I suspose the obvious reasons like "it was a better film" should be dismissed out of hand.
Evan.
I
-------------- Original message --------------
From: David Kusumoto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> In today's Hollywood Reporter, the movie bible out here (vs. Variety, which
> is national, industry-diverse, esp. for plays and musicals, and more New
> York-centric).
>
> -koose.
>
> =================
>
> THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
> Should have seen signs of "Crash" coming
> March 8, 2006
> By Martin A. Grove - Analysis
>
> LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Looking back at how "Crash" climbed over
> "Brokeback Mountain" to take the best picture prize at the Academy Awards on
> Sunday, the question isn't "Why didn't we see it coming?" but, "Why didn't
> we believe we were seeing it coming?"
>
> Despite the fact that "Brokeback" had swept the most me! aningful awards races
> from December through February, the buzz was that "Crash" was gaining
> momentum while "Brokeback" was losing steam.
>
> Nonetheless, most Hollywood handicappers just weren't willing to believe the
> Oscar outcome would differ from all those earlier votes by members of the
> Producers Guild of America, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., the Broadcast
> Film Critics Assn. and the British Academy.
>
> What some insiders are saying privately is that many Academy members felt so
> threatened by "Brokeback's" gay cowboy romance they couldn't bring
> themselves to view it even on DVD. As a result, many votes reportedly were
> cast much later in the game than is usually the case -- by which time
> "Crash" was being perceived as a worthy alternative.
>
> There also may have been fewer votes to count if reports are true that as
> many as 20% of Acad! emy voters didn't send in their ballots.
>
> If that's w hat happened -- the public will never know, of course, since the
> Academy never reveals the voting results -- it becomes easier to understand
> how "Brokeback" got trumped by "Crash."
>
> With 6,188 voting members of the Academy, if 20% of them abstained from
> voting that would remove 1,238 votes from the mix and leave just 4,950 to
> determine the outcome. In a race where every vote typically counts, that
> alone could dramatically alter the results.
>
> Actors, meanwhile, make up the Academy's biggest branch. There are 1,359
> actors who vote and they represent nearly 22% of the Academy's membership.
>
> It's a safe bet that they preferred "Crash" to "Brokeback" since the Screen
> Actors Guild in late January gave "Crash" its Best Ensemble Cast award, its
> equivalent of a best picture honor.
>
> It was the only important vote that "Brokeback" missed out on, bu! t it sent a
> signal that the movie wasn't resonating with actors.
>
> By sending about 110,000 "Crash" DVDs to SAG's full membership, Lionsgate
> made sure that all of the guild's members had an opportunity to watch the
> film at home. This was the first time anyone had ever sent DVDs of an Oscar
> contender to the full SAG membership. Because this marketing technique
> worked so well, other distributors are likely to adopt the same approach
> next year.
>
> It's worth noting, however, that the reason Lionsgate was comfortable doing
> this was that "Crash" had opened in theaters last May and had gone into DVD
> in September. The DVDs sent to SAG members didn't need to be specially
> watermarked or encrypted because awards season piracy wasn't something
> Lionsgate was worrying about at that point.
>
> In future campaigns, however, studios with films opening theat! rically in
> November or December will find themselves at a dis advantage since
> promotional DVDs have a much greater risk of being pirated. Their
> distributors will have to weigh the pros and cons of sending them on DVD to
> all SAG members.
>
> "Crash" had an additional advantage with SAG and other union members because
> it was shot in the Los Angeles area. Unlike "Brokeback," which filmed in
> Canada, "Crash" provided jobs for actors and other L.A. based workers, who
> are increasingly frustrated by "runaway" productions that travel to
> far-flung locations where cheaper costs and tax deals are increasingly
> helping producers stretch their budgets.
>
> Moreover, because "Crash" was a story dealing with complex racial relations
> in Los Angeles, it was something that L.A.-based Academy members could
> easily relate to.
>
> Nearly 80% of the Academy's membership lives in the L.A. area and Lionsgate
> was very percep! tive to recognize how important a constituency that could be
> for "Crash."
>
> All of these were factors that should have told Hollywood handicappers that
> "Crash" was a very strong contender that would give "Brokeback" real
> competition for best picture. But that message didn't really get across.
>
> "Brokeback" was boosted by a steady stream of big victories over the entire
> awards season. In past years, that level of success would typically have
> translated into Oscar gold for "Brokeback." Not so this time around.
>
> Beyond the film's sensitive subject matter, it's also possible that Oscar
> voters rebelled at the prospect of looking like the last group to jump on
> the "Brokeback" bandwagon.
>
> In applauding "Crash" over "Brokeback" Academy members were saying, in
> effect, that you can't take their votes for granted.
>
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