'Crash' scores surprise best picture Oscar

In the upset of the evening, Canadian filmmaker Paul Haggis captured the best picture Oscar for his film Crash Sunday night, snatching the award away from the heavily favoured contender Brokeback Mountain.

"Thank you for embracing our film about love and tolerance and truth," said producer Cathy Schulman. "We are humbled by the other nominees in the category. You have made this year one of the most breathtaking, stunning, maverick years in American cinema."

The film was the directorial debut for the London, Ont.-born Haggis, who, together with Bobby Moresco, won the best original screenplay award as well. The ensemble drama won a third Oscar for film editing.

Brokeback Mountain had been considered the front-runner,starting the eveningwith a leading eight nominations. The film had already won acclaim throughout the film awards season, takingtopprizes at the Directors Guild and Producers Guild awards, as well as being named the best film of the year by various critics groups and at the Golden Globes andIndependent Spirit Awards.

However, the cowboy love story did not leave the night empty-handed, winning three awards at the annual celebration of Hollywood's best.

Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry won the best adapted screenplay Oscar for translating Brokeback Mountain from Annie Proulx's short story; Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla won for the film's original score; and Ang Lee won for his direction, making him the firstAsian filmmaker ever to win the honour.

"I want to thank two people who don't even exist their names are Ennis and Jack and they taught all of us who made Brokeback Mountain not just about all the gay men and women whose love is denied by society but about the greatness of love itself," Lee said.

Twolead actors favoured to win walked away with Hollywood's most prestigious honours for playing real people.

Philip Seymour Hoffman won best actor for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote, and Reese Witherspoon won best actress for her portrayal of country music legend June Carter Cash.

"People used to ask June how she was doing and she'd say 'I'm just trying to matter.' I know what she means," said an emotional Witherspoon, who starred in the Johnny Cash biopicWalk the Line.

Hoffman, who starred in the film Capote, beat a strong list of contendersto win the best actor Oscarfor his portrayal of writer Truman Capote.

"I'm in a category with some great actors. I'm overwhelmed," Hoffman said, acknowledging finalists David Strathairn, Joaquin Phoenix, Heath Ledger and Terrence Howard.

Rap drama Hustle & Flow had one of the evening's most exuberant wins, when the song It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp was named best original song.

After delivering the first-ever performance by a rap group at the Oscars, Three 6 Mafia who had toned down their lyrics for the broadcast bounded onstage to accept the trophy. The rap trio was excited andflustered, speaking over each other while sending "shout outs" totheir friends and family.

"That's how you accept an Oscar!" host Jon Stewart laughed to the audience afterward.

Earlier in the evening, British actress RachelWeisztook the best supporting actress Oscar for The Constant Gardener, thanking author John LeCarr, who wrote the novel on which the film is based.

George Clooney won the best supporting actor award for the oil industry thriller Syriana.

The film and TV star acknowledged his fellow nominees and agreed with host Jon Stewart that "we are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood it's probably a good thing," he said,noting that as a resultHollywood was out frontpromoting AIDS awareness and supporting civil rights.

"I'm proud to be part of this academy, proud to be part of this community, proud to be out of touch," he said.

The surprise hit French film March of the Penguins was named best documentary feature.

"I'd like to dedicate this statuette to all the children in the world who saw our movie," filmmakerLuc Jacquet told the audience.

"Looking out and seeing all these tuxedos tonight, it's like watching the movie again. Thank you for the homage," one of the producers of the film added.

The visually lavish period drama Memoirs of a Geisha took three Oscar honours Sunday night: art direction, costume design and cinematography.

Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong was also a triple winner, capturing awards for sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.

Other winners included:

• South African film Tsotsi (best foreign-language film).
• Claymation hit Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit(best animated feature).
• Six Shooter(live action short).
• The Moon and the Sun: An Imagined Conversation (animated short).
• A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin (documentary short feature).

The gala also included the presentation of an honorary Oscar to acclaimed director Robert Altman a five-time best director nominee.

"I look at [the award] as a nod to all of my films. To me, I've just made one long film," Altman said. "I know some of you have liked some of these sections. And others, well, that's all right."

Altman, whose credits include ensemble dramas such as M*A*S*H,Nashville, The Player and Gosford Park, likened filmmaking to building a sandcastle on the beach with all of his friends.

"I've built about 40 of them and I never tire of them," he said. "I love filmmaking, it has given me entry into the world."

Hundreds of millions of people around the world were expected to tune in to the televised awards show, hosted by Stewart of TV's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and held at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.