It looks likely the king of country music will be sharing his moment of glory with a couple of loved-up cowboys at next Sunday's Oscar ceremony. The results of our online poll show that Joaquin Phoenix is your hot favourite to take the coveted best actor gong, while Brokeback Mountain should be the one riding off into the sunset with the trophies for best movie and best director.
At the close of voting over 15,000 votes had been cast by readers keen to support their favourite movies and performers. And it was far from a one horse race, with Walk The Line's leading man, at 43 per cent, facing a tough challenge from second place Heath Ledger, who galloped home with 40. Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of Truman Capote meanwhile won favour with nine per cent of our readers, while David Strathairn garnered just five per cent for his acclaimed performance in Good Night And Good Luck.
In the best actress category it was Joaquin's costar Reese Witherspoon who reigned supreme, with 33 per cent of the votes. British stars Judi Dench and Keira Knightley took second and third place, with 24 per cent and 22 per cent respectively, while Transamerica's Felicity Huffman finishing with 13. Charlize Theron won't be too worried about coming last, as the South African bombshell already has an Academy Award from the 2004 ceremony.
Ang Lee's much talked-about gay romance made light work of winning the best film section, sweeping aside the challenge of Steven Spielberg's Munich and George Clooney's Good Night And Good Luck to garner 53 per cent of the vote. And the Taiwanese filmmaker put in an equally unstoppable performance in the race for best director, with the other contenders nowhere close to keeping up.
His onscreen collaborator, Jake Gyllenhaal, was likewise enjoying a convincing victory after clocking up 52 per cent of the best supporting actor vote. Director George once again had to settle for second place in recognition of his acting skills, on 27 per cent, while Matt Dillon's racist cop from Crash took a modest 12 per cent. Brokeback Mountain didn't prove completely invincible, however, as British siren Rachel Weisz managed to edge out Michelle Williams for best supporting actress. The Constant Gardener star received the backing of 45 per cent of our readers, while her blonde challenger was second with 40 per cent.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
