Brokeback Mountain

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OscarGuy
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Post by OscarGuy »

Criddic, it's something I like to call the Titanic Syndrome. People who see a film before hype builds will inevitably cherish it more than people who see it after the hype has climaxed or is even at its apex. It's a standard event with films that have intense buzz surrounding them.

On that note, I was cruising Borders.com last night and I checked it's Top Sellers list and at the hour I checked BM was #1 with Narnia #2. I'd have to say that's quite impressive.
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Post by Big Magilla »

I watched it on DVD last night. It has the opposite effect of Lost in Translation, growing richer the second time you see it.

The Randy Quaid suit is unprecedented and seems to have no merit on the face of it. He's a big boy, been around the block more than a few times, and he signed a contract with his eyes wide open. Beyond the obvious, he may hang himself with his own words. On one of the documentaries on the DVD, Quaid talks about having read the short story in The New Yorker and being impressed when he heard Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry were writing the script. This has to be years ago as the film was a legendary unproduced script for seven years. It was McMurtry's The Last Picture Show that made Quaid a star in his second film. Seems to me he went after the role, he didn't have to be persuaded to take it. Even though Focus Features is owned by Universal, it is still a small company and the producers would not have made it if it cost too much.

Incidentally, the best place to buy the DVD is Target, which has an exclusive tie-in, includes Simon and Shuster's CD of the short story read by Campbell Scott, all for under $18.
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Post by criddic3 »

ok. Here's what I'm seeing happen now. People who are seeing Brokeback Mountain are now telling me that they think it's "merely okay." They say it has nice scenery and some good scenes, but that they found it boring and the acting not special. Why is this? Some of these people are not great movie lovers, but a few of them are and even they didn't fall under the film's spell. Is my liking the film more because it's a gay love story or did I react from how the story unfolded?

I am going to be watching Ang Lee's Oscar-winning film on DVD (my second viewing), but I fear this may be a case like "Lost in Translation" where seeing it in the theater made a major difference in how people reacted to it.
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Post by Eric »

What an upset.
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Post by Penelope »

'Brokeback Mountain' Receives Gay Honor


Golden Globe-winning movie Brokeback Mountain was named last year's Best Motion Picture at the 17th annual Gay And Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Awards in New York City Monday night. Oscar-winning director Ang Lee received a standing ovation when he took to the stage to accept the award on behalf of everyone who worked on the heart-breaking tale of a secret love affair between two cowboys. He told the audience, "Finally, an award that actually means something. (It will probably be) the very last award I will accept for Brokeback Mountain. And to end the journey here tonight is like coming home. The fact is Brokeback Mountain has helped to change the world." GLAAD was formed in New York City in 1985 in response to biased AIDS coverage by tabloid newspapers and news stations.
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Post by criddic3 »

I have to agree. It sounds as though he is doing this to make a bigger profit off of a now-successful movie, when he must know that a film like this would not have been expected to do this well normally.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Randy Quaid was NOT the selling point of this film. Matter of fact, other than a bit part in the trailer, he was virtually unrepresented in the marketing. They didn't use his name to sell the movie. Matter of fact, the 3 films listed were sold on other peoples' names or ideas, not his...he's not a "bankable" star as he wouldn't be able to draw an audience to a "Randy Quaid" movie.

I've lost all respect for him.
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Post by Sonic Youth »

Between the Oscars and Proulx and now this, Brokeback does not seem to be going out on a high note.

Brokeback actor 'suing for $10m'
BBC News


Actor Randy Quaid has reportedly taken legal action against the producers of Brokeback Mountain, saying he was duped into accepting less money for his work.

He alleges Focus Features persuaded him to defer his normal pay by misrepresenting the project as a low-budget film, according to Variety.

Producers James Schamus and David Linde retained his services on "economically unfavourable" terms, he has claimed.

Quaid, 55, is suing for $10m (£5.7m). A Focus spokeswoman declined to comment.

"Randy Quaid is an instantly recognisable household name and much-admired actor on the world's stage with a worldwide box office total of nearly $2 billion (£1.1bn)," reads the legal action filed at Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.

'Movie laundering'

"Defendants were engaging in a 'movie laundering' scheme designed to obtain the services of talent... for a picture that, in reality, had studio backing and would be exploited using traditional studio marketing and distribution techniques."

Brokeback Mountain won three Academy Awards in March and has made nearly $160m (£92m) worldwide, according to trade newspaper Variety.

Quaid's action - which also names Del Mar Productions as a defendant - does not state what he was actually paid for playing the role of ranch manager Joe Aguirre.

The actor's other films include Kingpin, Independence Day and Not Another Teen Movie.
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Post by Big Magilla »

'Brokeback Mountain' coming to DVD on April 4
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Those who have yet to see Brokeback Mountain, or those looking to see it again, will soon have a choice — the DVD will hit stores April 4, even with the film still in theatrical release.

That's a rare overlap, said a spokeswoman for DVD distributor Universal Studios Home Entertainment. But, she explained, with the film still riding high on its eight Academy Award nominations and three Oscar wins, its theater run has been extended, bumping into the scheduled DVD release.

The DVD's special features include a profile of Oscar-winning director Ang Lee and interviews with Oscar-winning screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. Oscar-nominated stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal also discuss the rodeo and wrangling training they had to prepare for their roles as the cowboys in love.

The Brokeback Mountain DVD is expected to sell for $29.98.

Brokeback, which opened in theaters Nov. 30, has grossed $81 million to date.
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Post by flipp525 »

OscarGuy wrote:Can someone tell me what issue of Variety that's in? I WANT a copy of that!
Upset 'Brokeback' Fans Advertise Their Feelings
By Stuart Elliott
NYT Published: March 13, 2006


Fans of the film "L.A. Confidential" did not take out advertisements in entertainment publications after it lost the best picture Academy Award to "Titanic." It did not happen when "Goodfellas" lost to "Dances With Wolves" or even when "Citizen Kane" lost to "How Green Was My Valley."

But after "Brokeback Mountain" lost the best picture Oscar to "Crash," more than 800 fans — participants in an online discussion group known as the Ultimate Brokeback Forum — chipped in more than $24,000 to buy a full-page ad in Daily Variety. The ad, which ran Friday, thanked the makers of the movie "for transforming countless lives through the most honored film of the year."

"I felt we had to do something," said Dave Cullen, a journalist in Denver who bought the ad after setting up several Brokeback sites, at addresses including brokeback.davecullen.com. "People were distraught, upset, angry; they couldn't believe it."

A poster who goes by Texas Girl suggested buying the ad, he said, and after some discussion that they protest the "Crash" victory, the forum participants decided to run "a positive ad."

Charles C. Koones, president and publisher of Daily Variety and Variety, owned by Reed Elsevier, said, " 'Brokeback' really touched a chord with certain audiences. There are those in Hollywood who feel it was robbed." Although his publications have run fan group ads in the past, they typically urged networks not to cancel favorite TV series.

Mr. Cullen said that the Daily Variety ad cost $15,435, adding that contributors were discussing what to do with the leftover money.

Mr. Koones offered this advice: "You need another ad."
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Post by flipp525 »

Movielover wrote:I don't know if this was said before somewhere, but did anyone else here think the lady playing Jake Gyllenhaal's mother was fantastic!

Roberta Maxwell is the actor's name and I wholeheartedly agree with you, Movielover -- she was fantastic. She was able to convey so much in such a short amount of time that I was thoroughly astonished and moved by her performance as Mrs. Twist. Without saying a word, you could see that she knew all about Jack’s sexuality and possibly his demise (as well as the shirts and what they meant to him). Her downtrodden and unhappy life portrayed against the bleak and unadorned backdrop of Jack Twist’s childhood home, came through quite clearly and it was a testament to her moving performance. In a couple swift, urgent strokes, she painted quite an indelible character. Which is part of the reason I believe that Brokeback really had a much better ensemble than Crash, just because the interaction between the characters (and they were characters rather than loosely thrown-together walking stereotypes) was so utterly believable. Look how believable and fully realized Roberta Maxwell’s performance was with less than five minutes of screen-time. Compare that to say, Don Cheadle or Jennifer Esposito’s characters in Crash, who, with significantly more dialogue and screen-time, came off less like a people and more like a walking megaphones spewing Paul Haggis’ extremely simplistic views on racism in America.
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Post by 77-1041588190 »

I don't know if this was said before somewhere, but did anyone else here think the lady playing Jake Gyllenhaal's mother was fantastic!
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Post by OscarGuy »

Is it daily variety of the regular Variety? I think the bookstore here in town sells that...
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Post by Sonic Youth »

It's going to be in next week's issue.

Actually, today is Friday so I guess that would be THIS week's issue, but it probably won't show up on most newsstands until next week.

And if you all want to actively protest the Academy, take everybody you know and go see Brokeback Mountain this weekend. Inflate that box-office.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Can someone tell me what issue of Variety that's in? I WANT a copy of that!
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