Posted on 03/05/2006 8:49:15 PM PST by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at oscars.movies.yahoo.com ...
"I am happy for Miss Witherspoon. it was well deserved."
Me, too. I like her. I don't know anything about her except what I see in the movies but I do like her. I thought her speech, albeit a tad long, was gracious and sincere. She seemed genuine.
A. Yes, few directors get a cut, but very few. Speilberg, Lucus, a few huge names like that, and only them some of the time. Virtually nobody else gets a cut, and even if they do, they get a cut of the PROFITS, thus, if they are making any money, it's because the movie is already by definition a success.
B. Actors don't either. Again, sometimes, on rare occasions, people like Tom Cruise, get a cut, but that's rare, and it's non-existent in low-budget projects like Brokeback Mountain. Again, even if you were right, you still wouldn't be, because even in these cases, they get a cut of the profits, thus, as I said before, the movie must already be successful.
C. You are flat out wrong the theaters losing money. It doesn't work that way. For a film that's made that much money to lose money for the theaters, you would have to put it in more theaters then there are in the entire US. The per-screen average isn't LOTR, no doubt, but it's been above average for a film like this, especially for a low-budget film that shows in a lot of smaller theaters.
Yes, car companies make more money on SUV's then they do on hatchbacks, but that doesn't mean the hatchbacks aren't commercially successful.
You can make-believe all you want, but you are just making yourself look foolish. Disagree with it's social message all you want, but nobody who knows anything about the industry will say it wasn't a monetary success, because it was. As far as the margins go, it's a much, much, much bigger success then 'King Kong'.
It's a movie. Just a stupid movie. You guys have got to get a life......................
...
You cannot get to 'Brokeback Mountain isn't a commercial success' through numbers, or based on any industry standard.
Every reference I have ever seen of "commercial success" with respect to a movie has been in box office draw. Period. You hardly ever see reference to profit and when you do it is an afterthought to box office gross. THE "Industry Standard" is box office gross! To claim otherwise is just misleading.
As for getting the conclusions that I want, that is simply not true. I really couldn't care less if Brokeback did well at the box office or not. If they did, good for them, I admire people that find creative ways to make money.
My only reason for making the previous post was to demonstrate, based on ACTUAL box office gross (THE INDUSTRY STANDARD) that Brokeback Mountain is not as successful as some people want you to believe. Do I think that it is a failure? No, obviously it isn't. But to argue that it was a commercially successful movie requires a deviation from the traditional method of determining so.
BTW:
Cheaper By the Dozen 2 -- Cost:?? , Gross: $81.4 mil
Are We There Yet? -- Cost: $32m, Gross: $82.6 mil
Passion of the Christ -- Cost: $30m, Gross: $370 mil
We Were Soldiers -- Cost: $75m, Gross: $78 mil
I see you aren't letting the facts get in the way of your spin.
If you've seen that, which I doubt, you've probably seen it from people who are as clueless as you are.
You obviously don't understand the industry, and you would have to be a brain-dead moron to define success by box-office-take alone. What, are you seriously going to argue that if you spend $150 Million on a movie, and make $100 Million on it, (you lose $50 Million) that it's a 'success' and that if you spend $10 Million and make $50 Million, that it's a 'failure' (you gain $40 Million)?
I'll tell you one thing: No accountant with all his marbles would ever say that. Nobody who's ever invested money in anything would say that.
Here's a fact: Brokeback Mountain grossed more then FIVE TIMES it's production cost in domestic box office recipts alone. That's a 500% profit margin.
This is mind-bogglingly stupid. Beat on the films social message all you want, but you have to be brain dead to say something is a 'failure' when it has a 500% profit margin.
And another thing, if you won't take my word for it, read this:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2012&p=.htm
A guy who :gasp: actually works in the industry.
Feel free to dismiss him as a 'commie pinko' if you want, but it won't change the numbers.
"...she actually seems to have retained some great Heartland values."
By giving some reverse carpetbagger witch that lives in NY $1500 to further erode our Republic?
http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Reese_Witherspoon.php
This movie winning may have started an all-out boycott of movies, and a lot of anti-homosexual dialogue, which would in turn harm the movie-making industry.
They went with a "safer" movie and avoided the problems.
Throughout this thread, both to me and other people, you just keep repeating this same basic line. Clearly you are more interested in insulting people than having a reasonable conversation. Otherwise, you would have noted that NOT ONE TIME have I EVER said that Brokeback Mountain was a financial failure. In fact, I explicitly stated that it was NOT a failure.
cracker is one of those depends how it's used words...sorta....archaic like mulatto which I use but some eschew
Ticket sales is NOT where the theaters make their money. In fact, if they relied only on ticket sales many movies would be money losers. The concessions is where they rake it in. And they do!
So determining weather or not the individual theaters are making money is not as simple as ticket sales.
Wrong on all points.
You know, I don't even remember if the falsely accused guy even went to trial. I seem to remember he was cleared of the charges, but I'm just not sure how it was resolved, or if it even was. Like I said, it was just one plot line out of many.
A buddy saw crash on DVD. He said the best way to view it is with a few friends over. And get them to spot for the beer. "a portrait of simmering racial and cultural tension among nigs, crackers, spics, gooks and ragheads." Did I miss anybody?
It IS a stupid movie just for guys. It's inner city Mother Goose.
I have an EXTREME HATRED of hip hop and those who perform it and market it, but did think Hustle and Flow was a good flick.
Happy to see that justice prevailed this year at the Oscars. Other than Ang Lee and George Clooney, those who deserved to win did.
Actually, I thought "Crash" accurately portrayed what folks of different races THINK of each other, while refusing to say it in public. Besides, the hero of the film is an Archie Bunker like white cop.
Again, Kong was a brainless popcorn movie. It didn't deserve anything more than the technical awards, but then again, neither did those stupid Hobbit films and the last one won best picture.
"best screenplay from another source (whatever it is exactly)"
A 9 page short story, according to someone on the radio.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.