Overview
- Diana Ossana learned weeks before the 2006 Oscars that Clint Eastwood hadn’t seen Brokeback Mountain, a revelation she says signaled they wouldn’t win Best Picture
- Despite sweeping Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Critics’ Choice awards, Ossana believes entrenched homophobia in the Academy prevented Brokeback Mountain from taking home Best Picture
- Several veteran Academy voters, including Ernest Borgnine and Tony Curtis, publicly refused to watch the film, with Curtis claiming classic Hollywood icons would reject it
- Ang Lee won Best Director and Ossana alongside Larry McMurtry earned Best Adapted Screenplay, while the film also garnered four acting nominations and awards for cinematography and score
- Focus Features’ 20th anniversary re-release has packed theaters and reignited debate over the film’s cultural impact and the barriers it broke for LGBTQ+ representation in cinema