Lone Voice at HuffPo: “Crash” Victory Had Nothing to do With "Secret Homophobia"

Most of you have probably never heard of Bill Robinson. Heck, I’ve never heard of Bill Robinson. I've heard of “Will” Robinson, but now I'm dating myself.

Anyway, Bill Robinson is a movie producer and screenwriter of some note whose blog at HuffPo on Monday must have raised a few eyebrows, and caused many hung-over Oscar revelers to spit up their first cup of coffee. In his piece entitled “Sore Loser Mountain,” Robinson took on his fellow Hollywoodians’ collective concern that “Brokeback Mountain” was robbed of Best Picture honors at Sunday’s Academy Awards due to “the secret homophobia of Academy voters.” Robinson didn’t see it that way:

“Sorry, but I don't agree with the sore losers. Yes, homophobia exists all over the place, including among Academy voters, but the ‘Crash’ victory probably had more to do with the thousands of DVD's sent to voters, and the six-figure Oscar spending spree on its behalf. ‘Brokeback’ had garnered endless awards, and is the highest grossing best picture nominee. Is it really the victim of an anti-gay conspiracy?”

Hmmm. Clearly, Robinson was on thin ice here, for most of the posters and readers at HuffPo – especially the proprietor! – hate it when facts are brought into the discussion. Fortunately, Robinson wasn’t done. Next, he challenged the premise that “Brokeback” was an extraordinary movie deserving of Best Picture status:

“Even if you agree that ‘Crash’ allowed liberals to feel they had examined their souls just enough to avoid feeling compelled to vote for the unpalatable ‘gay cowboy’ movie, none of that changes the flaws in ‘Brokeback’. As much as many of us love the theme of the film, and what it represents, it was by no means a perfect movie. That is really a faulty premise on which to debate the ‘Crash’ upset. Even New Yorker critic David Denby pointed out the first half of Brokeback feels no more engaging than flipping through a stack of postcards.”

Ouch. This guy should be careful, or the next time he tries to post something, his ISP will be blocked! Yet, maybe most important was Robinson’s take that is likely shared by an overwhelmingly large majority of Americans: “Like a lot of people, my favorites of the year weren't among the final five.”