Growing Momentum

'Brokeback' Wins 3 Critics' Choice Awards

About halfway through these awards last night (yes, I watched, and yes, Dennis Miller was not the right choice as host) I was convinced that Crash was headed for a sweep of all of the major awards, setting it up as the best contender to knock off my anointed favorite for the Best Picture Oscar that is the ultimate goal of this whole awards-show process. Brokeback had only managed a tie for the supporting actress award, and Michelle Williams's absence made that win seem invisible as co-winner Amy Adams of Junebug prattled on like a schoolgirl. Jake Gyllenhaal had been passed over in favor of Paul Giamatti, and the applause in the room at seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote during a clip of Capote made it clear that he would block Heath Ledger from being recognized.

And then, in the final five minutes of the telecast, everything shifted. Ang Lee took Best Director, and refused to yield the stage so the Best Picture award could be presented, starting out by talking about what a good year it was for movies (and calling Philip Seymour Hoffman simply "Seymour") and continuing to thank just about everyone who had anything to do with the production of Brokeback except, I think, Annie Proulx, who wrote the original short story. When Lee finally left the stage, Joel Siegel came out and gave Brokeback the big award, and Lee allowed Diana Ossana, one of the movie's screenwriters, to fumble for words as she thanked everyone who has seen the movie.

You're welcome, Diana.

And to both Diana and Ang Lee: Please, don't forget to thank Annie Proulx for creating this story when you reprise these wins at the Golden Globes, the Director's Guild Awards, and the Oscars, OK?