Oscars flashback: 20 years ago, 'Crash' shocked Jack Nicholson — and the world

Who says determination are nary surprises astatine the Oscars? The lawsuit is routinely filled with unexpected winners and arguable decisions. Just instrumentality a look backmost 20 years ago, to March 5, 2006, erstwhile the usually unflappable Jack Nicholson was truthful astonished by speechmaking retired the sanction of the champion representation victor his eyebrows astir changeable disconnected his head, and helium mouthed, “Whoa.” Here’s a look backmost astatine that winner, positive the films and radical who took location prizes for director, and adapted and archetypal screenplays.

Best representation crashes into reality

The formed of “Crash” aft the movie won the Oscar for champion representation successful 2006.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Nicholson’s “whoa” was collectively shared. “Crash” — an ensemble movie astir radical divides and intolerance successful Los Angeles — triumphed implicit “Brokeback Mountain,” “Capote,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and “Munich” successful 2006. None of the nominees had been large container bureau blockbusters, and successful the lawsuit of “Crash” contention had raged implicit respective PGA-credited producers not being permitted to person a statue. “Crash” creators, stars and producers would beryllium mired successful lawsuits for years afterward.

“Crash” besides notched respective dubious milestones: It was the archetypal champion representation victor since 1976’s “Rocky” to gain conscionable 3 Oscars (of six nominations), and the archetypal since 1981’s “Chariots of Fire” to triumph nary acting awards oregon director. The movie was manager Paul Haggis’ archetypal and 2nd Oscar wins (he won for producing and for his archetypal screenplay, a recognition helium shared with co-writer Bobby Moresco).

Once Nicholson stepped aside, co-producer Cathy Schulman (on her archetypal Oscar information and win) took to the signifier with Haggis. Schulman did astir of the talking, thanking the accustomed suspects and the academy “for embracing our movie astir emotion and astir tolerance, astir truth.”

Ang Lee doesn’t request to discontinue anything

Ang Lee accepts the Oscar for champion manager for his enactment connected “Brokeback Mountain” from histrion Tom Hanks.

(Chris Carlson / Associated Press)

Often, the manager victor is reflected successful who wins champion representation — but not always. In 2006, each 5 champion representation nominees did prime up manager nominations, but this was lone the 4th clip this had happened since the apical class was constricted to 5 films.

Ang Lee became the archetypal idiosyncratic of colour to triumph the manager Oscar, for his enactment connected “Brokeback Mountain,” beating retired Bennett Miller (“Capote”), George Clooney (“Good Night, and Good Luck”), Steven Spielberg (“Munich”) and Haggis. Lee would spell connected to triumph this class again successful 2013, for “Life of Pi.”

In accepting the grant from presenter Tom Hanks, Lee quoted 1 of the champion known “Brokeback” lines portion staring astatine the statuette: “Wow, I privation I knew however to discontinue you.” He said the film’s main characters, Ennis and Jack, “taught each of america who made ‘Brokeback Mountain’ truthful overmuch astir the cheery men and women whose emotion is denied by society,” and went connected to convey archetypal communicative writer Annie Proulx, on with adapted screenplay winners Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. Lee wrapped up by reaching retired to his household overseas with a Mandarin operation that translates as, “Thanks to everyone’s caring thought.”

Writing categories: Déjà vu each implicit again

Writers Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry judge the Oscar for adapted screenplay for “Brokeback Mountain.”

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

The penning categories mirrored the films spotlighted successful representation and director, arsenic Haggis (and co-writer Robert Moresco) picked up their Oscars for archetypal penning connected “Crash,” portion McMurtry and Ossana won theirs for adapting the “Brokeback” screenplay, accepting the grant from Dustin Hoffman.

This was the archetypal triumph and 2nd information for McMurtry (he’d besides been nominated successful 1972 for adapting his caller “The Last Picture Show” with manager Peter Bogdanovich), and a archetypal for Ossana, who was besides nominated arsenic a shaper connected “Brokeback.” This triumph gave Haggis his archetypal of 2 Oscar wins (the different came aboriginal successful the evening for champion picture).

Both films went up against beardown competition: “Crash” came retired connected apical supra “Good Night, and Good Luck” (George Clooney and Grant Heslov) for archetypal screenplay, competing with “Match Point” (Woody Allen), “The Squid and the Whale” (Noah Baumbach) and “Syriana” (Stephen Gaghan).

“Brokeback” won adapted screenplay implicit “Capote” (Dan Futterman, who’d adapted the publication by Gerald Clarke), “The Constant Gardener” (Jeffrey Caine, adapting John le Carré’s novel), “A History of Violence” (Josh Olson, adapting the John Wagner and Vince Locke graphic novel), and “Munich” (Tony Kushner and Eric Roth adapting George Jonas’ publication “Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team”).

Haggis accepted the grant from Uma Thurman, quoting Bertolt Brecht by saying “art is not a reflector to clasp up to society, but a hammer successful which to signifier it. And truthful I conjecture this is ours…. [I] conscionable privation to convey those radical who instrumentality large risks successful their regular lives erstwhile determination aren’t cameras rolling and erstwhile determination aren’t radical determination to applaud, and the radical retired determination who basal up for bid and justness and against intolerance. So I dedicate this to them.”