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Ang Lee Says Stage Manager Told Him ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Would Likely Win Best Picture Before Oscars Loss

The filmmaker explains he was asked to wait backstage after his best director win to be ready to accept the best picture Oscar, which ended up going to 'Crash' in a memorable upset.

Speaking with IndieWire, the filmmaker shared that after he won best director for the queer, modern-day Western, he was told by a stage manager to stick around backstage, as the film was expected to also take home an Oscar for best picture. When asked if he believes Brokeback Mountain lost best picture due to the Academy’s discrimination against a gay love story, Lee responded, “I think so, yeah.” Besides winning best director, the Heath Ledger- and Jake Gyllenhaal-starring film also received Oscars for best adapted screenplay (it’s based on Annie Proulx’s short story of the same name) and best original score.

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