http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-0414-crash-netflixapr14,0,6751674.story

'Crash' remains top DVD rental

Indie film has been top Netflix rental since 2005 release

"The Dark Knight" couldn't dethrone it.

Neither could Harry Potter, Indiana Jones or even Iron Man.

No, since its DVD debut in September 2005, "Crash" has remained Netflix's No. 1 rented movie—much to the delight and confusion of its director, Paul Haggis.

"I just assumed it was some sort of anomaly," Haggis told the Tribune recently. "I have no idea why anyone went to the movie in the first place, let alone rent it. It was a little independent film, and when people started to see it, I was amazed."

"Crash"—starring Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton and others in interconnected tales of class and race relations in Los Angeles—took home the best picture Oscar at the 2005 Academy Awards.

But "Crash's" reign at Netflix is no anomaly, says spokesman Steve Swasey, just hard numbers. More customers have put the movie in their queues and received it, on a weekly basis, than any other film. ( Carol Stream is home to one of Netflix's distribution hubs.)

"It's been out so long, it adds to the demand for people wanting to see it," Swasey said.

But does "Crash's" continued resonance provide any sort of vindication for Haggis? "Crash" was seen as the dark horse winner, the spoiler even, when it beat "Brokeback Mountain" for best picture.

Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan even wrote that "for people who were discomfited by 'Brokeback Mountain' but wanted to be able to look themselves in the mirror and feel like they were good, productive liberals, 'Crash' provided the perfect safe harbor."

In response, Haggis laughed at the passage and said, "Racism and class in America is so much safer than ..." then trailed off and ended with, "It's just ridiculous. People all have their opinions. People always have a favorite film, and whether it wins or loses, there's always a reason. You can like or dislike my film without comparing it to any other."

Clearly, "Crash" seems to have won the rental war. "More people have now seen 'Crash' on Netflix than in the theater," said Netflix's Swasey.

Haggis, whose credits include TV's "thirtysomething" and "L.A. Law," kind of likes that.

"It's a small movie. And I like to see small movies on a small screen. I'm a TV guy, so I'm much more comfortable watching something on a small screen, particularly movies I've made," Haggis said. "Other people's movies, I want to see on a big screen."

At Netflix competitor Blockbuster.com, no such data exist for its online rental program—although "Crash" did remain Blockbuster's top rental at stores for its first two weeks, dropping out of the top 10 exactly two months later.

"Much like our store-based business, you'll see that the top rentals for our online service are driven by the new release titles," Blockbuster spokesman Randy Hargrove said in an e-mail.

Netflix's Swasey attributed the difference in response to "Crash" at the two companies, in part, to his site's recommendation option, which allows the company's 10 million-plus subscribers to point friends to favorites among its 100,000 titles. Quite often, Swasey says, the top box office earners are not the top renters at Netflix because many of its members have already seen those movies in theaters.

"Obviously, you're trying to move people, and hopefully 'Crash' did," said Haggis, though he remains perplexed why "Crash" took home the top Oscar.

"It's certainly not a perfect movie," Haggis said. "I love the Oscars; I just think they are the best thing in the world, but if you asked me if it was the best film of the year, I'd say, 'Of course not.' "

"Crash's" Netflix reign hasn't changed his opinion of the film, he said.

"It doesn't make it any better of a film. I just know that these were things that were upsetting me, and I wanted to get them out," said Haggis. "I happened to like my second film ['In the Valley of Elah'] better than 'Crash,' but no one went to see it."

The title of this thread is a lie.

are you counting the end credits?