Annie Proulx on how her Brokeback Oscar hopes were dashed by Crash

[+ Tom Isern]

Blood on the red carpet

Annie Proulx on how her Brokeback Oscar hopes were dashed by Crash

 

Annie Proulx

Saturday March 11, 2006

 

Guardian

 

On the sidewalk stood hordes of the righteous, some leaning forward like wind-bent grasses, the better to deliver their imprecations against gays and fags to the open windows of the limos - the windows open by order of the security people - creeping toward the Kodak Theater for the 78th Academy Awards. Others held up sturdy, professionally crafted signs expressing the same hatred.

The red carpet in front of the theatre was larger than the Red Sea. Inside, we climbed grand staircases designed for showing off dresses. The circular levels filled with men in black, the women mostly in pale, frothy gowns. Sequins, diamonds, glass beads, trade beads sparkled like the interior of a salt mine. More exquisite dresses appeared every moment, some made from six yards of taffeta, and many with sweeping trains that demanded vigilance from strolling attendees lest they step on a mermaid's tail. There was one man in a kilt - there is always one at award ceremonies - perhaps a professional roving Scot hired to give colour to the otherwise monotone showing of clustered males. Larry McMurtry defied the dress code by wearing his usual jeans and cowboy boots.

 

The people connected with Brokeback Mountain, including me, hoped that, having been nominated for eight Academy awards, it would get Best Picture as it had at the funny, lively Independent Spirit awards the day before. (If you are looking for smart judging based on merit, skip the Academy Awards next year and pay attention to the Independent Spirit choices.) We should have known conservative heffalump academy voters would have rather different ideas of what was stirring contemporary culture. Roughly 6,000 film industry voters, most in the Los Angeles area, many living cloistered lives behind wrought-iron gates or in deluxe rest-homes, out of touch not only with the shifting larger culture and the yeasty ferment that is America these days, but also out of touch with their own segregated city, decide which films are good. And rumour has it that Lions Gate inundated the academy voters with DVD copies of Trash - excuse me - Crash a few weeks before the ballot deadline. Next year we can look to the awards for controversial themes on the punishment of adulterers with a branding iron in the shape of the letter A, runaway slaves, and the debate over free silver.

 

After a good deal of standing around admiring dresses and sucking up champagne, people obeyed the stentorian countdown commands to get in their seats as "the show" was about to begin. There were orders to clap and the audience obediently clapped. From the first there was an atmosphere of insufferable self-importance emanating from "the show" which, as the audience was reminded several times, was televised and being watched by billions of people all over the world. Those lucky watchers could get up any time they wished and do something worthwhile, like go to the bathroom. As in everything related to public extravaganzas, a certain soda pop figured prominently. There were montages, artfully meshed clips of films of yesteryear, live acts by Famous Talent, smart-ass jokes by Jon Stewart who was witty and quick, too witty, too quick, too eastern perhaps for the somewhat dim LA crowd. Both beautiful and household-name movie stars announced various prizes. None of the acting awards came Brokeback's way, you betcha. The prize, as expected, went to Philip Seymour Hoff-man for his brilliant portrayal of Capote, but in the months preceding the awards thing, there has been little discussion of acting styles and various approaches to character development by this year's nominees. Hollywood loves mimicry, the conversion of a film actor into the spittin' image of a once-living celeb. But which takes more skill, acting a person who strolled the boulevard a few decades ago and who left behind tapes, film, photographs, voice recordings and friends with strong memories, or the construction of characters from imagination and a few cold words on the page? I don't know. The subject never comes up. Cheers to David Strathairn, Joaquin Phoenix and Hoffman, but what about actors who start in the dark?

 

Everyone thanked their dear old mums, scout troop leaders, kids and consorts. More commercials, more quick wit, more clapping, beads of sweat, Stewart maybe wondering what evil star had lighted his way to this labour. Despite the technical expertise and flawlessly sleek set evocative of 1930s musicals, despite Dolly Parton whooping it up and Itzhak Perlman blending all the theme music into a single performance (he represented "culchah"), there was a kind of provincial flavour to the proceedings reminiscent of a small-town talent-show night. Clapping wildly for bad stuff enhances this. There came an atrocious act from Hustle and Flow, Three 6 Mafia's violent rendition of "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp", a favourite with the audience who knew what it knew and liked. This was a big winner, a bushel of the magic gold-coated gelded godlings going to the rap group.

 

The hours sped by on wings of boiler plate. Brokeback's first award was to Argentinean Gustavo Santaolalla for the film's plangent and evocative score. Later came the expected award for screenplay adaptation to Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, and only a short time later the director's award to Ang Lee. And that was it, three awards, putting it on equal footing with King Kong. When Jack Nicholson said best picture went to Crash, there was a gasp of shock, and then applause from many - the choice was a hit with the home team since the film is set in Los Angeles. It was a safe pick of "controversial film" for the heffalumps.

 

After three-and-a-half hours of butt-numbing sitting we stumbled away, down the magnificent staircases, and across the red carpet. In the distance men were shouting out limousine numbers, "406 . . . 27 . . . 921 . . . 62" and it seemed someone should yell "Bingo!" It was now dark, or as dark as it gets in the City of Angels. As we waited for our number to be called we could see the enormous lighted marquee across the street announcing that the "2006 Academy Award for Best Picture had gone to Crash". The red carpet now had taken on a different hue, a purple tinge.

 

The source of the colour was not far away. Down the street, spreading its baleful light everywhere, hung a gigantic, vertical, electric-blue neon sign spelling out S C I E N T O L O G Y.

 

"Seven oh six," bawled the limo announcer's voice. Bingo.

 

For those who call this little piece a Sour Grapes Rant, play it as it lays.

[RockHard]

Thanks for the heads up. Wish I had more time to comment. Maybe later.

[Guest alanm]

I watched "Crash" again on Showtime over the weekend. Still do not get the film's appeal. I would have replaced "Crash" with "Syriana" or even "Match Point" as the fifth nominee for best picture if I have a vote.

 

Annie Proulx's comments are embarrassing. Maybe Oprah can invite her on to jump up and down on her sofa, like Tom Cruise.

[+ Hoover42]

All I have to say is:

 

http://babydb.male4malescorts.com/m4mdc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=98910&mesg_id=98910&listing_type=search

 

...Hoover

[+ Tom Isern]

Yes, Hoover, I was aware of that thread, having posted there myself. But this text by Annie Proulx was not posted there. In that sense it is new and I thought deserved its own thread. Should I have posted it there instead??

[+ Hoover42]

It would have been better for continuity to post it there, but no harm done. I just wanted to make sure the two threads were connected.

 

...Hoover

 

p.s. I have forgiven Annie her outburst now. In fact, I just bought another of her books.

[Luv2play]

I have seen the film but am in no position to judge it against the other nominees since I didn't see them. The film left me vaguely dissatisfied after all the hype but it was a competent effort in my view. Annie Proulx made her name as an author before being linked to Hollywood and she in fact did not adapt the short story to the filmscript for the movie, as some famous authors have either done or attempted to do with varying degrees of success.

 

I did enjoy her take on Oscar night though as it had the flavour of reportage from an outsider and offered some incisive and trenchant comments on the Hollywood scene. It could be construed soley as sour grapes but I read more into it than that. However, I wouldn't change my attitude to Proulx as a writer based on reading this article.

 

From another angle, Ms. Proulx might be well advised to avoid Hollywood as much as possible if anything is to be learned from the lives of famous authors who came to grief there such as Scott Fitzgerald or William Faulkner.

[indyeric]

Ah, poor Annie Proulx, whose short story was made into a a film that became a surprise hit which won zillions of other awards, including Best Director. She could have just said, "I'm shocked, simply shocked, to discover that Hollywood isn't fair!" while cashing her increased royalty checks, etc.

 

Meanwhile . . . oh, I can't continue. I'm crying for her and all the other poor unfortunates associated with the film. And also all of us gay and lesbian people. "Our" film didn't get best picture, and so we have to settle for the now-ubiquitous DVDs, which are prominently displayed even at my local Super Wal-Mart. And all the other major gay-theme films which the Brokeback phenomenon will make possible.

 

It's just awful. God, someone mix me a martini! This is more than I can take.

[+ Cash4Trash]

Read somewhere that no film wins best picture that hasn't also

been nominated for best editing. Brokeback wasn't and that, in turn,

eliminated a large number of potential votes. Editors voting for their own and all that.

[Lookin]

<and so we have to settle for the now-ubiquitous DVDs, which are prominently displayed even at my local Super Wal-Mart.>

 

 

Not for long, if the AFA gets its way . . .

 

 

 

AFA tries to stop Wal-Mart from selling Brokeback DVDs

 

The antigay American Family Association is at it again, this time threatening Wal-Mart for selling DVDs of Brokeback Mountain.

 

The AFA is rallying its followers to contact the big-box retailer and request that the Oscar-winning film not be stocked in stores. This latest AFA campaign, following on the heels of the group's continued boycott of Ford Motor Co. for advertising in gay publications, including The Advocate, is currently being shrugged off by Wal-Mart, which on Wednesday began selling DVDs of the gay love story throughout its 3,900 stores.

 

While not giving in to the AFA, Benton, Ark.–based Wal-Mart made no comment regarding its position on gay rights, telling the Los Angeles Times its decision to stock Brokeback is purely financial.

 

"The fact that we are offering the movie is not an endorsement of the content of the movie or any specific belief," said spokeswoman Jolanda Stewart. "We simply offer the latest titles that consumers want."

 

However, AFA special projects director Randy Sharp doesn't care what Wal-Mart's reasoning is. "[Wal-Mart] is trying to help normalize homosexuality in society,” Sharp told the Times. “But how many copies are they going to have to sell to recruit [sic] the losses of customers who they've offended and will no longer shop at Wal-Mart?"

 

It's not clear how many people will be offended by the presence of Brokeback on Wal-Mart's shelves—the film grossed over $83 million domestically and another $83 million internationally. (The Advocate)