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'Brokeback' named Hollywood word of the year Tue Feb 28, 2006 10:33 AM ET LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - And the winner for Hollywood's word of the year is "Brokeback," thanks to all the talk around the water cooler and Internet jokes that have turned a film about two gay cowboys into a cultural phenomenon. The nonprofit group Global Language Monitor placed "Brokeback" -- as in the film title "Brokeback Mountain" -- at the top of its list of Hollywood words and phrases that captured attention this year. Paul JJ Payack, the head of Global Language Monitor, said the movie became...

The current batch of Oscar nominations underscores the notion that now more than ever Hollywood is out of touch with America. The simple fact that twice as many people have seen the documentary "March of the Penguins" than have seen any of the five nominations for Best Picture ("Brokeback Mountain," "Crash," "Capote," "Munich" and "Good Night, and Good Luck") drives the point home. The combined audience total for all of the Best Picture nominations is less than the number of moviegoers who flocked to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Another indication of the...

"Brokeback Mountain" and a slew of other arty, less-widely seen Oscar-nominated flicks are expected to take the polish off ABC's ratings for the Academy Awards this year. With no big-budget films like "Titanic," "Gladiator" or "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" in this season's crop of nominees, ABC may be staring down the barrel of one of the lowest-rated Oscar telecasts in recent memory when it airs on March 5, say TV-industry analysts.

"Brokeback Mountain," the story of two male ranch hands who become romantically involved, led all films with eight nominations for the 78th annual Academy Awards. "Brokeback," based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx, picked up nods for best picture, best director (Ang Lee), best actor (Heath Ledger), best supporting actress (Michelle Williams) and best supporting actor (Jake Gyllenhaal). Its screenplay adaptation, by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, also received a nomination.

when I finally saw “Brokeback” I found it nearly perfect. It’s more than a love story; it’s really about loneliness, which is a more universal emotion anyway. Some of us haven’t been in love; some of us don’t believe in love. Everyone’s been lonely. It’s ambiguous enough to argue about endlessly. Heath Ledger’s Ennis del Mar feels like the man in the film — in the one sex scene, he gives rather than receives — and he’s taciturn and bottled-up in the way of men. He talks with his fists, and sometimes he talks too much, but he’s gentle with...

What do the bitter neocon nominee and the amazing Oscar-bound film have in common? There is this theory, more of a truism really, tossed about like a fuzzy beach ball by the gurus and the masters and the mystics since Jesus was but a lint ball of possibility in the Great Belly Button of Time. . . .

That big Oscar nomination would be for Brokeback Mountain--which would be perverse because Gyllenhaal's the fatal problem with the movie. He doesn't seem to have any particular appealing quality that would cause Heath Ledger to carry a torch for him for decades. Gyllenhaal's early-on attempts to charmingly romp in the wilderness fall flat--it wasn't just Meghan Daum's date who was checking his watch in the first half of the film--and in the second half of the film he starts to whine. Big love for Gyllenhaal is supposed to be the motor that drives the movie, but the motor doesn't turn. The film...

It's true, the movie "Brokeback Mountain" does provoke what one researcher calls "a very strong ick factor" in some straight men. What is it in this story of two cowboy pals in 1960s Wyoming who find themselves in lifelong love -- yet go on to marry women -- that elicits this response from heterosexual males? The answers are as complex as the plot. A psychologist who coined the word "homophobic" said the revulsion is precisely that. A scientist who discovered genetic links to sexuality said he simply does not understand the response. The author of "The Sexual Brain" said there...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Brokeback Mountain," once ridiculed as "the gay cowboy movie" but now the front-runner in Hollywood's Oscar race, gets its first major awards show test on Monday night -- in prime time with millions watching. The gay romance goes into the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards on Monday with the most nominations -- seven -- of any film and with a favorite status that many in the industry think could be unshakable in the buildup to the March 5 Oscars. The Golden Globe Awards are an only-in-Hollywood tradition. They are given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,...

Nothing is standing in the way of "Brokeback Mountain." Expanding to 214 new playdates and more than 60 new markets, including numerous small cities in mountain, Midwestern, and southern states, Focus' cowboy love story averaged a still-strong $11,905 per theater. Playing at 483 locations, weekend gross was $5.8 million, bringing the pic's cume to $22.5 million. "Brokeback" came out ahead of several new pics on twice or four times as many playdates, including "Casanova," "Bloodrayne" and "Grandma's Boy." Among the new markets where the critically acclaimed pic opened strong were Tulsa, El Paso, Des Moines and Lubbock, Tex. Pic, which...

Many Straight Guys Say 'No Thanks' to 'Brokeback Mountain' BY DRU SEFTON It's true, the movie "Brokeback Mountain" does provoke what one researcher calls "a very strong ick factor" in some straight men. What is it in this story of two cowboy pals in 1960s Wyoming who find themselves in lifelong love -- yet go on to marry women -- that elicits this response from heterosexual males? The answers are as complex as the plot. A psychologist who coined the word "homophobic" said the revulsion is precisely that. A scientist who discovered genetic links to sexuality said he simply does...

Jim-Bob Zimmerschied is not a happy cowboy. "They've gone and killed John Wayne with this movie," he says angrily, beer in hand. "I've been doing this job all my life and I ain't never met no gay cowboy. It wouldn't be right." The target of Mr Zimmerschied's outburst is Brokeback Mountain, the Hollywood Western-with-a-twist that opens in London this week and is already being tipped for Oscar success. The "gay cowboy flick", as it has been dubbed in America, is directed by Ang Lee and stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as two young ranch hands who begin a long-term...

one key factor in the plot: both men are married, with children, and their long-standing relationship ultimately destroys both marriages. Would commentators similarly applaud a story of cheating, if the adultery involved a married man and a married woman? The main problem with "Broke Back Mountain" isn't that it's pro-gay; it's that the emphasis on following your urges rather than honoring your responsibilities is, at its heart, anti-marriage

Michael says Paula Zahn found a gay cowboy to interview for her show and that there's a gay rodeo league or something. He says the movie ads hide the fact that the film is anti-marriage. It breaks up two marriages with kids and yet is described as "a wonderful love story."

It's certainly one of the most favorably reviewed movies of the year, and a major player in the best picture race at the Oscars.But 'Brokeback Mountain' isn't the easiest sell to audiences unaccustomed to films that deal frankly with same sex relationships: even at a recent screening in Los Angeles' liberal Westside, some moviegoers broke into inappropriate (but no doubt tension relieving) laughter at a scene in which the wife of taciturn cowboy (Heath Ledger) catches her husband in a passionate embrace with Jack Twist. (Jake Gyllenhall)Perhaps to remind viewers (and voters) that there is more to director Ang Lee's...

Even a much-hyped giant gorilla, a geisha and a schoolboy magician won't be able to create a happy ending at the US box office, as Hollywood ends its most disappointing year in nearly two decades. Plunging movie ticket sales, after a string of uninspiring remakes and movie sequels coupled with an explosion of the DVD and video game markets, are keeping audiences at home and have sent Hollywood into a deep existential crisis. "This industry is facing significant challenges said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp, a business support and research body. Ticket sale...

ALL HAIL THE 'KONG'ERING HERO OF THIS KOLOSSALLY EXCITING NEW KLASSIC By LOU LUMENICK In this photo provided by Universal Studios, Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) shares a quiet moment at sunrise with Kong atop the Empire State Building, whose heights he has scaled in his flight from the streets of New York City, in "King Kong." Photo: AP Photo/Universal Studios Email Archives Print Reprint December 12, 2005 -- Rating: KING KONG The year's best movie.Running time: 188 minutes. Rated PG-13 (frightening adventure, violence, scary images). Wednesday at the Empire, the Union Square, the Chelsea West, others. BREAK out the popcorn...

It was a record breaking weekend in the limited-release realm, as "Brokeback Mountain" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" both posted spectacular bows. Focus' gay cowboy drama scored the highest per-screen average of any pic this year. "Brokeback," which was named best picture by the L.A. Film Critics Assn. over the weekend, made an astounding $544,549 on five plays in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, for an average of $108,910.

December 11, 2005Last modified December 11, 2005 - 1:06 pm Brokeback Mountain shows in Jackson Associated PressJACKSON - Movie director Ang Lee was in town Saturday for the showing of his latest film, "Brokeback Mountain," and he attended a question-and-answer session and party after the showing. The movie tells a story about two Wyoming cowboys who fall in love but lead heterosexual lives and keep their love secret. It is an adaptation from a short story by Centennial-based writer Annie Proulx. While based on characters in Wyoming, the movie was filmed in Canada. A forum about the movie's subject matter...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gay cowboy movie won rave reviews on Friday as mainstream Hollywood embraced the tale of Marlboro men in love, but for most gay Americans the acceptance symbolized by marriage remains a distant dream. Based on an Annie Proulx's short story, "Brokeback Mountain" is about two cowboys who meet and fall in love while wrangling sheep in Wyoming in 1963. Their love lasts through two decades as they each get married to women and live "normal" lives. "Moving and majestic," said The New York Times; "An American masterpiece" said the New York Observer; "Unmissable and unforgettable"...