Ang Lee Says Stage Manager Told Him ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Would Likely Win Best Picture Before Oscars Loss

by stars_doulikedem

9 comments

  1. I have no reason to doubt him or this story, but im surprised to hear all the academy crew that night were so certain he would win they kept him in the wings to run back onstage.

    Because it should have won.

    But at the time, it was a hard sell, society wise. And as if the sensitive subject matter wasnt enough to edge them out of a win (the academy is known for playing it safe), quite a number of high ranking, notable members of the academy are known to have openly refused to even view the screener due to moral objections.

    And for all the celebrities like tony curtis and ernist borgnine who publicly came out against the film, handfuls more denounced it privately via their vote.

    Again, not doubting his story. But as someone who saw it unfold from a very different angle than mr lee, he was destined to be robbed of that win quite early on. Homophobia was a lot more pervasive then.

  2. The stage manager wasn’t going out on much of a limb to say that everybody thought Brokeback Mountain was going to win. Crash was a big upset that year and it’s still infamous.

    But I’m pretty sure the stage manager of the Oscars tells *every* Best Director winner to hang around and not disappear to the press room. Best Director and Best Picture are handed out at the end of the night in quick succession, and it’s pretty typical for the same movie to win both.

  4. Crash is the worst best picture winner of all time.

  7. It won a golden lion, I doubt the director cared much for an Oscar after that. Comparing an ARCOM to a Medal of Honor.

  8. There are always upsets like this. A big one that sticks out for me is Julia Robert’s winning for *Erin Brokovich*, (not a terrible performance, but certainly not the best), over Ellen Burstyn for *Requiem For A Dream* (A performance that *still* makes me pay attention and cuts right to the core).

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