Independents remain smoking-hot

The quintessentially Hollywood major-studio community that is the backbone of the Oscar process and the fiercely individualistic independent film world don’t like to think they have much in common.

Tuesday’s Academy Award nominations changed all that.

For the first time ever, the three films that garnered the most enthusiasm and praise in the independent world -- “Brokeback Mountain,” “Capote” and “Good Night, and Good Luck” -- ended up dominating the Oscars as well.

It’s not just that all three were nominated for the prestigious best picture category, it’s also how well they did across the board. “Brokeback” had eight Oscar nominations, “Good Night” six and “Capote” five.

And these awards, and those for other indie players, did not come in minor categories. Two director nominees (“Brokeback’s” Ang Lee and “Good Night’s” George Clooney), two supporting actresses (Michelle Williams of “Brokeback” and Amy Adams of “Junebug”), supporting actor Matt Dillon (“Crash”), actress Felicity Huffman (“Transamerica”), cinematographer Robert Elswit (“Good Night”) and three screenplays (“Capote,” “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “The Squid and the Whale”) all come from stalwarts of the independent world.

This convergence was strongest in the acting category. Not only were “Brokeback’s” Heath Ledger, “Capote’s” Philip Seymour Hoffman and “Good Night’s” David Strathairn nominated, but so was Terrence Howard from the Sundance-debuting “Hustle & Flow.” If it wasn’t for the Oscar nomination for Joaquin Phoenix’s popular turn in “Walk the Line,” it’s likely that “The Squid and the Whale’s” Jeff Daniels would have made it five for five in terms of independent nominations.

What caused this unprecedented confluence? Was some cabal or conspiracy at work? The answer is simple: This was a jubilee year for films put out by the specialty divisions of major studios, such as Warner Independent Pictures, Universal’s Focus Features and Sony Pictures Classics. Under ordinary circumstances, academy members would prefer to vote for pricey extravaganzas like “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” which swept the awards two years ago. This year, however, those studio independent films, sometimes considered neither fish nor fowl by zealots in both camps, were stronger than usual, too strong, frankly, for the academy to resist. As quality-starved moviegoers can attest, having three films as good as “Brokeback,” “Good Night” and “Capote” come out within a few weeks of each other was close to shocking, and voters simply couldn’t ignore that.

The nominations given one of the independent films could be especially significant. “Crash” got six Oscar nominations, tying it with “Good Night, and Good Luck.” The film is so much to the academy’s taste, in fact, that it now must be considered the movie with the best chance of beating favorite “Brokeback Mountain” for best picture.

Under ordinary circumstances, nominations for Steven Spielberg films are the opposite of unusual, but this was not an ordinary year. The director’s “Munich” had come under intense fire by professional fulminators, the kind of criticism that sometimes causes the controversy-averse academy to look elsewhere. In this case, Oscar voters did not blink and gave “Munich” five nods, including picture, director and screenplay. While this likely meant the exclusion of the entertaining “Walk the Line” from the fifth best-picture slot (serious issues beat songs most days of the week), it’s good to see the academy stiffen its spine.

As to the commentators who hyperventilated over “Munich,” they are likely to have full-blown coronary attacks once they get a look at “Paradise Now,” the exceptional Palestinian film that is one of five nominees for best foreign-language film.

Though the category is a real tossup (all five Oscar nominees are strong enough to have U.S. distribution deals already in place), this powerful and provocative drama about the nightmare of terrorism is as involving and relevant a film as the year has produced.

Other noteworthy Oscar categories include a strong collection of documentaries despite the regrettable absence of “Grizzly Man,” and the animated feature group, which dissed both “Madagascar” and “Chicken Little” but made room for “Wallace & Gromit” and the brilliant “Howl’s Moving Castle.” And then there is best original song, which this year includes “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from “Hustle & Flow.” Speaking of coronaries, that one would have killed Louis B. Mayer if he were alive to hear it.

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78th Annual Academy Awards

When: 5 p.m. March 5

Where: ABC

Host: Jon Stewart