Ang Lee's upcoming film "Brokeback Mountain" about two young cowboys (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) who tumble into love while herding sheep through the Wyoming mountain range during the early '60s, was excluded from the Cannes screening schedule altogether reports After Elton.

Given Ang Lee's track history, the elimination from the running at Cannes is of note, especially since the contenders this year are helmed by indie cinema darlings like Lars Von Trier, David Cronenberg, Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, and Gus Van Sant (who was originally slotted to direct Brokeback). However, Cannes has also never accepted a film of Lee's for competition, and reportedly don't particularly like him. So the film's rejection from the lineup may have nothing to do with the movie itself, rather with who's directing it.

Why the project didn't measure up at Cannes remains unknown, though the trades reported two weeks earlier that "Brokeback Mountain" was "looking wobbly for Competition," and confided that the film reportedly "underwhelmed the selection committee."

This comes at odds with other recent reports that many studio executives were "moved to tears" at a recent screening of it. "It's a great American love story," says a source to the paper who confirmed it is unabashed about the gay relationship that is central to the film and there are sex scenes. Whether the famous Heath Ledger skinny dipping photos that surfaced last year were part of the film is unsure though they won't be in the movie's final edit.

One of my most reliable sources who also happens to be one of Dark Horizons' greatest supporters (and a really good friend) also confirmed that people were crying and loving the film at a recent US screening. In fact the move to December 9th seems primarily for Oscar chances and that both "Brokeback" and Cameron Crowe's "Elizabethtown" are looking likely to be big contenders for awards next year.

Thanks to 'World's Greatest Mother'