78th Academy Awards

The 78th Academy Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled one week later than usual to avoid a clash with the 2006 Winter Olympics. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories honoring films released in 2005. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actor Jon Stewart hosted the show for the first time. Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California held on February 18, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Rachel McAdams. Crash won three awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Brokeback Mountain, King Kong, and Memoirs of a Geisha with three awards and Capote, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Constant Gardener, Hustle & Flow, March of the Penguins, The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation, A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin, Six Shooter, Syriana, Tsotsi, Walk the Line, and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit with one. The telecast garnered nearly 39 million viewers in the United States. Winners and nominees The nominees for the 78th Academy Awards were announced on January 31, 2006, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in the Academy's Beverly Hills headquarters by Sid Ganis, president of the Academy, and actress Mira Sorvino. Brokeback Mountain earned the most nominations with eight total; Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck, and Memoirs of a Geisha tied for second with six nominations each. All five Best Picture nominees received corresponding Best Director nominations (the fourth occurrence in Oscar history since the Best Picture nominees roster was limited to five films). The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 5, 2006. Several notable achievements by multiple individuals and films occurred during the ceremony. Crash was the first Best Picture winner since 1976's Rocky to win only three Oscars. Best Director winner Ang Lee became the first non-Caucasian winner of that category. For this first time since the 34th ceremony held in 1962, all four acting winners were first-time nominees.