Crash: The Worst Best Picture Ever? Insights Inside.

With just hours to go until the biggest night in film, bookmakers are still scrambling to predict who will walk away with a coveted Academy Award. 

This year's race has proven to be one of the most chaotic to date, with frontrunners constantly switching after major upsets at previous awards shows, while clumsy comments from stars have also . 

Yet while there's sure to be surprises galore at Sunday's ceremony, it will be hard to compete with the shock of the 2006 Best Picture winner, when Crash controversially triumphed over Brokeback Mountain. 

The decision to award the race-relations drama over the pioneering neo-Western was so unexpected at the time that even , who announced the winner, mouthed 'woah' after reading out the card. 

Brokeback Mountain had previously picked up Best Picture at the BAFTAs, , , Independent Spirit Awards, Producers Guild of America, among others.

Now, on the 20 year anniversary of the controversial win, those involved with Crash have opened up about the scandal, admitting it was 'one of the worst decision in Oscars history.' 

Crash co-writer and producer Bobby Moresco revealed there was a 'rivalry' between the Brokeback Mountain and Crash crew during awards season, recalling: 'For whatever reason, we were never at the same table with those guys, but [Brokeback Mountain producer and co-writer] Diana Ossana was the loveliest person.'

Even he had assumed that Brokeback Mountain - Ang Lee's independent film starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as star-crossed cowboys - would take the win. 

He told BBC: 'Brokeback Mountain was a breakthrough film. Nobody had ever seen a relationship like that on film before, and God bless them, they made a heck of a movie. 

'But it wasn't mine or [director Paul Haggis'] fault that people voted for us instead of them. Somehow, that was held against us.'

Brokeback Mountain was the most critically acclaimed film of the year, grossing over $178 million globally against a $14m budget. 

In comparison, Crash grossed $98.4m million, and was the lowest-grossing film at the domestic box office to win Best Picture since The Last Emperor in 1987. 

Crash, featuring an ensemble cast including Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Thandiwe Newton and Michael Peña, received a surge in popularity when Oprah Winfrey promoted it on her talk show, asking viewers to send in their own experiences with racism aka their 'Crash moment' - which Bobby said brought Crash 'into the culture'.

However, while creating a conversation, Crash was criticised for portraying a 'simplistic' version of race issues in America. 

Hollywood awards strategist Lisa Taback told Vulture that she believes Crash was able to secure the win because the academy members were able to vote in private. 

She explained: 'If critics say something is great, we also like to say it’s great. That’s human nature. But in the privacy of your own home, you can really take in and vote on a film that resonates with you. 

'Also, voters like to support an underdog, and that’s what Crash was. It passed the “smell test” in terms of its being a contemporary awards film. It wasn’t a period piece; it didn’t take place in a far-off land. So while it may not have been a fine piece of art to some, it certainly resonated with people. And it still holds up.'

Despite this, there was still backlash over Crash's win, with whispers in Hollywood that Brokeback Mountain had missed out because the Academy was homophobic. 

Dismissing these claims, director Paul scoffed: 'There were two films that year, Brokeback and Capote, that had gay protagonists. How could they even get nominated if voters hated gay people?'

President of Lionsgate's theatrical films at the time, Tom Ortenberg, added: 'I got about 90 percent support from my peers. And the backlash I felt I quickly and easily chalked up to sour grapes. The ones who make excuses aren’t the ones who win.'

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