“Crash,” a racial drama that hinges on unexpected turns of events, scored a major upset on Sunday over Oscar favorite “Brokeback Mountain” when it won the ensemble cast award from the Screen Actors Guild.

For weeks, “Brokeback” had been collecting one film award after another, draining any suspense out of the race for the March 5 Academy Awards.

Its latest award came on Saturday night when its director Ang Lee won best director’s award from the Directors Guild of America, often an Oscar barometer.

But “Brokeback” may have hit a bump in the road with the unexpected victory for the cast of “Crash,” an ensemble drama of 36 hours in Los Angeles when a minor traffic accident triggers a series of racial confrontations that ends in murder.

The film has more than 70 actors, including many A-listers who worked for scale, including Sandra Bullock and Don Cheadle.

One reason for its success at SAG may be that its distributor, Lionsgate, sent members of the Screen Actors Guild DVDs of the film, which had been released in May and pretty well forgotten as the awards season started.

Its director and co-writer, Paul Haggis, said on Saturday that he thought he was just a lucky man to be nominated for anything and said making the film was a touch-and-go effort in which the producers frequently ran out of money and had to use Haggis’ own home for rehearsals.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was named best actor for his role as writer Truman Capote in “Capote” and Reese Witherspoon best actress for her role as June Carter Cash in the Johnny Cash biography “Walk the Line.”

“Sometimes I just really can’t shake the feeling that I am really just a little girl from Tennessee,” Witherspoon said.

The prizes bolster both Hoffman’s and Witherspoon’s chances of winning an Oscar when the Academy Awards are presented in March.

Paul Giamatti, an often ignored character actor, won the best supporting actor award for his role as the manager in “Cinderella Man,” about the life of Depression-era boxer James J. Braddock.

British actress Rachel Weisz won best supporting actress for her role as the doomed activist wife of a British diplomat in “The Constant Gardener,” a film based on a thriller by spy novelist John Le Carre.

ABC’s hit series “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” won top acting honors for television.

The “Lost” cast won the best ensemble performance award for a dramatic television series while “Desperate Housewives” received the ensemble award for best comedy series.

It was the first nomination and win for “Lost,” a castaway thriller that has helped reinvigorate ABC’s prime-time schedule.

S. Epatha Merkerson won the award for best actress in a television movie for her performance in “Lackawanna Blues,” and had the audience erupting in laughter and applause when she thanked her divorce lawyer.

Felicity Huffman was named best actress in a comedy series for her work as one of the “Desperate Housewives.”

Sandra Oh was named best actress in a television drama for her work as a fledgling doctor in “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC while Kiefer Sutherland was named best actor in a dramatic series for his work as a U.S. agent out to foil terrorist plots in “24″ on Fox.

Breathless and in tears, Oh, who also won a Golden Globe for her role, thanked her fellow Asian American actors. She said: “I share this with you … be encouraged and keep shining.”

Sean Hayes, named best actor for his role in the gay-themed NBC comedy “Will & Grace,” joked about the publicity around Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” as he accepted his award.

“First of all, I would like to thank Ang Lee for taking a chance on me,” he said. “I know everyone in Hollywood knows it’s such a risk to play a gay character.”

“Brokeback” has won major craft guild awards from Hollywood producers and directors and a victory at SAG for best ensemble cast — the top award given by actors — would have made it virtually unbeatable at the Academy Awards.

Not everyone is comfortable with the film, whose theme is a forbidden romance between two cowboys.

President George W. Bush ducked a question last week on whether he planned to see the film, and no movie whose theme is a gay romance has won a best-picture Oscar, the symbol of mainstream success.

Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday.

Up until last week when I saw the U.S. Nationals for the first time, I’d never heard of Johnny Weir, in fact, until I saw Johnny Weir I never took much interest in the male skaters. Yes, the men have always technically been better than the women, but the women were always more artistic. But Johnny is truly a dramatic skater. His programs have stories, and emotions. I love watching him skate. It doesn’t hurt that he always has fabulous outfits.

Any dumbfuck with a tiddly-wink gadar can tell Johnny’s a homo, but c’mon, it’s figure skating. Aren’t they all? Or just read his favorites on his official site. It exposes it all. But gay or straight, I’m one of Johnny’s newest fans.

Here’s to hoping he wins the Olympics.

Height: 5′9″
Born: July 2, 1984
Hometown: Coatesville, PA
Resides: Newark, DE
Sport: Figure Skating

The Short List

* 2004, 2005, and 2006 U.S. National Champion
* In 2004, ISU Grand Prix overall champion, the Trophee Eric Bompard Cachemire, NHK Trophy; Cup of Russia silver medalist
* 2001 World Junior Champion

Did You Know?

* Began skating at the age of 12 after watching figure skating on television
* His childhood hero was Oksana Baiul
* He eats ice cream before competing
* Studying linguistics and fashion design at the University of Delaware
* Credits Christina Aguilera’s “Stripped” as a major inspiration for his artistic development and wears a silver “D” necklace, which stands for dirty…getting down and dirty on the ice
* Favorite musical artists include Justin Timberlake, Usher, Christina Aguilera and Maroon5
* Collects sunglasses, pop memorabilia and French lithographs
* His nickname is “J We” and has a brother named Brian
* Hobbies include trampolining, diving and skiing
* Johnny never tells anyone his middle name because he doesn’t like it

It’s Every Day

An active youngster, Weir tried soccer, baseball, and equestrian before finally settling on skating and dedicating himself to the sport.

At the age of twenty-one, Johnny Weir has already experienced more intense competition and international exposure than most athletes his age dream of.

The personal highs of goal achievement and stunning results of a quiet confidence push this young skater from Delaware to be the best athlete he can be.

Late Jump, Natural Talent

Weir got a late jump on skating, starting at age 12. An active youngster, Weir tried soccer, baseball, skiing and riding before finally settling on skating and dedicating himself to the sport.

It was while Weir was still riding and showing horses that he first became interested in figure skating after watching it on television. He loved watching the sport and tried out the jumps himself, on roller skates in his family’s basement.

Weir’s first venture onto the ice occurred one harsh winter when the corn field behind his house froze over. Weir was thrilled to receive a second-hand pair of skates for Christmas, and to his parents’ amusement, he used them to skate in between the frozen corn stalks! That convinced them to let him take group lessons at the University of Delaware.

At the end of his first lesson, Weir was supposed to practice stroking with his group, but he decided to try jumping instead. He had gotten pretty good in his family’s basement, but the slippery ice was a different matter! Nevertheless, Weir’s quicker-than-average progress soon became evident, and after only three lessons, his instructor approached his mother to let her know that her son showed promise and might benefit from private instruction.

The decision to choose between horseback riding and private skating lessons was a difficult one for Johnny, who had experienced much success on the equestrian circuit, but ultimately, he chose skating.

Destiny Unfolds

In his first year of skating, Weir tested up to the juvenile division and made the Junior Olympics in both freestyle and pairs (with Jodi Rudden). Weir and Rudden moved up to intermediate pairs, qualifying a second year for the Junior Olympics, but the following season, Weir gave up pairs and began concentrating on his singles skills.

Skipping intermediate freestyle, Weir moved up to the novice division and experienced immediate success — a bronze medal at the 1998 U.S. Championships in Philadelphia.

Moving up to the junior division in 1999, Weir finished fourth at the U.S. Championships in Salt Lake City and went on to compete at two Junior Grand Prix events the following season, finishing second and seventh in his series debut.

At the 2000 U.S. Championships in Cleveland, Weir placed first in the short program, but struggled in the freeskate to finish fifth overall.

The following summer, Weir set his sights on the senior freestyle test and passed it. His senior-level debut at the 2001 U.S. Championships in Boston was a successful one in which he placed sixth overall.
Internationally, Weir still competed as a junior in 2000-2001, placing 6th and 2nd in his two Junior Grand Prix events.

Champion At Last

On March 1, 2001, Weir won the World Junior Championship, capping off a wonderful year of skating.

The following season, Weir began competing both nationally and internationally at the senior level, placing 10th at the 2001 Goodwill Games, seventh at Skate Canada, and fourth at Trophée Lalique.

At the 2002 U.S. Championships in Los Angeles, Weir improved his placement from the previous year, finishing fourth in the short program and fifth overall. He was named as an alternate to the World Championship and Olympic teams that year, and went on to compete at the Four Continents Championships, another senior international event. Weir narrowly missed the podium at that event, finishing fourth.

Lessons Learned

The 2002-2003 season was a difficult one for Weir. After having to withdraw from both of his Grand Prix events due to illness, he looked forward to the 2003 U.S. Championships in Dallas as a chance to prove himself. He seemed to be on his way to doing just that with a stunning 2nd place finish in the short program, but a knee injury during his free skate forced him to withdraw from the event. Despite this disappointment, Weir remained optimistic about his skating. He knew what he needed to do to make things happen in his career.

Weir answered his critics in the 2003-2004 season. On January 10, 2004, he won his first U.S. National Championship in Atlanta with two amazing performances. He went on to place an impressive 5th at his first World Championships in Dortmund, Germany.

The 2004-2005 Grand Prix season was a spectacular one for Weir. He followed his fall achievements by successfully defending his U.S. National title in Portland, Oregon in early January. He had high hopes for the 2005 World Championships in Moscow, Russia, but an untimely foot injury hampered those plans, and he finished 4th. Still, he’s proud of the fact that he was able to fight through the pain

An injury suffered during the free skate at Skate Canada marred the start of the 2005-2006 season. Johnny recovered nicely for the Cup of Russia, though, and won the bronze medal behind World Champions Evgeny Plushenko and Stephane Lambiel. He is looking forward to defending his title at the 2006 National Championships.

Bright Future

Only time will tell what the future holds for Johnny Weir. His long term goals include being an Olympic and World Champion, and someday being a coach. He has achieved so much in such a short period of time that this is a very exciting time for him. At the same time, it can be very intimidating, but Johnny is a very intense and focused young man. He truly knows what he wants to do with his life, and he knows what he has to do to achieve those goals.

James Frey, the disgraced author of “A Million Little Pieces,” has a hard luck story he doesn’t want to share: He will not write a book about the unraveling of his admittedly tainted million-selling memoir of addiction and recovery.

“I think writing a book about this experience would be trying to capitalize on it in some way and that’s not something I want to do at all,” Frey said in a segment on Oprah Winfrey’s syndicated talk show that was taped, but not immediately aired, after Thursday’s explosive program when Winfrey turned against the author whose book she endorsed last fall.

Frey’s comments were part of “Oprah After the Show,” a conversation featuring Frey, Winfrey and publisher Nan A. Talese to be broadcast Friday night on the Oxygen network, a cable channel Winfrey helped found.

Despite Frey’s on-air humiliation, when Winfrey berated him and the author acknowledged that key parts of the books were invented, “A Million Little Pieces” kept on selling. On Friday, it was in the top 5 on both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

Meanwhile, publishers and agents agreed that tighter scrutiny was needed after Talese acknowledged what the industry knows well but perhaps not the general public: Memoirs are not fact-checked.

Despite calls from Winfrey and others to tighten standards, many doubt publishers will hire fact checkers.

“Publishing companies run on pretty tight budgets and there’s just not enough time to check every book,” said Viking associate publisher Paul Slovak. “But it is possible that somebody might look at these books with a slightly more alert eye.”

Yesterday, Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, and the divine Anne Hathaway appeared on the Oprah show to promote the 50 million dollar indie hit Brokeback Mountain. They talked about the kiss, Heath and Michelle’s baby, the groundbreaking movie and its Oscar possibilities. Heath also made some dirty jokes, and Anne kind of insulted Oprah, but it was all in good fun. Here is their appearance on the Oprah show. Enjoy.

Have I ever told you all how much I love Natalie Portman? She’s fucking amazing and I haven’t seen a single movie of hers that I haven’t liked. Well…except the Star Wars shit but I’ll forgive her for that.

Her new movie V For Vendetta looks so awesome–she even went bald for it–so hopefully it’s the shit. Here’s a little of what you can expect from Natalie on March 17.

Michelle Kwan will get another chance to fill the gap in a remarkable career record missing only an Olympic gold medal.

The five-time world champion, injured most of this season, convinced five U.S. Figure Skating Association officials Friday she is in good enough competitive shape to keep the 2006 Olympic team spot provisionally awarded her two weeks ago.

Kwan, who has not skated in an Olympic-style competition since finishing fourth at the world championships in March, performed her entire short and long programs and then assorted segments of them for a monitoring panel at the EastWest Ice Palace, the rink her father built and owns in the Los Angeles suburb of Artesia.

“Just like practice,” Kwan said as she entered the rink.

Under USFSA rules, Kwan was able to petition for one of the three women’s singles spots on the Olympic team even though her most recent ailment, a groin injury, kept her from trying for a 10th title at the U.S. championships in St. Louis. Only the new national champion, Sasha Cohen, was guaranteed a trip to the Winter Games in Turin, Italy, where the women’s skating event is Feb. 21 and Feb. 23.

The USFSA international committee gave the second spot to national runner-up Kimmie Meissner and, by a 20-3 vote, accepted Kwan’s petition pending the results of the monitoring session that began Friday morning. Emily Hughes, the third finisher at nationals, was named alternate.

The monitors included four judges, one of whom also is the international committee chair, and an athlete representative, Brittney McConn Bottoms. Bottoms, now a coach, twice finished seventh behind a victorious Kwan at the national meet.

Three senior U.S. Olympic Committee officials and the USFSA’s top two officials, Chief Executive Officer David Raith and President Ron Hershberger, also watched Kwan skate for a total of about an hour. She took less than a five-minute break between skating the two programs, which last 4 minutes and 2 minutes 50 seconds, respectively.

Kwan landed four clean triple jumps in her long program but fell on a double axel jump in the short program. In a teleconference two weeks ago, Kwan said she was unlikely to practice the double axel frequently as it caused the most pain in her groin.

“It’s truly the opinion of this monitoring team Michelle could win the Olympics,” said Bob Horen, head of the international committee. “She is definitely qualified to win a medal.”

Acting on a suggestion made by the Tribune, the USFSA allowed two reporters to observe the monitoring session. The reporters were later to share their impressions with other media members.

Kwan, 25, won an Olympic silver medal in 1998 and a bronze in 2002. She has competed rarely since the last Olympics and in 2005 failed to win a medal at the annual world meet for the first time in a decade.

She pulled out of two scheduled Grand Prix competitions this season because of a hip injury sustained in late September and then injured her groin in mid-December. After being awarded the provisional Olympic spot, Kwan said she would pull herself from the team if she were not 100 percent.

Here is video from Oprah’s live show that aired today. James Frey appeared to finally come clean about embellishing almost all the “facts” in his “memoir” New York Times Bestseller “A Million Little Pieces“. Oprah was PISSED.

The first video you can just press play. The second is a link–it’ll open up a new window and play a different clip from the show I found on ABC News.com

Click Here To Watch The ABC News Clip

While at the Sundance film festival in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 21, Jennifer Aniston chatted with reporters at a press conference for her film Friends With Money, slated for a wider release on April 7.

Q: In Friends With Money, you play a pot-smoking maid who has very rich friends. What’s the worst temptation of money?

A: The worst temptation of money is to keep it all — to hoard it. Money can make you super greedy. I think that is a temptation that you have to consciously decide to try to avoid.

Q: Your character cleans houses and cleans toilets. Do you clean your toilet, Jennifer? Do you like any house chores?

A: I do. I clean my toil… well I make my bed every day and I clean my kitchen. Of course. I have a housekeeper.

Q: Do you urinate? [laughs]

A: I still do that, too. I know that may shock you. But I still do. Yes, I do.

Q: Have you ever worked in the service industry, Jennifer?

A: I was a waitress for many, many years and I loved it. I worked at an advertising agency, I was a bike messenger, a receptionist. I worked in a day care center, I served ice cream. I just loved working with people. I liked helping people. I wasn’t a very good waitress but I really enjoyed it. I dropped things and I got orders wrong and I spilled stuff on people. But they were OK with it. Only once did I have someone really take my head off and yell at me. I didn’t really have that much confidence that I was going to really make it as an actor.

Q: Your character seemed similar to the one you played in The Good Girl because she was down and dressed. Did you feel that similarity?

A: No. It’s an unglamorous more ordinary girl role and that was just it as well. She was a little bit stuck and didn’t have a lot of self esteem. There was a similarity.

Q: Why are you attracted to such a downtrodden character such as Olivia?

A: I think that’s how I actually see myself, quite honestly. It’s part of me. It’s absolutely a part of me. I’m from there. I’ve had moments of insecurity in my life. I’ve had moments of low self esteem. I think it’s something that’s universal that everyone feels. Just because you get put on top of a wedding cake, which is not your choice, or you’ve been given this image doesn’t mean it’s who you are or what you believe. There’s a part of me that does feel like that person on top of the wedding cake sometimes. I love my character of Olivia. When you get older you definitely find peace with yourself. You get to place where it’s like…. Shirley McLaine for instance. I wish we could get to a place where she is right now. She’s just like, “Oh, fuck it!”

Q: In one scene your lover, played by Scott Caan, makes you dress up in a French maid’s outfit, before you have sex. What was that like to wear?

A: I hated it. It was awful. To put that thing on? It was itchy and cheap and terrible. The boys on set got a kick out of it, though.

Q: How has it been to watch this film with an audience?

A: We saw it together, the female cast together. We felt a lot more like we could express ourselves. We talked through it and laughed.

Q: Jen, what’s the difference between making an independent film and a big Hollywood film for you? Which do you prefer?

A: There are a lot of differences, like the money. [laughs] Independent films feel more like camp. It goes so fast and is so much more enjoyable because you don’t lull. You get to keep acting. You don’t waste time. Not that it’s a waste of time doing bigger films because bigger movies need more extensive lighting and lenses and stuff. But this stuff I really enjoy it. It’s 24 days.

Q: We understand you shot a lot of the film at the director, Nicole Holofcener’s house? What was that like?

A: Yeah, our dressing room was her Mom’s bathroom. [laughs] I loved it. We were changing in the same room where the grips had all their equipment. They would leave when we had to go in. You would do so many changes in a day. I like that speed because you are focusing on the work, which doesn’t always get to happen — unless you are doing theater or something. But I love them both. It’s like saying which do you prefer LA or NY? I like New York! [laughs]

Q: No matter how many roles you do, you will still always be remembered as Rachel in Friends. Is it difficult for you to break away from that character and get parts like these? Is it tough to convince audiences you are not Rachel anymore?

A: That will take as long as it takes. I mean unfortunately there are Friends reruns all over the place. But I love it. That character gave me my career so we thankfully have enough directors who don’t give a shit. My fame didn’t get in the way on this project.

Q: Was there a point where casting directors were only seeing you in that role of Rachel? That they couldn’t get past it?

A: Oh sure. Those who are shortsighted, sure. Is that bad to say?

Q: How did you relate to your maid character of Olivia? You are so famous and wealthy. Can you really relate to not having money?

A: I was out of work for a while. Absolutely. We have all been there at some point. I really still feel very connected to Olivia — still. When you don’t have it, you are really thrilled with $500 a week for waitressing. It’s all relative. And then when you start to make money and you see how much money you can have, then you live within your means. I was never unhappy about where I was but I definitely never had as much as the other person.

Q: Do you have any cost-cutting secrets, like your character that goes from store to store collecting samples of moisturizer and beauty products?

A: I did that, sure. I still do it! [laughs] I love samples. Everyone loves a good bargain. I love a good bargain!

Q: Do you have friends with no money and how do you handle that? Do you pay for them? Do you feel bad about that?

A: No. I love it. I have a girlfriend who this character is based on. She is younger than all of us and hasn’t hit it yet. She doesn’t really know what she wants to do. She doesn’t have a partner. But she’s not unhappy.

Q: Has money changed any of your relationships?

A: My friends are all still the same since I moved here. There are some that are no longer my friends and it’s not because of money or anything. I didn’t change but people around me did. I think they became more uncomfortable. Does that make any sense?

Q: Does fame or celebrity affect relationships more than money?

A: I think so. I think it’s a combination a little. I’m not sure what it is. I just am who I am. It’s not my job to take care of their discomfort.

Q: How do you feel about the label chick flick?

A: I hate it. It’s really stupid. But I like the chick lift [on the slopes] when we all ride on the same lift.

Q: Jennifer, is there a pressure on you to maintain how you look?

A: You don’t hit some level and coast. I take care of myself first and foremost. And there’s times when I don’t take as good a care of myself and times when I do, you know. But it just feels to be healthy and with that comes physical exercise and staying in shape, you feel better.

Q: What does being here at Sundance and a part of the festival mean to you?

A: I get to play a character like Olivia. I wouldn’t normally be seen in that light. You have more of a freedom to shed your baggage and image and all of that and act. Its very few people that believe enough in you to look past that and believe in you and say I trust you as an actor, I know there’s more there. It would be awful to be stuck in a box in an aisle on a shelf. It’s freedom for me as an actor.

Click Here To Watch The Trailer For Friends With Money Which Hits Theatres On April 7.

Actress Angela Bassett is expecting twins through a surrogate mother this spring (06).

The 47-year-old star has been married to Law & Order: Criminal Intent actor Courtney B. Vance for nine years.

Actress Halle Berry is among the couple’s friends hosting a baby shower at the swanky Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles this weekend (ends29JAN06).