I’ve been hearing for some time now that Crash was going to win for Best Picture, especially after it won best ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. (And since they mailed out something like 100,000 screener DVDs.) I had hoped that the ink spilled on Crash vs Brokeback was just bored journalists, but then Tony Curtis went going on the record as saying he wasn’t even going to -see- Brokeback Mountain, and the same was true for other Academy members, well. The win was not a surprise.

And see. I liked Crash. It’s solid. Intense. Excellent performances. But there are some bits where you can tell Haggis cut his teeth on TV, like the montage at the end. I don’t know. I think I’m always going to resent it a little bit. It’s not even that I thought Brokeback Mountain was the best film this year. It’s flawed, and I’ve been a Capote girl from the start. Plus, I know that all of the nominations for various degrees of queer this year are just awesome. But it was the best film nominated (that actually had a chance), and I had really hoped that we were going to make it all the way. It stings that we didn’t.

What I really think gets me about this is the admission that people weren’t even going to -see- it. They went on the record that they were afraid, they were going for the safe choice, and they were going to select a best picture without viewing the competition. -That- kills me. It doesn’t surprise me (I’m sure it happens all the time, and with less controversial films) but it hurts.

(Also, does anyone understand the producer controversy over Crash? I’ve read a few stories on it, and I don’t, so feel free to explain it using small words. Assuming anyone else -knows- that there was a producer controversy.)

ETA Best commentary seen yet. And from an earlier article by the same writer: In other words, if “Brokeback” doesn’t win it’s either a triumph for advertising or homophobia. Either way, the Academy looks bad. Personally, I think it’s a bit of both.

Oscar categories for which I have seen all of the nominees:

• Best animated feature
• Achievement in makeup (hee.)
• Best animated short film
• Best live action short film

Once I see Crash this weekend, I’ll add

• Performance by an actor in a supporting role
• Orignal screenplay

…and Munich will be the only picture of the year and director nominee that I’ll be missing. Not bad. There’s lots I have seen three of, and really, I never let not seeing something get in the way of having an opinion.

This week we caught the live action shorts, which were a mixed bag. My favorite was “Six Shooter”, which contained a surprising amount of dark humor for Academy nominee. Right on. In fannish news, “Our Time Is Up” included Jorge Garcia in a small role, and “Cashback” starred Sean Biggerstaff. Woo.