HOLLYWOOD -- Midway through the Oscars last night, you might have thought the race was between an ape and a geisha.
The only thing in the way of that showdown was that neither "King Kong" nor "Memoirs of a Geisha" were nominated for any of the major awards.
So, by night's end, the winner at the 78th annual Academy Awards was a little star-studded indie film that came up and crashed the party.
Nominated for six awards, "Crash" won the big one, Best Picture, and also grabbed Film Editing and Original Screenplay (Paul Haggis, Bobby Moresco).
An examination of race and class warfare in Los Angeles, "Crash" was released last May and has been on DVD shelves since Labor Day. But just in time for the Oscars, voters discovered or rediscovered its rich ensemble and thorny themes, set in motion by a carjacking in a rich neighborhood.
"Brokeback Mountain," the heralded gay cowboy film and most talked-about movie of the year, was nominated for a leading eight awards and went home with three: Director (Ang Lee), Original Score (Gustavo Santaolalla) and Adapted Screenplay (Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana).
The Taiwan-born Lee, whose "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won Best Foreign Language Film in 2001, admitted backstage he was surprised that the Golden Globe-winning "Brokeback" didn't win the Oscar last night. "I would do exactly the same. I'm so proud of the movie," he said.
In a change from the Hollywood norm, the 2006 race was a contest between serious-minded, small-budget films. "Crash" was made for $6.5 million and was good for just over $55 million at the box office. That left big-budget flicks like "Kong," "Geisha," "War of the Worlds" and "Stars Wars: Episode III" to battle it out for technical awards. ("Kong" and "Geisha" tied with three.)
This race was so unusual that the best picture actually lost to a bunch of penguins at the box office. Documentary Feature winner "March of the Penguins" grossed more than $77 million.
The lack of a big-budget blockbuster in the running was a big reason why it was a night without a clear-cut winner, with no film taking more than three awards.
The lead acting awards went to two first-time winners who played real-life characters: Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line" and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote in "Capote."
Witherspoon had to master singing and playing the Autoharp, the acting equivalent of climbing into a ring of fire, and she emerged with singularly good reviews as the sassy, supportive second wife of Johnny Cash. She initially assumed a professional country singer would dub her songs but quickly learned otherwise and spent months in lessons and rehearsals.
Last night she thanked music producer T-Bone Burnett "for helping me fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a country music singer," and thanked the writers for creating a "real woman who has dignity and honor and fear and courage."
Hoffman managed to become both bigger and smaller than life, transforming himself into the charismatic raconteur and author. "Capote" chronicles how the "effete New York intellectual," as host Jon Stewart described him, became obsessed with the 1959 murder of a farm family in Kansas in writing the ground-breaking nonfiction novel "In Cold Blood." Hoffman dropped 40 pounds and seemed to almost shrink to better resemble the 5-foot-4 Capote.
Mark J. Terrill, Associated PressDirector Ang Lee accepts the Oscar for best director for his work on "Brokeback Mountain" last night at the 78th Academy Awards.
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Chris Carlson, Associated PressGeorge Clooney holds the Oscar he won for best supporting actor for his work in "Syriana."
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Chris Carlson, Associated PressActress Reese Witherspoon, watches from backstage before she won the Academy Award for best actress for her role as June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line."
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In accepting his first Oscar, Hoffman, an indie, stage and increasingly mainstream favorite, reserved his biggest raves for his mom, who was in the audience. "She brought up four kids alone and she deserves congratulations. ... She took me to my first play and she stayed up and watched the NCAA Final Four. Her passions became my passions and ... be proud mom, cause I'm proud of you."
The supporting actor winners both came from political thrillers: George Clooney for "Syriana" and Rachel Weisz for "The Constant Gardener."
Clooney, a Hollywood hunk and box-office star, was a first-time winner for his role as a betrayed CIA operative in "Syriana," a complex thriller dealing with Middle East oil policy. For the part, Clooney packed on the pounds, grew a beard and, during a torture scene, sustained a spinal injury which later required surgery.
"Wow, all right, so I'm not winning 'director'," he said last night, referring to his nomination for another political film, "Good Night, and Good Luck."
Clooney took the well-deserved opportunity to defend the often embattled Hollywood "elite" and their progressive role in society.
"We are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood. It's probably a good thing. We're the ones who talk about AIDS when it's just being whispered and we talked about civil rights when it wasn't really popular. ... This Academy gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 [for "Gone With the Wind"] when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters. ... I'm proud to be a part of this Academy, I'm proud to be part of this community, I'm proud to be out of touch."
Politics was the path, as well, for Weisz, who played Tessa Quayle, an activist who pays dearly for her devotion to the poor people of Kenya.
Weisz, seven months pregnant, tearful and nervous, kept her speech brief, thanking novelist John Le Carre for his "unflinching, angry story. He really paid tribute to the people who are willing to risk their own lives to fight injustice. They are greater men and women than I."
British Claymation artist Nick Park won his fourth Oscar for his signature characters Wallace and Gromit. This time, however, it was for Best Animated Feature. Park, his cheese-loving English gentleman and silent, clever pup previously won Best Animated Short for "Creature Comforts" (1991), "The Wrong Trousers" (1994) and "A Close Shave" (1996). His first venture to Hollywood was 2000's "Chicken Run." Last night's award was for the first W&G full-length feature, "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit."
The Best Foreign Language Film winner was "Tsotsi," a South African film based on an Athol Fugard novel tracing six days in the lonely, violent life of a young gang leader.
In other Oscar action last night:
"Memoirs of a Geisha," directed by former Pittsburgher and Oscar winner for "Chicago," Rob Marshall, had a good run in the production awards, winning for Costume, Art Direction and Cinematography. Accepting the Art Direction award, John Myhre gave the credit to Marshall, "This really is his movie, every frame of it."
"Geisha's" award for Art Direction meant no Oscar for another Pittsburgher, Jan Pascale, who was nominated for "Good Night, and Good Luck."
Aliquippa native Joe Letteri won Visual Effects for "King Kong," a blockbuster snubbed in the major categories. Letteri, the visual effects supervisor, also won for two of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. He is a 1975 graduate of Center High School and of the University of California-Berkeley in 1981. "Kong" also won for Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for all those tremendous gorilla roars.
For a second, the Oscars looked like the Vibe Music Awards when the gangster rap tune "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," from the hip-hop film "Hustle & Flow," won for Best Original Song. The award went to Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard, who played the hip-hop part to the hilt during the acceptance speech.
Mark J. Terrill, Associated PressPhilip Seymour Hoffman accepts the best actor Oscar for "Capote."
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Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press
Producer Yves Darondeau, second from left, Producer Emmanuel Priou, left, Director Luc Jacquet, right, and Producer Christophe Lioud, second from right, accept the Oscar for best documentary feature for the film "March of the Penguins."
First Published: March 6, 2006, 5:00 a.m.
