by Nathaniel R
After Visual Effects and Makeup and Animated and Documentary Features let's turn out attention to the written word seeking Oscar approval. The critics awards for Best Screenplays are never very telling because many film critic organizations lump Adapted and Originals together. The only films in the Oscar race that have already won Best Screenplay prizes this year (at this writing) are the originals Promising Young Woman (LAFCA) and Never Rarely Sometimes Always (NYFCC and CFCA) and the adaptation that feels like an original i'm thinking of ending things (BSFC, FFCC, and IFJA). (The various screenplay winners from Cannes, Venice, Sundance and Berlinale are not eligible at the Oscars this year.) That's a long way of saying that we have very little to go on in the Oscar race...
Like most branches of the Academy, the writers branch can have trouble differentiating the written word from which movies they love, so Best Picture contenders always have a strong shot at writing nominations. That said, the writing branch can sometimes prove more adventurous than other branches, particularly in regards to original screenplays. Therefore Promising Young Woman, despite being a challenging multi-genre picture whose best shot is clearly in Best Actress, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always despite being a low budget indie have reason to be hopeful. Oscar voters have previously shown lots of love for Charlie Kaufman so even if he is the absolutely wrong director for his own often-brilliant scripts (in this writer's opinion, it should go without saying) the screenplay to I'm thinking of ending things could well score a nomination even if the divisive movie shows up exactly nowhere else. But what else will Oscar go for?
Which films do you think Oscar will like? How would you change these charts if you were making them?