78th Academy Awards · 2006
Crash
Directed by Paul Haggis
“Moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other.”
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The story
In post-Sept. 11 Los Angeles, tensions erupt when the lives of a Brentwood housewife, her district attorney husband, a Persian shopkeeper, two cops, a pair of carjackers and a Korean couple converge during a 36-hour period.
What critics & audiences say
Tomatometer73%Fresh#91 of 98 winnersIMDb7.7465K votes#54 of 98 winners
Metacritic66/ 100#90 of 93 winners
TMDB7.2/ 10
Famous lines
In L.A, nobody touches you. We’re always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other just so we can feel something.
Officer Ryan: I wanna speak to your supervisor...
Shaniqua: I am my supervisor!
Jean: Do you want to hear something funny?
Maria: What's that, Mrs. Jean?
Jean: You're the best friend I've got.
Do I look like I want to be on The Discovery Channel?
You don't like me, that's fine. I'm a prick. But my father doesn't deserve to suffer like this.
Your father sounds like a good man. And if he'd come in here today, I probably would've approved this request. But he didn't come in. You did.
The closest you ever came to being black, Cameron, was watching the Cosby Show.
I'm going to pin a medal on an Iraqi named Saddam. Give yourself a raise!
You expect me to pay for that kind of service?
Quotes via Wikiquote
Fun facts
- Paul Haggis was inspired to make Crash after his Porsche was carjacked outside a Blockbuster Video on Wilshire Boulevard in 1991, as he was driving home from the premiere of The Silence of the Lambs.Wikipedia · Development
- Paul Haggis had a heart attack while filming a scene, delaying production for a week, but he defied medical advice to hire a replacement director.Wikipedia · Filming
- To make up for the reduced budget, Paul Haggis took out three mortgages on his house, cut back on exterior shots and reused locations, while the principal cast agreed to pay cuts and deferred salaries.Wikipedia · Filming
- Crash beat the heavily favored Brokeback Mountain in one of the most notable upsets in Oscar history, and presenter Jack Nicholson was caught on camera mouthing "whoa" after announcing the winner.Wikipedia · Oscar controversy
- Heath Ledger and John Cusack were attached to play Officers Hansen and Ryan but dropped out after production delays, and Forest Whitaker was originally set for Terrence Howard's role. Ledger's exit cut the budget by $1 million.Wikipedia · Casting
- In 2015 Paul Haggis said of his own film's win: "Was [Crash] the best film of the year? I don't think so," adding that he would not have voted for it himself after seeing the artistry of the other nominees.Wikipedia · Oscar controversy
- Don Cheadle was the first actor cast and also came on as a producer, which helped attract other stars, and the final casting of Brendan Fraser as the district attorney was pivotal in getting the film green-lit.Wikipedia · Casting
- Crash grossed $53.4 million domestically, more than seven times its $6.5 million budget, yet it was the lowest-grossing domestic Best Picture winner since The Last Emperor in 1987.Wikipedia · Box office
- Film Comment ranked Crash first on its list of the "Worst Winners of Best Picture Oscars," and in 2009 Ta-Nehisi Coates named it "the worst film of the decade."Wikipedia · Oscar controversy
- Crash was spun off into a 13-episode Starz TV series in 2008, starring Dennis Hopper as a Los Angeles record producer.Wikipedia · Television series