USA: The gay cowboy epic, "Brokeback Mountain" sweeps the New York Film Critics Circle Awards

Gay cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain" won three of the top four awards from the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) on Sunday (January 8) gaining momentum as a critics' favorite for the Oscars. The NYFCC awards are among the second-tier prizes leading up to the March 5 Academy Awards. These awards traditionally helps narrow the field for the Oscars. This year, the awards ceremony was held at Cipriani's, across from Grand Central in Manhattan. Reese Witherspoon was named best actress for her role as June Carter in the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line." Witherspoon sang professionally for the first time for this film and said she had to receive extensive training for the purpose. Responding to the NYFCC award and the buzz about a possible Oscar nomination for best actress, Witherspoon said, "I think most actors, we just try and do the work and it's great if you're recognized and it's still fine if you're not and so I feel really happy, just, I was really excited about being able to play the role. This is just kind of icing for me." The best actor award went to Heath Ledger for his role as Ennis Del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain." While the young actor was unable to make it to the ceremony as he is in Australia, his director, Ang Lee was present to accept the best film and best director award. When asked how he felt that "Brokeback Mountain" had won over another popular film, "Capote", Lee said, "I'm just glad I got approval from the home town to me, critics. I think its very hard to compete with good movies. I love that movie ("Capote"), so I cannot say that I'm happy to win over it, or even have the thought that I win over a movie like that, but its a great feeling that you get approvals." Lee's film is shaping up to be an Oscar contender despite concerns that its plot -- the relationship between two cowboys in Wyoming -- may offend conservative audiences. It has also won best film from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Responding to the Oscar buzz around "Brokeback Mountain", Lee joked and said, "Of course there is a pressure. This is good high class problem. Oscar buzz, yeah, you can't get cynical about that." Another film that is expected to be a giant at the Oscars this year is "Capote", based on American author Truman Capote's life and enacted brilliantly by actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. While Hoffman did not win a New York Film Critics Circle Award, he attended the ceremony as the presenter of the "Best First Film" award, which went to director Bennett Miller for "Capote". Hoffman said that accolades for the film "Capote" as a whole were just as important, or even more important, than appreciation for his specific role. Hoffman said, "The recognition for the film as a whole is, even though people might not believe me, but much more satisfying than just for yourself, because I think you can do good work in film, in a film that's not always that good sometimes, but to actually do good work in a film that also is quite good is really what you're looking for, and it's rare, and it's hard to come by. So, it's a good thing." The awards for best supporting actor and best supporting actress went to William Hurt and Maria Bello for their roles in "A History of Violence." While, Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai's "2046" was named best foreign language film. Wai has written the screenplay for the film, apart from directing it. On the red carpet, Wai was light-hearted and self-deprecating as he reflected on the writing experience. He said, "It's very hard to write for yourself, as a writer you can be lazy sometimes, but if you write for yourself, it's hard. And also to be the writer of Wong Kar Wai is not very good experience because people always think I work without the script." The New York Film Critics Circle is comprised of critics from daily and weekly newspapers and magazines based in New York. The group is the oldest critical group in America.

ITN Source | January 12, 2006

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