Gay cowboys to take the glory
2006-01-15 08:34
Los Angeles - The gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain looks set to gallop to victory at Monday's Golden Globe Awards, a key Oscars predictor dominated this year by a duelling pack of independent films.
Taiwanese director Ang Lee's daring tale of forbidden love goes into Hollywood's second most important honours armed with a leading seven nominations and appears poised to rope in the top awards of best drama and best actor in a drama for its leading man Heath Ledger, pundits said.
But while the film is the early favourite in the race for the Academy Awards - Oscar voters have until Saturday to pick their nominees - Lee and his film still face massive competition from George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck, the biopic Capote and the racial drama Crash.
A 'cinch' for best drama
"Brokeback seems a cinch to win best drama at the Globes, but the cliff-hanger is the best director's race," said Tom O'Neil, an awards expert and writer for the GoldDerby.com and the Los Angeles Times's TheEnvelope.com.
"If Clooney wins there, or if Crash wins the best screenplay award, that could be an ominous sign of Brokeback's Oscars vulnerability," he told AFP.
While Brokeback has so far dominated a quiver of award nominations, Crash and Capote, a biopic about author Truman Capote, are seen as serious hopefuls for the Oscars when they are presented on March 5.
Romance and stolen moments
Based on a short story by novelist Annie Proulx, Brokeback is the wrenching story of two macho cowboys who, despite themselves, begin a romance in 1963 and pursue it during stolen moments over the next two decades.
Among its Globe nods are best supporting actress for Michelle Williams - Ledger's on-screen wife and real-life fiancée - and best director for Lee.
On the web:
www.brokebackmountain.com