Posted on 03/05/2006 12:00:21 PM PST by doesnt suffer fools gladly
Oscars Bank on 'Brokeback' to Grab Viewers
By DAVID GERMAIN
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The year of the small movie could mean small ratings for the Academy Awards, whose organizers hoped a new host and the cultural buzz over front-runner "Brokeback Mountain" would beef up viewership for Sunday's show.
The Oscars generally lure their biggest audiences in years when blockbusters such as "Titanic" or "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" are favored to win.
This year's best-picture lineup has been heralded as an artistic triumph of daring, character-driven stories, yet none of the contenders had the box-office clout to ensure viewers would tune in.
"Brokeback Mountain," though, has become a phenomenon far beyond those who have actually seen it, entering the pop-culture psyche with its tale of cowboys in love (best-actor nominee Heath Ledger and supporting-actor contender Jake Gyllenhaal).
Whether that will boost ratings is uncertain. ABC, which airs the show, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences assembled an A-list collection of Oscar presenters to help offset a relatively unknown cast of nominees that includes David Strathairn for "Good Night, and Good Luck," Terrence Howard for "Hustle & Flow" and Amy Adams for "Junebug."
The ceremony also had its second first-time host in as many years, Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" taking over from Chris Rock, emcee of last year's Oscars.
"Brokeback Mountain" won top prizes at earlier Hollywood honors including the Golden Globes and was expected to earn best picture at the Oscars and the directing trophy for Ang Lee, who would be the first Asian filmmaker to receive that award.
Yet the ensemble drama "Crash," featuring a huge cast of characters in multiple story lines playing out over a chaotic 36-hour period, was a strong dark-horse contender to pull a best-picture upset.
The other best-picture nominees were the Truman Capote saga "Capote," the Edward R. Murrow tale "Good Night, and Good Luck" and the assassination thriller "Munich."
Acting categories had clear front-runners, as well, with Philip Seymour Hoffman expected to win best actor for the title role in "Capote" and Reese Witherspoon the best-actress favorite for her role as country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line."
But with powerhouse performances across the board, underdog winners were possible in any of the acting categories.
The best-actor lineup was especially strong. Along with Hoffman and Ledger, the nominees were Strathairn as newsman Murrow in "Good Night," Howard as a pimp-turned-rapper in "Hustle & Flow" and Joaquin Phoenix as country legend Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line."
For best actress, Witherspoon faced strong competition from Felicity Huffman in a gender-bending role as a man preparing for sex-change surgery in "Transamerica."
George Clooney was one of the night's big stars, making Oscar history as the first person nominated for directing one movie ("Good Night, and Good Luck") and earning an acting nomination for another (supporting actor for the oil-industry thriller "Syriana"). Clooney also had a screenplay nomination for co-writing "Good Night, and Good Luck."
And they wonder why box office receipts are plummeting.
I've watched before too.....but usually to mock. What other profession is celebrated & awarded as much? I enjoy watching great films....I even enjoy a lot of bad movies like low budget horror flicks.....but who wins what award means nothing to me.
When the Oscars even consider a film or story such as Brokeback Mtn, echoed with Capote, they have successfully managed to insure a large segment of the viewing audience will never return to even tolerating the Oscars being reported, let alone shown on their television sets by simply switching to any other channel.
Me neither, I've got a quadruple coronary bypass, triple root canal and a hemorrhoidectomy scheduled instead, I'll be having too much fun to tune into the Acadamy BUTT Awards
That the top $$$ films do not necessarily get the top Oscars is not new. Frankly, in some years, that has been a good thing.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
The thing we have to do is to boycott Hollywood movies. ALL OF THEM! Kids, adults, the whole bunch need to just stay home. "Just say no" to Hollywood. Send them a message that we, the public, the vast majority of the public, don't like the movies they are making. Until they quit making movies celebrating the homosexual lifestyle, nobody go to the movies.
They would get the point then.
That's a funny sentence.
"Crash" was the only one of the nominated movies that I saw. It utterly sucked. It was incomprehensible.
"Cinderella Man" was an excellent movie, but got shut out of all the major nominations. I think it got nominated for supporting actor and makeup.
Although I never watch artsy-fartsy Leftist awards, "Brokeback" is the one reason I WOULDN'T WATCH the KY Jelly awards tonight if I normally did. I'm not "into" sexual deviancy and it’s perverts.
Rented this last night and hubby and I really enjoyed this flick.
Tonight, in honor of the Oscars, hubby and I will NOT be watching ABC's coverage but will instead be watching Pride & Prejudice.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Is Brokeback Mountain as good as Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, A Man for All Seasons, Patton, the Godfather, or Braveheart?
What's wrong with these people???
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They are just trying to tear down our culture. Good is bad, up is down, left is right, poop is art, etc. Typical tactic of a Marxist culture war.
The oscars and hollywierd, what a waste.
The fags can pound sand.
I think it's a guy who sings, "Oh I love trash!"
Liberal thinking and planning is so stupid and predictable. I AM NOT tuning in to the Oscars tonight on account of all the gay crap. Will be checking out Free Republic tomorrow as someone will post the ratings for tonight and hope Hollywood loses their ass. (pun not intended)
With Ramon Navarro and Francis X. Bushman?
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