70 Fun Facts About Brokeback Mountain

Who directed Brokeback Mountain?

He had considered retirement in 2003 after two exhausting productions; the script tempted him back and won him his first Best Director Oscar.

The film is adapted from a 1997 short story by which author?

She won the Pulitzer for The Shipping News and later wrote the libretto for the Brokeback opera herself.

In which magazine was the short story first published, in October 1997?

It won the National Magazine Award for Fiction in 1998; the two-paragraph prologue was accidentally left out of the magazine version.

The story was later collected in which 1999 Pulitzer-finalist book?

The collection version is slightly expanded from the magazine text; the other two titles are Proulx's later Wyoming collections and her memoir.

Which actor plays Ennis Del Mar, the more closed-off of the two men?

He wanted Ennis from the start, finding the closed-off, homophobic character more complex than Jack, and learned Wyoming and Texas accents for it.

Who plays Jack's wife Lureen, the rodeo rider turned businesswoman?

She auditioned in a ball gown and hairpiece on a lunch break from another film and took two months of riding lessons after being cast.

Who plays Ennis's wife Alma?

She was one of the first to audition and earned her first Oscar nomination; she and Ledger became a couple and had a daughter, Matilda.

In what year does the story open, with the two men hired for a summer on the mountain?

The film follows them across two decades, ending in the early 1980s with Ennis alone in a trailer.

What animals are Ennis and Jack hired to herd on the mountain?

The province's environmental department initially refused to let the crew bring the animals into the Rockies, then insisted they be trucked in and out every day under a biologist's eye.

What is the name of the rancher who hires the pair and later spies on them with binoculars?

He refuses to rehire Jack the next summer because of what he saw through the glasses.

What are the names of Ennis's two daughters?

The grown Alma Jr. visits her father's trailer in the final scene to announce her engagement to an oil-field worker named Kurt.

Where does an upset Jack go to seek solace with male prostitutes after Ennis refuses to move?

The scene follows Alma and Ennis's 1975 divorce, which Jack had hoped would finally let them live together.

Alma remarries a man named Monroe. What does he manage?

Alma works there too; the Thanksgiving dinner at his house is where she finally confronts Ennis about Jack.

A postcard Ennis sends Jack comes back stamped with a single word. Which?

Ennis then phones and gets Lureen, who tells him the official story of how Jack died.

According to Lureen, how did Jack die?

As she talks, Ennis pictures something else entirely: men beating Jack to death.

Jack wanted his ashes scattered on the mountain. What does his father decide instead?

Jack's mother quietly lets Ennis into the old bedroom, where he finds the two shirts, and lets him keep them.

What are Ennis's last words in the film, spoken to the shirts and postcard in his closet?

The postcard tacked to the closet door shows the mountain; Alma Jr.'s forgotten jacket goes into the closet with the shirts.

Which Roger Miller hit does Jack sing along with on the radio while driving to see Ennis?

The soundtrack album swaps Miller's original for a version by Teddy Thompson and Rufus Wainwright.

Which Willie Nelson recording plays over the end credits?

Jack plays a harmonica riff of the same tune twice on the mountain; Rufus Wainwright's "The Maker Makes" follows it in the credits.

Which pair wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay?

Ossana found the story days after it ran in the magazine, convinced her writing partner it was a masterpiece, and they finished a script by early 1998.

Co-writer Larry McMurtry won a Pulitzer Prize for which novel?

All four became major screen adaptations; McMurtry also ran a bookstore in Archer City, Texas, stocking nearly half a million volumes.

Which Argentine musician composed the score?

He wrote the music before filming even began, working from the story and one conversation with the director, and played the guitar parts himself.

The composer won the Best Original Score Oscar again the very next year for which film?

He later scored The Last of Us games and its HBO adaptation, favouring the small Andean ronroco.

Which song from the film, sung by Emmylou Harris, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song?

It plays as Jack drives south toward the Mexican border; Bernie Taupin co-wrote lyrics for the film's new songs.

The film premiered at which festival, where it won the Golden Lion?

The director would win the same prize again two years later for Lust, Caution.

Brokeback Mountain famously lost the Best Picture Oscar to which film?

Roger Ebert defended the choice; supporters raised $26,000 for a Daily Variety ad, and in a 2015 Hollywood Reporter revote of Academy members Brokeback won.

How many Oscar nominations did the film receive, the most of any film that year?

Three other films tied for second place with six nominations each.

Which three Oscars did the film win?

Ledger, Gyllenhaal and Williams were all nominated for acting but went home empty-handed.

The film's Best Director Oscar was a milestone for the Academy in what way?

He repeated the feat for Life of Pi in 2013 and is one of only four filmmakers to win the Golden Lion twice.

Who hosted the 78th Academy Awards ceremony in March 2006?

It was his first time hosting; reviews were rough, and the telecast's 38.9 million viewers were down 8 percent on the year before.

Which award did Jake Gyllenhaal win for playing Jack Twist?

He was also Oscar-nominated; Gyllenhaal signed on partly because he didn't want to miss working with the director and his friend Ledger.

At 26, Ledger's Best Actor nomination made him the eighth-youngest nominee in that category. Where was he born?

He grew up around horses in Western Australia, which helped him settle into the ranch-hand role.

The story is set in Wyoming, but the film was shot almost entirely in which Canadian province?

The author gave the director a tour of the real Wyoming locations, but he chose the Canadian Rockies for financial reasons.

The film's composite mountain includes Mount Lougheed, just south of which Rockies town?

Fortress and Moose Mountain in Kananaskis Country make up the rest; campsites were shot at Goat Creek, Upper Kananaskis Lake and Elbow Falls.

What was the film's approximate production budget?

It grossed $178 million worldwide, still the biggest release in Focus Features' history.

Which director tried to make the film years earlier and hoped to cast Matt Damon and Joaquin Phoenix?

Damon told him he had done a gay movie and a cowboy movie and couldn't follow them with a gay-cowboy movie; the director went on to make Milk instead.

Which Spanish director was offered the film first but turned it down over artistic freedom?

Focus Features CEO James Schamus had optioned the rights in 2001 and thought the project was risky.

When first shown the script, the eventual director chose to make which comic-book film instead?

That film and Crouching Tiger left him so drained that he considered retiring in 2003 before the story tempted him back.

Which actor was originally attached but dropped out because of a scheduling clash with The Black Dahlia?

Mark Wahlberg also passed after meeting the director, saying the script 'creeped' him out.

The actress cast as Lureen auditioned during a lunch break from filming which sequel?

She turned up in a ball gown and hairpiece 'that was way over the top' and still convinced a doubtful director.

To land the part of Lureen, the actress lied to the director about her experience with what?

She then took lessons for two months before shooting began.

The first sex scene between Ennis and Jack took how many takes to satisfy the director?

The director kept his distance and said little beyond technical notes, which both actors said made the intimate scenes easier.

During a kissing scene, Ledger almost broke which part of his co-star's body?

The shoot was rough on the cast: Ledger hurt his hand punching a wall and Williams sprained a knee, so Alma was rewritten to mostly sit or stand.

Who was the film's cinematographer, chosen because he could 'shoot quickly' and give a tranquil look?

He went on to shoot for Scorsese on The Wolf of Wall Street, Silence, The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon.

The theatrical poster was modelled on which earlier film's poster of two star-crossed lovers?

Producer James Schamus chose the reference; critics later leaned on the same comparison, and GLAAD invoked Titanic's Jack when defending Jack Twist from a critic.

Which cast member sued Focus Features, claiming he was told it was a no-money art-house film?

His publicist said the studio settled; the studio denied it. He played the rancher with the binoculars.

Which NBA team owner pulled the film from his Salt Lake-area cinema, calling it 'dangerous'?

Focus Features threatened to sue and said it would never do business with him again.

Brokeback Mountain was the first major film released the same day on DVD and in what other form?

More than a million DVDs sold in the first week in April 2006, behind only Narnia and King Kong.

The two shirts from the closet scene sold on eBay for charity in 2006. The buyer compared them to what?

Collector Tom Gregory paid $101,100.51 and later lent them to the Autry museum in Los Angeles for its Out West series.

What did the word 'brokeback' come to mean in Chinese slang after the film?

The film was never shown in Chinese cinemas, though bootleg copies circulated freely; officials said the audience would have been too small.

Which was the only Arab country to screen the film, albeit in censored form?

The United Arab Emirates banned it from cinemas but let Blockbuster stores rent the DVD.

The story's author wrote the libretto for an opera of it herself. Where did it premiere in 2014?

Composer Charles Wuorinen approached her after seeing the film; the commission followed impresario Gerard Mortier from New York City Opera to the Teatro Real.

Which two actors played Jack and Ennis in the 2023 West End stage version at @sohoplace?

Ashley Robinson wrote the play, with songs by Dan Gillespie Sells of The Feeling.

In which year was the film added to the US National Film Registry?

The Writers Guild ranked its screenplay 13th among the 101 greatest of the 21st century so far.

Years later, the story's author said she wished she had never written it. Why?

She described 'ghastly manuscripts and pornish rewrites' in which Ennis finds a husky boyfriend or Jack turns out to be alive.

Which was one of the author's working titles for the story?

Others included 'The Pleasures of Whiskey Mountain', 'Swill-Swallow Mountain' and 'Drinkard Mountain'.

In the short story, Jack Twist grew up in which tiny Wyoming town up on the Montana border?

Ennis came from around Sage near the Utah line; the two were raised in opposite corners of the state.

What did the author say sparked the story?

She said it made her think about the life of a typical western ranch hand who might be gay.

Roughly how many years does the film's story span?

It runs from a summer of herding in the early 1960s to the early 1980s, by which time Ennis lives alone in a trailer.

Roughly how much did Brokeback Mountain gross worldwide?

Made for about $14 million, it remains the highest-grossing release for Focus Features.

Why did Alberta's environmental department initially block the crew from bringing sheep into the Rockies?

Permission came for one mountain only, on condition the flock was trucked in and out daily under a biologist's eye.

Which two painters inspired the white interior walls of Jack's parents' house?

Ang Lee shot the scene with two cameras from both angles so he could weight the reactions in the edit.

Which cast member sprained her knee early in filming, so her character was kept sitting or standing?

Ledger also hurt his hand punching a wall for a scene during the accident-prone shoot.

What did the American Humane association learn about an elk that appeared to be killed on cue?

That still violated standard industry guidelines for animal handling.

How did executive producer Michael Hausman house the cast and crew on location?

He deliberately created a summer-camp atmosphere with fireside cooking and fishing on the creek.

Roger Ebert compared the film's observant quality to the work of which Swedish director?

Ebert awarded the film four stars out of four.

Which Today Show critic apologised after calling Jack Twist a 'sexual predator'?

GLAAD said it was like calling Jack in Titanic a predator for pursuing Rose; Shalit's own gay son defended him.

Where did Brokeback Mountain rank on The New York Times' 2025 list of the 100 best films of the 21st century?

A 2016 BBC poll had it 40th since 2000, and The Guardian placed it 66th in 2019.

How many visual-effects shots did Buzz Image Group create for the film, including CG clouds and sheep?

The work ran from September to December 2004; editor Dylan Tichenor finished the cut after Geraldine Peroni's death.

In which city did the film first open in the UK, in a single cinema on 30 December 2005?

In Hong Kong the film opened at number one; Ang Lee's native Taiwan got it on 20 January 2006.