Crash Wins Best Picture

Jack Nicholson was the first person to be surprised. When he opened the envelope and said "The Oscar goes to..." he seemed pleased to be able to spring the shocker, "Crash." And the predictable Oscars finally had a chill-bump moment.

Tennessee represent (chest thump): Reese Witherspoon of Nashville did us proud by classing up everything around her--winning for her performance as June Carter in Walk the Line. But the only other official surprise of the night came from Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia, who won their Oscar for "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from Hustle & Flow.

All of the acting Oscars were fairly predictable--in addition to Witherspoon, George Clooney for Syriana (I'm a little more than displeased about this one, nothing against Clooney), Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener, and possibly the most predictable went to Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote.

You want quantity? Crash won 3 Oscars, tying it with Brokeback Mountain, King Kong and Memoirs of a Geisha for the night. The Oscars, like their nominations, were evenly spread out. Crash has got to be close to the least number of Oscars won by a Best Picture.

In a way, the Academy honored both Crash and Brokeback Mountain. It had to have been a virtual tie. Crash won Best Original Screenplay while Brokeback took adapted. Ang Lee won for his direction, but Crash won the big prize.

Another couple of nice wins--Best Documentary went to March of the Penguins and Best Animated Feature went to Nick Park's Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Another slight surprise may have been Best Foreign Language Film. I thought Paradise Now was the favorite, but the South African flick Tsotsi pulled it out.

The pull-down menu above will reflect the winners shortly.

The complete list:

Best Motion Picture of the Year: Crash

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: George Clooney (Syriana)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)

Best Achievement in Directing: Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco (Crash)

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Achievement in Cinematography: Dion Beebe (Memoirs of a Geisha)

Best Achievement in Editing: Hughes Winborne (Crash)

Best Achievement in Art Direction: John Myhre, Gretchen Rau (Memoirs of a Geisha)

Best Achievement in Costume Design: Colleen Atwood (Memoirs of a Geisha)

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song: Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, Paul Beauregard "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp" (Hustle & Flow)

Best Achievement in Makeup: Howard Berger, Tami Lane (Chronicles of Narnia)

Best Achievement in Sound: Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek (King Kong)

Best Achievement in Sound Editing: Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn (King Kong)

Best Achievement in Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor (King Kong)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Steve Box, Nick Park

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: Tsotsi. Gavin Hood (South Africa)

Best Documentary, Feature: March of the Penguins. Luc Jacquet, Yves Darondeau

Best Documentary, Short Subjects: A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin. Corinne Marrinan, Eric Simonson

Best Short Film, Animated: The Moon and the Son. John Canemaker, Peggy Stern

Best Short Film, Live Action: Six Shooter. Martin McDonagh