Ang Lee's Gay Cowboy Film Likely to Upset Conservative US

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee's lates movie is up for the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, where it has been unveiled.

Brokeback Mountain, the story of cowboys in love was adapted from a short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author E Annie Proulx, which appeared in The New Yorker in 1997.

Originally optioned by Columbia Pictures, the film version was to be directed by Gus van Sant. However, difficulties with a script and casting concerns due to its subject matter forced the project into turnaround. Eventually picked up by Good Machine and folded into Focus Features umbrella, the project was resurrected with the interest of director Ang Lee ('The Ice Storm', 'Sense and Sensibility', 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon').

The movie, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, which talks about the relationship between a ranch hand and rodeo cowboy, who fall in love, have sex, and then return to their normal lives, when eventually both marry, but only to meet again after four years and rekindle their affair, could mean the smashing of Hollywood's last taboo.

The Calgary Gay Rodeo Association advised and consulted the production.

Ang Lee said he had to fight "the more conventional western", which gave a false idea of the west, and imposed a certain masculine image.