Oscar Loves Brokeback Mountain

Tue. January 31, 2006 12:00 AM by GayWebMonkey.com

'Brokeback Mountain' Leads the Pack With Eight Oscar Nods

Hollywood, CA - As widely anticipated, Brokeback Mountain led the Oscar pack Monday morning with eight nominations, including Best Picture and acting nominations for stars Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams.

The film, which has earned more than $50 million on a platform release since opening in December, also scored nominations for director Ang Lee and writers Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry.

Close behind with a surprising but well-deserved five nominations, Capote scored nominations for stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as gay writer Truman Capote and Catherine Keener as fellow writer Harper Lee. Capote also scored nominations for Best Picture, Director Bennett Miller and Best Adapted Screenplay.

And, after winning the Best Actress award at the Golden Globes, Felicity Huffman is nominated for her performance as a transgender woman attempting to bond with her long-lost son in TransAmerica. The film also scored a Best Original Song nomination for “Travellin’ Thru” by Dolly Parton.

Openly gay writer Tony Kushner, best known for Angels in America, is nominated for his first Oscar for penning the screenplay to Munich. That film is also up for Best Picture and Best Director for Steven Spielberg, his tenth and eleventh nominations.

Crash was released early in 2005, which usually implies an uphill battle come Oscar time, managed to snag six nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Haggis. The film, which deals with racism and discrimination in America, was praised in particular for drawing brilliant performances out of stars including Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton and Terrence Howard, who was nominated for his work in Hustle & Flow.

The film’s standout performance scored a first time Oscar nomination for Matt Dillon.

The critically praised Walk the Line scored nominations for stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, respectively. But the film was shut out of the Best Picture and Best Director categories.

The nominations offered few surprises, though several insiders didn’t expect Capote to walk away with so many nominations. Gyllenhaal’s nod was also called into question after he was shut out of both Golden Globe and Screen Actor’s Guild nominations.

The Oscars will air live on ABC Sunday, March 5 at 7pm CT.

Article provided in partnership with GayWebMonkey.com.

 

MORE CONTENT AFTER THESE SPONSORS