The epic romance between two humble ranchers at the heart of Brokeback Mountain is striking potent emotional chords with critics. The film is only now opening in wide release, but it has already earned a slew of prestigious nominations and awards. Brokeback Mountain has been named Best Picture by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle. The National Board of Review has also given directing honors to Ang Lee and a supporting actor prize to Jake Gyllenhaal. Brokeback topped the Golden Globes nominations, considered a strong indicator for the impending Academy Awards.

The film earned nods for Best Motion Picture--Drama, Best Director, Best Actor in a Motion Picture--Drama (Heath Ledger), Best Supporting Actress (Michelle Williams), Best Screenplay (Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry), Best Original Score and Best Original Song. The list of honors and nominations goes on and on.

"It's encouraging," McMurtry says, calling a few hours after the Globes nominations were announced. "Encouraging and slightly surreal," adds Ossana, also on the line and a frequent McMurtry collaborator.

In its second weekend, the $13 million film earned an estimated $2.4 million at just 69 locations, averaging more than $34,000 per screen. Brokeback's overall total is now over $22 million and it still has the highest per screen average of any movie currently playing
in wide release.

The 69-year-old, Texas-born McMurtry's screenwriting credits include Hud, The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment, all of which were based on his original novels.
He earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for his novel Lonesome Dove, which was also made into an acclaimed, wildly popular miniseries.

Ossana began a writing partnership with McMurtry in 1992 that has grown to include books, films and television projects. She first discovered Brokeback Mountain several years ago, while staying at McMurtry's Texas home.The film is based on a 1997 story by Annie Proulx and was originally published in The New Yorker.

Here, McMurtry and Ossana discuss the film's auspicious beginnings, the struggle to get it on the big screen and its ultimate mislabeling as simply a "gay" film.

AfterElton.com: What initially attracted you to Proulx's short story?
Ossana: "It was the writing and the feelings it gave me. I think Larry felt the same way."
McMurtry: "It was a great story of the West that hadn't been written. We wanted to be part of bringing it to a wide audience."

Page 1 / 2 - Next