Oscar Volley: Best Original Screenplay...the "alternative Best Picture" award?

Team Experience is teaming up to discuss each Oscar category. Here's Mark Brinkerhoff and Elisa Giudici...

TÁR in the act of creation

MARK: Hello, hello! Get a look at the Best Original Screenplay nominees this year—all five are also Best Picture Oscar nominees. Now of course this isn’t unprecedented, namely in the modern era of (up to) 10 Best Picture nominees, but it *is* unusual. (2020 was the other year this complete overlap occurred.) Typically we’ll get at least one inspired, left-field choice in Best Original Screenplay (think Bridesmaids, The Lobster, Nightcrawler, etc.). Not this year, unfortunately.

So where does this leave us? With a pretty sterling lineup of nominees overall! Among the five—The Banshees of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans, Tár, Triangle of Sadness—which strike you as the real deal this year?

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Best Director Closet Picks... and Polls!

by Nathaniel R

The Oscar charts are complete for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplays with "who should win" polls on each page. So vote for your favs daily!  Each page also has trivia and factoids and listicles for your entertainment. For the first time in Oscar's 95 year history Director and Original Screenplay are an exact match and each of the directors also wrote or co-wrote the screenplays. We still can't get over that. Not just in 'how did it happen' but also in 'how did it never happen before?'. Do we just have more multi-hyphenates than we used to in Hollywood? (Probably) Or was it just a matter of the unique field of contenders this year? (Also possible)

Speaking of writer/directors. Today, February 10th, is Dan Kwan's 35th birthday and he has a lot to celebrate this year with 3 Oscar nominations for his 3rd feature Everything Everywhere All At Once. Remember his dance moves in "Turn Down For What?"  Speaking of "Daniels"... what did you think of their Criterion Closet visit? 

Split Decision: "The Banshees of Inisherin"

Team Experience is pairing up to debate the merits of each of the big awards season movies this year. Here’s Abe Friedtanzer & Eric Blume on one of the Oscar frontrunners...

ERIC:  Abe, here we are again with another split decision.  But unlike our discussion about The Whale, which you loved and I didn't, we're swapping sides for The Banshees of Inisherin.  I absolutely loved this film.  I'd go as far as to say it's close to a masterpiece.  It's a piercing and painful meditation on loneliness, a heartbreaking and lyrical stare in the face at death.  Martin McDonagh is tackling The Big Themes with ferocity and honesty, and I was deeply moved.  But let's start with why you didn't care for the film...

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Team Experience Predictions Chart - Round 4 - Post Holidays, Pre Awards Shows

We're polling the Team Film Experience on where the Oscar race stands. This week Best Picture, Director, and the Acting and Writing categories.

It has been over a month since we’ve checked in on the directing, acting and writing categories. Since then, Avatar has soared at the box office, Babylon has flopped and both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards have announced their nominations. Some categories look completely different than they did at the end of November. Others, funny enough, remain the same. One category has a contender who is unanimously on the top of everyone’s predictions… and it’s not the one you think. 

Check out our predictions after the jump…

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Oscar Volley: The heat is with the "Original" screenplays

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category in the lead up to the nominations. Here's Nathaniel and Abe to talk Best Original Screenplay...

AFTERSUN

NATHANIEL: I feel like I say "my favourite category!" a lot when talking Oscar. So let me just tell you, Abe, that this is at least 'one of em' for me (with the Actress categories, Costumes, International Feature, and and and and and) Usually, the Oscar buzz centers on the Adapted screenplays since they come bearing automatic prestige. This year it is so pleasing that the heat is with the originals. The Banshees of Inisherin & Everything Everywhere All At Once feel neck-and-neck for the future win. Even if they both didn't have so much heat in Best Picture, they'd be formidable contenders in this category.

I want to start with the longer shots, though. One movie a lot of people are rooting for is Charlotte Wells' Aftersun. I love it too but I wonder if it's ineffable impact doesn't spring more from the fluid mystery of the direction, editing, and performances? I wonder if it can go the distance here. What longer shot are you rooting for?

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