The 78th Oscar Awards Bestowed on Sat. Night

Gritty race relations drama Crash pulled a stunning upset at the Oscars on Sunday, winning the best film award over highly favoured gay romance Brokeback Mountain in a night heavy with political messages. Philip Seymour Hoffman was named best actor playing homosexual writer Truman Capote in Capote, while Hollywood sweetheart Reese Witherspoon’s performance as country singer June Carter in the Johnny Cash biographical film, Walk the Line, earned her the best actress Oscar. Crash, which covers a 36-hour period in Los Angeles as the lives of people of many races collide in a way that highlights bigotry, was a close second to Brokeback in Oscar handicapping. Backstage, Crash writer/director Paul Haggis said he was “shocked, shocked” with the victory. “We’re still trying to figure out if we got this,” he said, clutching his golden trophy. “None of us expected it. You hope, but we had a tiny picture... this was a year when Hollywood rewarded rule breakers.”