Oscar Volley: Adapted Screenplay
Wednesday, December 28, 2022 at 12:30AM Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category in the lead up to the nominations. Here's Nathaniel and Chris to talk Adapted Screenplays
CHRIS: Hi Nathaniel! I’m looking forward to discussing the Adapted Screenplay race with you. Each year, it’s fun to size up which screenplay category is more competitive - Original or Adapted. This year, the scale is tipped much more in favor of the Original Screenplay race, which has a majority of the Best Picture hopefuls. By comparison, the Adapted Screenplay is much more open, which can lead to a more interesting set of nominations. The clear frontrunner is Women Talking. It’s a Best Picture hopeful that has a really clear script hook. The film takes place over the course of 24 hours, yet weaves the individual stories of its female ensemble into a stunning patchwork quilt of trauma. Yet, it does so with moments of levity and heart. After that, the only other Best Picture sure thing in contention is Top Gun: Maverick. As that movie becomes more of a threat to win the big prize, it feels like the blockbuster behemoth will take one of the five slots here. So what becomes of the final three slots?
It’s crazy that Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery only stayed in theaters for a week. The groundswell for the incredibly twisty and fun whodunnit will likely begin now that it's streaming on Netflix...
Once widely seen, it should have no trouble following in its predecessor’s footsteps and securing a screenplay nomination. The last two slots could go so many ways. Will coattails from Best Actor vehicles The Whale and Living help them crack the Adapted Screenplay race? Even with poor box office performance, can She Said factor back in the race, especially after the AFI Top 10 inclusion? Are we underestimating Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, which is delightful and Netflix is pushing hard.
NATHANIEL: Glass Onion reminds me that I am still somewhat uncomfortable with sequels being in this category, if the original was not Adapted. I get why but I just find it odd since Glass Onion has only one continuing character and everything else is new. But yes, it will be nominated here. Remember that Knives Out looked like it was a possible disruptor in the 2019 Oscar race but only managed one nomination (Original Screenplay). All of the films you mention feel possible, but i would argue that only Women Talking and Glass Onion are locks.
The "soft" field -- lots of contenders but not a lot of buzz -- will likely benefit Top Gun Maverick even though I'm not at all sure it would have managed a screenplay nomination in a more competitive year. Spectacle movies are sometimes easy to drop here (think Moulin Rouge, Titanic) not because they're never worthy but because people tend to think of them as primarily visual / sonic experiences. I'm not saying the screenplays don't affect visuals and sound. Plot, structure, dialogue, and characters are often viewed as belonging to the writers and in that descending order, too, since actors soak up a large degree of the praise for dialogue and characterizations based on their choices of interpretation.
That's overthinking this, sorry! Top Gun Maverick will easily be included. Only if the writer's branch were feeling like mavericks themselves, would they ignore the year's 800 lbs (airborn) gorilla. If they are feeling frisky and "i'll do my own thing" it's not inconceivable that votes will be all over the place and might also include stray pockets of supporting for Bones and All, Avatar The Way of Water, The Batman, A Man Called Otto, and All Quiet on the Western Front.
CHRIS: Overthinking Oscar predictions is a national past-time. I agree that in a more competitive year, Top Gun: Maverick would be an easy snub in this category. However, it's one of those "too big to ignore" contenders that just seems to be well liked across the board.
The writer's branch has often had that maverick spirit. There's usually at least one movie that gets a lone screenplay nomination and nothing else. So what will be this year's White Tiger or Molly's Game? If there were more vocal fans, I could see The Batman following in Logan's footsteps towards an Adapted Screenplay nomination. After all, they love Batman more than any other superhero. But right now I'm banking on Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio to sneak in since people will be watching it and Netflix has been pushing hard for it. However, All Quiet on the Western Front could quietly rack up a good number of nominations, including screenplay.
When the writer's branch goes rogue, they often do it for a smaller or more prickly movie, rather than an emotional crowd pleaser. Those types of movies factor into more categories. It'll be interesting to see if A Man Called Otto can muster up enough excitement to be a major player. It definitely pulls at the heartstrings, but I think it'll be more of an "all or nothing" movie with the Oscars. Either it will show up everywhere or nowhere.
Speaking of sequels (and I agree, the classification is suspect), are we underestimating Avatar: The Way of Water here? Sure, the first Avatar did not make it into Screenplay, but that was in a more competitive Original Screenplay category (though one would think its fanbase could've gotten it a nomination over The Messenger). Not to turn this into an Avatar review, but I did enjoy it more than the first. The action and visuals are first rate and the movie builds towards a fantastic final act. Cameron knows how to structure a blockbuster. However, the dialogue is perhaps even more goofily bro-y and clunky than the first. Even fans of the film will likely look at their ballots and say "eh, it wasn't the best screenplay." What do you think?
NATHANIEL: Way back before any of us were alive, the Academy had separate awards for story and screenplay... if it was still like that i'd have more faith in Avatar The Way of Water for the former. The overall structure really is beautiful, clear, and satisfying. Even the moments where nothing is happening (lots of time just letting you "ooh" at Pandora, particularly underwater) end up really paying off. But a screenplay nomination with that dialogue. Seems unlikely!
I'm not sure about All Quiet on the Western Front, though had one of the other buzzy titles been an adaptation I would have more faith. It might help that it's famous source material but I fear people will think of it as a more of a visual experience than a written one. One movie we didn't mention is Devotion which is also an adaptation. Early audiences loved it but then it just didn't catch on in release. Was it too old fashioned? Too small in the shadow of the year's other aviation drama becoming a genuine phenomenon?
Okay my predictions.
- Women Talking (all locked up)
- Glass Onion (I'd be surprised by a shutout)
- Top Gun Maverick (maybe not in a different year but this season, for sure)
- Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio (?????)
- Living (?????)
For the last two spots I was torn. It's easy to picture She Said and/or All Quiet on the Western Front instead of Pinocchio and Living. Yours?
CHRIS: Very good point on All Quiet on the Western Front. There does seem to be a tendency to recognize some movies as "visual films" and others as "well-written films" when many are both. That could very well keep it out of the race.
We line up on most of our predictions, save for one:
- Women Talking
- Glass Onion
- Top Gun Maverick
- Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio
- The Whale
The box office success for The Whale suggests to me it might have more life in it than just Best Actor. I don't think that means Best Picture, but Fraser coattails could bring it into Screenplay. This sounds reductive (and it largely is as I'm not a fan of the film), but it's also MOST written with all its talk-y, overlong scenes.
In terms of movies I wish were more in the conversation, it's hard to think of a smarter adaptation than Fire Island. It so effectively uses the source material of Pride & Prejudice to tell a unique and beautiful story of queer friendship. Are there any other movies you feel should be more in the conversation?
NATHANIEL: I am also a huge fan of Fire Island and absolutely agree on its screenplay but it surely won't be Oscar eligible with the wild west terrain Hulu is occupying with Searchlight releases now, some of which they sought exemptions for (Good Luck to You Leo Grande) and others which were granted real theatrical releases. As for movies I think they should look at when they're considering their ballots for this category: I think After Yang is very special (in multiple ways) and really thoughtful science fiction. The screenplay to The Wonder is also a really fascinating exercize in both storytelling and the eternal divide between science and faith. Alas, Oscar history these past 10 years or so doesn't suggest that Academy members watch many movies beyond the ones that they've heard are firmly in the Best Picture conversation.
Your turn readers. Which films do you think will be honored for their adaptative work... and which should.
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Reader Comments (10)
In the late summer, I thought the French film Happening was a sure nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay. Winner of the Golden Lion, the thoughtful presentation of illegal abortion in France during the 1960s is a riveting adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical novel. While vocal support for the film is barely a whisper now, voters might still recognize the work for its excellence as well as the opportunity to make a political statement of support for the Women’s Health Protection Act.
Ugh, they’re really gonna nominate Top Gun here, aren’t they? I initially thought the writers’ branch would be the least susceptible to it, but with the competition being so thin this year, it looks like it’s getting in after all. Great. One year after the worst Oscar telecast of my lifetime capped off with one of the most forgettable Best Picture winners ever, they’re apparently so desperate for cultural relevance that they’re willing to go all-in on Top Gun 2, which, whatever its technical merits (and I have no problem with any of its “below the line” nominations), is still ultimately a prime example of the sort of military-backed, jingoistic borderline recruitment tool that critics used to reject on principle but are now all too eager to embrace because of the forced narrative that Tom Cruise is single-handedly saving movie theaters. I know the Academy is made up of the industry and not critics, but this just reeks of said industry actively attempting to save face in the eyes of a public that is less and less interested in the art form with every passing year.
I just don't see Top Gun making it here. All the doubts you have about Avatar I can see applying here and I think the writers branch is a bit more adventurous than that. I can see something like Bones and All get the lone writing nod, or even She Said if they wanna aknowledge its existence.
Maybe it's just wishful thinking and Top Gun will make it.
Might White Noise be a potential surprise here?
I found Top Gun entertaining and a great nostalgia trip and i'm usually averse to testosterone driven movies of it's type,it could have used some of Meg Ryan's sunniness though Connelly brought a bit of spice to the proceedings,Cruise was fine,his scene was Kilmer was quite touching but the script too predictible but I can see why it's the biggest film of the year.
I think this is a weak year for everything really,I can't say i'd give any film i've seen more than a 7 out of 10 maybe Aftersun and EEAAO,the frontrunners either bored me or had nice moments but vastly overrated The Fabelmans,Elvis,Top Gun 2,Glass Onion and The Banshees of Inisherin.
I am finding the films released with each passing year more underwhelming,nothing stays or resonates very deeply with me and I rarely watch any of them again even if I enjoyed them.
The songs this year esp by GaGa and Rihanna are also very forgettable.
Fifth spot for me would be She Said. I bet Hollywood wants to honor that movie in some way and they will avoid at all costs to be called "tone deaf" or "misogynistic", which they often are, to be fair.
The Whale seems to have lost all of its steam. So much so, that I'm beginning to think Fraser's nomination might be its only one. And he doesn't seem to be a lock for the win, as many were predicting a few months ago. As for Living, haven't seen it but it looks like one of those movies that most people won't really care for. Seems more of the same.
So for me, it's She Said for the 5th spot. I do like an Animated movie there, along with an action flick too and a comedy! And two films written by women? I call that an ideal category.
Saw The Whale. I really wanted to love it. I ended up HATING it. A truly atrocious screenplay. Fraser plays the most self-sacrificing parent since Barbara Stanwyck performed Stella Dallas in 1937. And the less said about the dialouge the better. This better not get a Screenplay nomination.
By the way, regarding the point about sequels not really being adapted, I’m not sure how popular an idea this would be, but I’d personally be in favor of creating a third writing category for Best Original Screenplay Based on Preexisting Characters or Source Material…not the best name for it, I know, but something to that effect. Not only would sequels like Top Gun: Maverick qualify there, but so would screenplays based on real events but not adapted from any specific source (The King’s Speech, for instance). Because yeah, writing an adaptation is not the same thing as simply using preexisting characters as the basis for an otherwise original screenplay. Pretty much every superhero movie would also qualify for this category, I think.
I haven’t seen “Happening” yet, but from what I’ve read, the story is clear and compelling, which argues for a good adaptation.
I just saw “The Pale Blue Eye” today, adapted from the critically well received novel by Louis Bayard. Director Scott Cooper, starring Christian Bake and Harry Melling (playing a young Edgar Allen Poe).
It seems to be the kind of prestige drama the Academy traditionally goes for. Known and respected cast and director, mostly male ensemble, US history, military setting, plus good cinematography, production design, costumes, music (Howard Shore) etc. It may be too much of a late comer to attract much notice, but it wouldn’t be a risk to acknowledge it in screenplay.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” had one of the most difficult adaptation assignments. Like “Avatar” and “Maverick” it made a ton of money and was well liked. This is quite a feat, considering they lost their lead, to write a story that people liked and were satisfied with. Imagine “Glass Onion” with no Benoit Blanc, or “Maverick” with no Tom Cruise.
I have recently watched "Glass Onion" on Netflix. I didn't know it was shown in growdle theaters for about a week before. It is a fantastic movie but I don't think it will win the prize this year because the biggest opponent is "Woman Talking".