'Crash' Pulls Off Best-Picture Oscar

yahoo.com ^ | 3/5/06

[paudio]

The ensemble drama "Crash" pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Academy Awards history, winning best picture Sunday over the cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain," which had been the front-runner.

"Crash," featuring a huge cast in crisscrossing story lines over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles, rode a late surge of praise that lifted it past "Brokeback Mountain," a film that had won most other key Hollywood honors.

In a year of provocative films at the Oscars, "Crash" was one of the fiercest, a portrait of simmering racial and cultural tension among blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians and Arabs.

The other best-picture nominees emerged either out of Hollywood studios or their art-house affiliates. But "Crash" was a true Oscar rarity, shot outside the system on a tiny $6.5 million budget, then acquired by independent distributor Lionsgate at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, where the film premiered.

[Yaelle]

It's supposed to be really good, but that musical number they perfomed was just awful.

I despise rap, but I was fascinated during the number at trying to figure out how they got the dancers' skirts so high that they appeared to end far ABOVE the buttocks. I am a girl but that really puzzled me. I think they ended at mid cheek? How is that even possible?

[vbmoneyspender]

Thanks for the reply. I try to watch alot of movies on dvd but recently I've noticed how more and more movies out of Hollywod drop completely gratuitous liberal stinkbombs into the middle of movies that don't otherwise need them. That just ruins the whole movie for me and I've gotten to the point where if I get any whiff of that from the review or the advertising I just won't rent the movie.

[pollyannaish]

Exactly. It's the elitist thing. It's the belief that they are just so much smarter and better informed than everyone else. That is when it irritates me.

I don't even mind if they occasionally stump for somebody as long as they don't call the opponent names and talk about it in other venues.

I agree on Sarandon and Baldwin actually, but they tick me off so badly they prove my point. With people like Streisand, I admire her talent...but her voice has become like nails on a chalkboard because I hear it every time I read one of her, frankly, idiotic rants.

I hear "Evergreen" and I want to yell...SURE like you do your own laundry without a dryer! Unhinged I know, but I'd like to see her deal with "line drying" and the perpetual Mt. Everest of laundry that resides in my laundry room.

Actually, come to think of it, I'd pay to see that.

[I Drive Too Fast]

This is an interesting little, but important paragraph on the homepage of freerepublic. You might need to brush up on it.

Please enjoy our forum, but also please remember to use common courtesy when posting and refrain from posting personal attacks, profanity, vulgarity, threats, racial or religious bigotry, or any other materials offensive or otherwise inappropriate for a conservative family audience. Free Republic is a noncommerical site.

Too many threads lately have become spats between freepers.

[Bubbatuck]

Mel Gibson was born in New York.

[zbigreddogz]

You might be right, I remember he grew up in Australia, I could be wrong about where he was actually born.

Anyhow, the point still stands though.

[zbigreddogz]

Uhh, it's the 'frontrunner' BECAUSE the ballots are secret. If they weren't, it wouldn't be a 'frontrunner' or an 'underdog', it would be a 'winner' or a 'loser'.

[hdstmf]

Looks like they ran out of K-Y jelly.

[hdstmf]

So what?

[zbigreddogz]

What? Let something like courtesy get in the way of HIS OBVIOUSLY SUPERIOR OPINION?

ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU COMMIE PINKO! (/sarcasm)

[rfreedom4u]

I must be out of touch. I've never even heard of Crash before now.

[MinnesotaLibertarian]

I think the movie was trying to demonstrate that those kinds of injustices happen in real life, and if they resolved it in the movie and justice was served, then the filmmakers would undermine their own point. The movie is realistic, instead of being a cheezy feel good movie.

[rdb3]

I'm surprised! "Crash" was actually a very good movie.

This is a ch__ch. What's missing?

[greccogirl]

Matt Dillon was robbed, and I mean robbed. He was fantastic in Crash - so much better than that idiot Clooney. Ang Lee shouldn't have won either - because Brokeback wasn't the best picture.

Dolly also got robbed - best song to a rap song called "It's Hard out here for a Pimp?" Uh huh.

But, Brokeback got three which IMHO was one more than it would get. I knew Crash would win.

Of course, the best two movies of the year weren't even nominated, "Walk the Line" and "King Kong".

At least Kong won 3 and Narnia 1.

I'm still laughing over Brokeback. Jack Nicholson had a ball saying "Crash". I think he knew it was coming. I remember how disgusted Clint Eastwood looked at the Golden Globes when he had to announce Brokeback.

And all three actors in Brokeback got shut out.

[Proud Conservative2]

"It's your typical Hollywood liberal portrayal of race in America."


Did you even see the movie? It is an excellent movie about racial prejudices. I would like to see a sequel...LOL...no accounting for taste :)

[iPod Shuffle]

Stone Deaf is one of the few truly invincible Warriors because nothing can shatter his impenetrable armor of non recognition. His primitive battle strategy is maddening effective; he simply refuses to acknowledge any arguments he doesn't like. Kung-Fu Master can hammer away with devastating blows, Cyber Sisters can screech in full throat and Profundus Maximus can expound until he drops, but Stone Deaf remains utterly oblivious as he advances his dogged and often repetitious attacks. In the early stages of battle a wide array of Warriors will fling themselves at Stone Deaf, but inevitably they fall back exahusted or lose interest when they see that their best weapons have no effect. His only real enemy is Admin, who has the power to eject him from the discussion forum.

[Proud Conservative2]

"My ultra-conservative son said the same thing - - 'Crash' is not an overly judgmental film, nor is it accusatory, overbearing, politically correct, or "in-your-face" in any way. He says it's a flat-out great movie."

I agree with your son! It deserved the win tonight.

[zbigreddogz]

lol.

So true.

[jazusamo]

Sheepherders have lanolin, don't need K-Y jelly. :)

[iPod Shuffle]

Once you accept the fact that you're viewing a work of fiction, you'll be able to enjoy JFK for what it is... A very entertaining flick. John Candy was incredible in his bit part.