US Scripters Nominations (Gloriously) Add to the Adapted Screenplay Confusion
Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at 6:41PM by Nathaniel R
Lost City of Z finally makes a precursor markOne of the funniest developments this awards season is how weirdly empty the Adapted Screenplay became in the wake of so many top contenders being "originals". The balance is way off. Even the 'true' stories, the ones adapted from history or people's lives this year were mostly originals (Some have argued in the past should be considered for the Adapted category since they're not originating the stories and characters... though we've never come to a definitive conclusion as to whether or not we agree).
Today the US Scripters chaired by USC professor and past president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, and a selection committee chose the nominees from a field of 91 film and 28 television adaptations. Because of a three way tie in voting they have SEVEN film nominees this year. Which is hilarious since most people though the category "weak" in terms of Oscar candidates. In spreading their net so wide they've done little to clear up the confusion as to which five films will receive Oscar nominations. More after the jump...
FILM
(Scripters is unique in that they honor both the original author and the adapting team)
- Call Me By Your Name Screenwriter James Ivory and Author André Aciman
- The Disaster Artist Screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and authors Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell for their nonfiction book “The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside ‘The Room,’ the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made”
- Logan Screenwriters Scott Frank, Michael Green, and James Mangold, and authors Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and John Romita, Sr.
- The Lost City of Z Screenwriter James Gray and author David Grann
- Molly's Game Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and author Molly Bloom
- Mudbound Screenwriters Virgil Williams and Dee Rees, and author Hillary Jordan
- Wonder Woman Screenwriter Allan Heinberg and author William Moulton Marston
Though the Oscar nominations might feature 5 from this list (the WGA nods were very similar -- everything on this list except for Wonder Woman and Lost City of Z). There are still other adaptations that could still theoretically surprise if voting is truly as all over the place as it seems to be in the absence of ANY films that are considered theoretically having a shot of winning Best Picture. Other potential candidates include the likes of Wonder (it is a huge and fairly well respected sleeper hit based on a bestselling novel), the beautifully shot sci-fi epic Blade Runner 2049, Sofia Coppola's polarizing The Beguiled, the historical culture clash dramedy Victoria and Abdul, the tragic romance Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (BAFTA nominated in this category!), the beautifully curated Wonderstruck, or the inspirational drama of Stronger.
It's tough to imagine Oscar choosing TWO superhero films in this category since they've never honored the genre in writing categories but here we have BOTH Logan and Wonder Woman as legit contenders. It's feeling like Call Me By Your Name (due to brilliance and James Ivory's pedigree) is locked for a nominaion and Mudbound (due to general respect) and Molly's Game (due to recency) are probably safe. But the other two slots. Hmmm. It feels like almost anything could happen on Oscar nomination morning in this category including one surprise from the "we didn't think that was in the running" column.
TELEVISION
footage from Mindhunter OR footage of pundits trying to predict Adapted Screenplay Oscar nominations?
- Alias Grace Sarah Polley and author Margaret Atwood for “Alias Grace”
- Big Little Lies David E. Kelley, for the episode “You Get What You Need” and author Liane Moriarty
- Genius Noah Pink and Ken Biller for the episode “Einstein: Chapter One” and author Walter Isaacson for his book “Einstein: His Life and Word”
- The Handmaid's Tale Bruce Miller for the episode “Offred” and author Margaret Atwood=
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Peter Landesman, George C. Wolfe, and Alexander Woo for the television film and author Rebecca Skloot
- Mindhunter Joe Penhall and Jennifer Haley for “Episode 10” and authors John Douglas and Mark Olshaker for their nonfiction book “Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit”
Reader Comments (10)
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I think The Disaster Artist is in. It's got so many precursors and the pack after the top 3 (CMBYN, Mudbound and Molly) is so thin that anything with some support behind it will break in. Beyond that, it's going to be exciting. I'd be very surprised to see either of the superhero films get in. And I just can't see Lost City Of Z getting in either - too small and not "scripty" enough.
Comments are back baby!!!!!
Nat: I'd actually argue that True Story scripts have their own energy and implications that, whether you're working from a specific novel or your own original research, the result is effectively the same and should have a third category of their own:
Original Fictional Screenplay
Adapted Fictional Screenplay
True Story Screenplay
What would that look like this year? I'd guess:
Original:
Three Billboards
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Adapted:
Call Me By Your Name
Mudbound
Logan
Wonder Woman
Wonder or The Beguiled
True Story:
Molly's Game
The Disaster Artist
The Post
The Big Sick
I, Tonya
I'm wondering if the allegations of sexual harassment by James Franco might hurt Disaster Artist's chances here. We shall soon find out.
FINALLY, some recognition for THE LOST CITY OF Z. I'm still holding out hope for it to pull off a miracle nomination (or two, Cinematography is just divine) next Tuesday.
LOGAN is great.
I'd love for James Ivory to get that elusive Oscar even though I don't see anything special in CMBYN.
Is Mudbound safe? We still don't know how well Netflix will do with the Academy.
Jija - Ivory made a lot of really good choices in how to adapt the novel while still maintaining its essence. I can see why it's leading the category here.
Why are these awards so rarely about the actual script? Like, the written word itself. Ivory's script for CMBYN is actually pretty clunky, and it is the TRANSLATION of it, by the director and co., and one supposes, Ivory at some point agreeing on the changes, etc., that is recognized and noticed. But that's not the script: that's the movie it becomes.
I feel like more often than not, these awards just go that middle process and not the words themselves. As an English teacher, this peeves me. lol
NOT knocking CMBYN at all, but the script is definitely not all that as far as presentation and actual, well, scripting goes. It's been receiving the praise for Chalamet and the direction/translation of it. And as for all the great dialogue people are loving: it's straight from Aciman's book.
Again, just odd. Of these, The Lost City of Z and Logan are the ones I'm rooting for. Absolutely killer scripts (and translations of them!).
It baffles me that FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER never seemed to attempt a play in this category. It's like they just gave up, despite it being a well-liked movie by Angelina freakin' Jolie.
And so lovely to see you get the praise you so deserve Nathaniel! Such a good vidmate listen.