Annie Proulx bashes the Oscars.

Yes, Annie Proulx, the author of Brokeback Mountain, is upset that the film based upon her short story was not the recipient of the Best Picture Oscar. Neither is she happy that the acting awards went elsewhere.

Hollywood loves mimicry, the conversion of a film actor into the spittin' image of a once-living celeb. But which takes more skill, acting a person who strolled the boulevard a few decades ago and who left behind tapes, film, photographs, voice recordings and friends with strong memories, or the construction of characters from imagination and a few cold words on the page? I don't know. The subject never comes up.

She critiques the show in an article for the Guardian Unlimited:

There were montages, artfully meshed clips of films of yesteryear, live acts by Famous Talent, smart-ass jokes by Jon Stewart who was witty and quick, too witty, too quick, too eastern perhaps for the somewhat dim LA crowd.

I find it rather amusing that while middle-America fusses about Hollywood being too edgy and too out of touch with American values, Annie Proulx calls Hollywood "provincial" for not selecting "her" film as the top film.

Despite the technical expertise and flawlessly sleek set evocative of 1930s musicals, despite Dolly Parton whooping it up and Itzhak Perlman blending all the theme music into a single performance ... there was a kind of provincial flavour to the proceedings reminiscent of a small-town talent-show night.

Annie also describes protesters she saw as her limo approached the theatre. I don't know why I'm surprised that protesters would show up to decry gays in movies. The Episcopal church is undergoing a schism over a gay Bishop who was ordained last year. Why shouldn't the closed minded also protest at the Oscars over the presumed win of Brokeback Mountain?