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”