Brokeback Mountain’s co-writer has revealed the moment she released the much-lauded gay cowboy drama wouldn’t win the best picture Oscar in 2006.
Despite the accolades and praise it had garnered up to that point – including four Baftas and four Golden Globes – and going into the evening with eight nominations, the movie was destined to lose the night’s top prize.
The 78th Academy Awards also became infamous as the film chosen instead was Crash, now often cited as one of the worst candidates to win best picture
In a new interview to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of Brokeback Mountain’s release, producer and co-writer Diana Ossana agreed that she felt her film should have won instead but insisted she ‘hold[s] no grudge’.
Ossana also revealed she knew before the Oscars that Brokeback Mountain wouldn’t triumph in that category after attending a nominees’ party after Academy Awards voting had already closed – and learning a personally disappointing piece of news.
The event was held at the home of Paul Haggis, co-incidentally the director of Crash, and also attended by Clint Eastwood, who the previous year had enjoyed success at the Academy Awards with Million Dollar Baby.
As a fan of Unforgiven in particular, Ossana was particularly excited to meet Eastwood.
‘Paul started walking me over and he goes, “Diana, I have to tell you, he hasn’t seen your movie.” And it was like somebody kicked me in the stomach,’ she recalled while speaking to the New York Times. ‘That’s when I knew we would not win best picture.’
Brokeback Mountain did still go on to scoop best director, best adapted screenplay and best original score at the Oscars.
But Ossana, who co-wrote the picture with Larry McMurty, believes that homophobia contributed to the western’s defeat in the main category.
‘People want to deny that, but what else could it have been? We’d won everything up until then,’ she added.
Metro has contacted a representative for Clint Eastwood for comment.
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