Homophobic'. It is simply ridiculous! I have no problem with people preferring "Brokeback". Thai is merely an opinion.I Do have a problem with the questioning the nature of a professional's vote. I certainly don't think everyone who voted for "Brokeback " did so because they were "racist"!

[Bluebear]

36. My objection is where voters refuse to see all the movies.

How can they judge what is "best" if they won't see all the nominees?

[saracat]

44. We don't know that many did..And if anyone cared about what

Tony Curtis thought, I would be extremely surprised.I will say that "Brokeback"made it difficult to view the movie while Crash made it easy by providing DVD's. It was the largest DVD drop in history for an award. 300,000 went out to the SAG membership alone for the SAG Awards. We had to fight to see "Brokeback" and then fight to be allowed in. Many people may have been insulted by having to pay to see "Brokeback".In that case, the producers may not have made sufficient arrangements for viewing.Crash gave the voters no excuse not to see it.

[Erika]

6. and part of the community did sell out

to the Capote actor. He was the "normal" gay. Intellectual and effiminate. That's as far as Hollywood would go.

[rodeodance]

7. I am happy that Brockback got where it did. Progress is slow but it is

slow.

[BoneDaddy]

11. This is getting very old

I totall agree. The big anti-gay conspiracy decided to not only nominate BBM for best picture, but also to nominate Jake and Heath for BSA and BA, give the BA to Hoffaman playing a gay man, thus supporting the view of the fem gay man. Wow that conspiracy really set gays back centuries. How dare the Academy.
It is rubbish like this that sets gay rights back years, because instead of focusing on real issues, they go after crap like this. Unreal.

And not only do some folks like to throw BBM in people's faces, they totally disrespect Crash which is uncalled for, Crash was amazing.

[mondo joe]

18. It's not better because of gay characters. It's just better.

But that's neither here nor there.

[Bluebear]

37. Certain academy members refusing to see it is not homophobia?

Tony Curtis told Fox news he refused to view it, for example. Borgnine, another. End of story.

[snooper2]

33. Syriana was better than both of them hands down..

A smooshy love movie, 10,000,000 have been made
and Boyz in the Hood is 100X the movie Crash is...

Why didn't Syriana win...huh huh, conspiracy?, CIA didn't want Syriana to win, that was it....I'm fucking pissed

[donheld]

8. It's time for us to let the bitterness go

We, or at least I, don't want to come off as a sore loser. There were no doubt many of the men who voted refused to even watch Brokeback Mountain. Crash was a film that would appeal in great lengths to those who lived in the LA area. Crash was a very fine moving film with a tremendous message. I watched it again last night.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

9. Roger Ebert's take on the controversy:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/OSCARS/603070301

[genie_weenie]

17. Roger's comments are excellent

And cut to the heart of the matter.

Thanks for the link.

[question everything]

29. Excellent. Here are some paragraphs

The nature of the attacks on "Crash" by the supporters of "Brokeback Mountain" seem to proceed from the other position: "Brokeback" is better not only because of its artistry but because of its subject matter, and those who disagree hate homosexuals.

======

Yes, and more than one critic described "Crash" as "the worst film of the year," which is as extreme as saying John Kerry was a coward in Vietnam. It means you'll say anything to help your campaign.

What is intriguing about these writers is that they never mention the other three best picture nominees: "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Munich." Their silence on these films reveals their agenda: They wanted "Brokeback Mountain" to win, saw "Crash" as the spoiler, and attacked "Crash." If "Munich" had been the spoiler, they might not have focused on "Crash." When they said those who voted for "Crash" were homophobes who were using a liberal movie to mask their hatred of homosexuals, they might have said the same thing about "Munich."

[nini]

41. How dare he make some sense over this issue!

I cannot fucking believe how this has become such a big overblown issue. But then I have always taken what happens at the Academy Awards with a grain of salt. My reality does not revolve around whether or not movies make the statements I want them to. Good if they do, but if we want movies to fight our battles for issues we believe in to the point we go nuts over an award, we're in deeper shit than we even realize.

[Freedom_Aflaim]

14. This movie Crash must have been really good

I wasnt planning on seeing it, but seeing how it beat the best movie in the history of movie making, it must be good.

/sarcasm.

Seriously. They are just movies. I havent seen neither brokeback nor crash, but they are still just movies. Folks need to put things in perspective.

[shrike]

16. High Noon didn't win

Neither did Double Indemnity, two fantastic pictures. Many an actor/actress who deserved the honor did not win. It's the nature of the thing. It's almost a part of the history of Oscar.

I loved Crash, and was planning to see Brokeback when it came to our local art theatre. Now I'm not so sure. This backlash has gotten so old and so annoying that I may just pass.

[question everything]

19. Crash was a better movie. Get over it

Every year there will always be someone unhappy with the results. I think that Felicity Huffman was very good in TransAmerica. Does the fact that Charlize Theron and Felicity Huffman did not win mean that Hollywood is anti women's rights? Or that it is anti transgenders?

I was glad that Clooney won, but thought that Matt Dillon was very good in Crash.

At some point, only one can win. And to use homophobia as a rallying cry is really cynical and manipulative.

Should WWII veterans have rallied because Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan?

Philadelphia did win some years back so all the talk about Hollywood homophobia is really sour grapes.

Get over it. Move on.

[Bluebear]

35. And what year did Philadephia win best picture? Just curious.

[mondo joe]

40. Nah - Crash was crap. But tha's pretty standard for Best Picture so

not worth getting worked up about. Philadelphia sucked too.

It's not worse than Braveheart, which also won.

Best Picture is frequently about the most safe feel-good-about-your-conscience movie af the year.

[Yavin4]

22. "Goodfellas" Lost Best Picture to "Dances with Wolves"

'nuff said.

[Fountain79]

49. I've seen both...

Scorsesee was robbed!

[Norquist Nemesis]

23. I've always wondered what would happen if the presenter

went ahead and read out the name of who he/she wants to win. The envelopes are sealed and supposedly no one knows the winners except for the accounting firm of whoever. But what would they do? Come running out, take the presenter forcibly off the stage, and grab the mic, "Ladies and gentlemen. There's been an error." The nominees the presenter named would already be up on the stage, too!

Oh, what a utter scandal!

[BushOut06]

26. That would be career suicide

That would probably be the quickest way to get yourself blacklisted in Hollywood, pulling a stunt like that.

[Norquist Nemesis]

27. It sure would be! Probably bring a hefty lawsuit, too!

But, it's entertaining to imagine how it might play out. How would the public know?

[BushOut06]

30. Somebody would quickly come out and make a correction

"Ladies and gentlemen, we're sorry about that, this person was speaking on their own, the actual winner is...."

It would be something like that. It would be something kinda cool to see, especially if it was a presenter who had already made their mark, and didn't care if they never worked in mainstream Hollywood again.

[EstimatedProphet]

24. The best movie of the bunch was Good Night and Good Luck

That's the one people should be talking about being robbed.

[BlooInBloo]

28. Why do so many fans for the loser think it's a conspiracy?

There was a non-fan of Reese Witherspoon here a few days ago complaining about the conspiracy to give her the Oscar. Over at AmericaBlog (lotsa gay folks there), they're largely convinved that BBM lost due to hatred of gay folks...

Why can't a film/actor just lose because the voters liked another film/actor better? There seems to be this idea that has caught on pretty well - something like "if they disagree with ME, then they're part of an evil conspiracy AGAINST me". I don't totally understand where it came from, but it seems to be getting more and more popular, unfortunately.

[BlueInPhilly]

31. I've seen both BBM and Crash

and thought BBM was a better film because it was a harder story to tell. Crash was one dimensional and predictable and if ever, deserved an award for editing. But definitely NOT best picture. And I'm not talking about political / social messages, either. Just the way the stories were laid out.

You really cannot compare the 2 because BBM has a different degree of difficulty. Crash was almost shallow in its pretentiousness. So yes, I agree that BBM was robbed.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[GoneOffShore]

38. Thank you.

Yet another tin foil hat thread.

Popcorn?

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

39. Well I'm still annoyed that "Mysterious Skin" didn't get a single

nomination, but then that's a subjective opinion (& Gregg Araki's been pretty much blackballed by the establishment thus far in his career).

Personally I think it's a little sad that hardly anybody has cheered on the fact that Ang Lee is the first Asian (and indeed non-white person) to win best director, or that Brokeback played so well in the mainstream.

That said Crash was a fucking atrocious film (my opinion again), so God knows what goes on in the academy's heads. Nothing new there though (see Forrest Gump).

[Toucano]

42. $24,000??

That's money well spent.

Ridiculous. Shallow. Self-absorbed. Pathetic.

[Bluebear]

46. "'Brokeback' really touched a chord with certain audiences."

That's pathetic?

[Toucano]

47. Pissing away $24,000 because a movie "touched a cord" is pathetic.

It's only a projection of color and light.

[toopers]

43. I lost faith in the Academy . . .

when The English Patient beat The Piano for best movie. Talk about an Oscar winner that sucked, The English Patient was the worst!

[EstimatedProphet]

45. I lost faith in the Academy when Annie Hall beat Star Wars

[Fountain79]

48. First off...

The Oscars are always political. There have always been questionable picks for winners in the Oscars. Anyone remember when Marisa Tomei won an Oscar for My Cousin Vinny? Even all the way back in the earlier days it was the same. John Wayne won an Oscar for "True Grit" when he honestly had better performances in earlier roles, he merely had earned the "sentimental" vote.

I can't comment on either movie. This is actually the first year that I hadn't seen any of the nominated movies for best picture. I plan on seeing both, but honestly people are getting ridiculous over this.