A 'Crash' of Values

There are zero degrees of separation between the Academy Awards and the Sierra Club. That's because Cathy Schulman, who accepted the Oscar for Best Picture "Crash" with co-producer Paul Haggis, is a Sierra Club member. Not only that, her husband Tim Allyn was the Sierra Club's Southern California wilderness organizer up until a year and a half ago.

I interviewed Schulman last year when she was the executive producer of Thumbsucker, which made a couple of references to the Sierra Club in its script. Also, Thumbsucker director Mike Mills, a Sierra Club life member, gave the Club prominent play on his film's website.

One final bit of synchronicity: Schulman arrived at the Academy Awards in a hybrid Mercury Mariner, a vehicle the Sierra Club unveiled with Ford in September.