The 78th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2005 and were held on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. They were hosted by The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, with Tom Kane making his first appearance as the show's announcer. The ceremony was pushed back from its newly established February date because of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
The nominees were announced on January 31 at 5:38 a.m. PST (13:38 UTC) by Academy president Sid Ganis and actress Mira Sorvino, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in the Academy's Beverly Hills headquarters.
Ang Lee's drama Brokeback Mountain had the most nominations of the year's films, receiving eight. Paul Haggis' Crash, George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck, and Rob Marshall's Memoirs of a Geisha each received six nominations.
The ceremony was remembered by many insiders and film critics for its nominations of independently financed, low budget films. In addition, the subject matter of the nominated films focused on controversial political and social themes, such as racial relations and racism (Crash), homosexuality (Brokeback Mountain, Capote), transsexuality (Transamerica), McCarthyism (Good Night, and Good Luck), terrorism, assassination and petroleum politics (Munich, Syriana).
The year was noted for its major upset at the climax of the ceremony. Following a streak of numerous awards, Brokeback Mountain was heavily favored to win the Best Picture category, but lost to Crash, a film that, although publicly and critically acclaimed, had collected fewer previous awards throughout the season. Both films wrapped the ceremony with three Oscars each, along with Memoirs of a Giesha and King Kong.
There was also some minor controversy regarding the nomination of Paradise Now, as Best Foreign Language Film.
On February 18, 2006, in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Rachel McAdams.
Read more about 78th Academy Awards: Awards, Special Honors, Multiple Nominations and Awards, Academy Award Ceremony Presenters and Performers, In Memoriam, Opening/Montages/Trivia, Voting Trends and Reaction
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