Annie Proulx says she wishes she’d never written the short story that inspired Brokeback Mountain. Ang Lee’s 2005 adaptation of the romance, which was originally published in The New Yorker in 1997, was met with universal acclaim upon release, earning three wins at the 78th Academy Awards.
It is often regarded as one of the best LGBTQ+ films of all time, and is credited as the turning point for the acceleration of more authentic queer cinema into the mainstream.
Despite its success, Proulx recently admitted in an interview with the Paris Review that “it’s just been the cause of hassle and problems and irritation”. “I wish I’d never written the story.