Best Picture: Crash
Crash also won Academy Awards for Film Editing (Hughes Winborne) and Writing – Original Screenplay (Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco).
March of the Penguins, which had become one of the most popular non-fiction films ever released in American theaters, was named Best Documentary Feature.
This was the second year in a row that the Best Picture winner had a screenplay written by Paul Haggis.
All four winners in the acting categories were first-time nominees. Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote. Reese Witherspoon was named Best Actress for her portrayal of country-western singer June Carter in Walk the Line. George Clooney took home the Best Supporting Actor for Syriana, and Rachel Weisz won Best Supporting Actress for The Constant Gardener.
Jon Stewart was the host.
It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp from Hustle & Flow won the Original Song category, with its music and lyrics by members of the rap group Three 6 Mafia. Host Jon Stewart quipped after the win, Martin Scorsese: 0, Three 6 Mafia: 1.
John Williams received his 44th and 45th nominations and became the second-most-nominated individual in Academy Awards history (second only to Walt Disney, who received 59 nominations).
Honorary Award
To Robert Altman in recognition of a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form and inspired filmmakers and audiences alike.