Blueprints: The Nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay

Jorge continues to dive into the Oscar writing nominees.

Last week we dove into the nominees for Original Screenplay, which was an incredibly crowded category from the start, and there’s not a real frontrunner at the moment; more than one candidate has strong chances. The race was always very different with Adapted Screenplays. From the very start, only Call Me by Your Name truly felt like lock, and the four other slots were anyone's guess for months. Let’s take a look at each of the scripts, and see what was it that got them here...

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Five Lingering Questions About the Globe Nominations. Do share your answers!

By Nathaniel R (and guests)

Okay last Globe conversation frenzy for a bit with SAG nominations happening tomorrow. We'll save a few truly silly questions about the Globes until the Golden Globe week hits but for now the rest of our informal polling of friends and TFE contributors now that you've read the Big Sick / All the Money / Snubs responses (you read that, right?). Join the conversation in the comments won't you?

Five questions and special guests answering them after the jump starting with this one. What's the "surprise" you don't think is surprising at all?

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Blanchett as Lucille Ball is Finally A Go!

Chris here. Remember a few years back when we first got word that Cate Blanchett was itching to play legend Lucille Ball? Well, the film is now happening thanks to getting picked up by Amazon and set on the fast track.

Lucy And Desi will follow the twenty year marriage of the notoriously embattled couple over the start of their Desilu Productions and I Love Lucy. The script comes from Aaron Sorkin, so expect reems of snappy dialogue and perhaps some timely contextualization - just imagine the drama of Blanchett delivering Sorkinese. No word on a director yet but it wouldn't surprise if those reigns become Sorkin's as well, with his Jessica Chastain-led directorial Molly's Game coming this fall.

Just as exciting as the prospect of Blanchett making a redheaded return to the screen is who might also fill Desi Arnaz's shoes and the rest of the legendary ensemble. Amazon is looking to get major stars for the roles of Desi, Vivian Vance and William Frawley (Ethel and Fred of the show for the unfamiliar - which if you are, how dare you!). Thus far Javier Bardem is the only name being mentioned, but I'd wager he's not quite a fit. How would you cast the rest of the I Love Lucy quartet?

What to Watch When Your Brain Hurts and the World Makes You Sad

by Deborah Lipp

Professor Spouse and I watch a lot of TV. This is absolutely ridiculous, because our first “OhMyGodWhoIsThisWoman” conversation was about movies. But the fact is, the Professor and I rarely watch movies in the evenings, largely because she is a Professor. She comes home from school either fried, or needing to grade, or both. These conditions aren’t conducive to paying attention to a movie, so we turn on the TV. 

Lately, we default to the news, and, while Rachel Maddow is a television hero, sometimes the vileness of the current Presidential race is too much for our brains to process.  We often watch great TV, which can be challenging and dark. What do we do when we just can’t face the challenge? The West Wing.

If you aren’t familiar with it, The West Wing was a political drama that ran on NBC from 1999 to 2006, following the presidency of Democrat Jedidiah “Jed” Bartlett (Martin Sheen) and his staff through two terms...

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Never felt so LIVE!

Filmed stage productions are becoming more and more common with The National Theatre in London finding great success streaming their high production shows across cinemas all over the world. Cinephiles and theatre goers are big overlap on the venn diagram. A live TV production seems like the next logical step. As recently reported, Aaron Sorkin’s play-turned-film A Few Good Men is getting the live TV treatment in 2017 on NBC. This follows in the successful footsteps of live musicals The Sound Of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz and Grease but is certainly an ambitious task without the razzle dazzle of musicals or the tomfoolery of live comedy to smooth over the awkward edges live TV can contain.

Whilst these filmed non-musical stage productions have found success, particularly when big names are headlining, there is always something missing that makes in an incomparable experience to being in the theatre with them. By tailor making the work for at home audiences, this could be overcome. An Aaron Sorkin script seems the perfect vehicle. The pace of his scripts in the hands of a strong cast is edge of your seat viewing, and anyone familiar with his work on stage on screen will be excited by the prospect of seeing those character sparks fly live. There’s no word on cast yet, but so far NBC have (mostly) done a good job of casting their live productions, and have a particular knack for picking up and coming stars.

Should this prove fruitful, there’s an array of plays and films that could be all the more tantalising with the electricity of live performance. Let’s speculate after the jump on some other plays and even films that could make the transition after the jump...

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