"Barbie" Gets Pushed to Adapted Screenplay

by Cláudio Alves

Shed a tear for Andrew Haigh's Oscar hopes.

What many believed was bound to happen finally did. Despite Warner Bros. campaigning Barbie's script as original, an Academy committee formed by members of the Writers branch - Howard A. Rodman and Dana Stevens took precedence as governors, while Eric Roth recused himself - and  chose to uphold the usual rules for IP-based material. That means Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach will have to compete in Best Adapted Screenplay, shaking up the race in a big way. The pink fantasy was the assumed frontrunner in the other category, facing off against The Holdovers as its biggest competition. Now, it's up against a veritable battalion of Best Picture contenders, including titles wrestling for the honor of nomination leader – Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things…

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How Have International Features Fared in Oscar Screenplay Categories?

By: Christopher James

In a banner year for International cinema, can "The Worst Person in the World" or "Drive My Car" win a Screenplay Oscar?As was discussed in the recent Screenplay Oscar Volley, there is the potential for there to be two international feature winners in Adapted and Original Screenplay this year. Best Picture nominee Drive My Car had an incredibly strong showing on nomination morning, and Adapted Screenplay could be the place where the Oscars chooses to honor writer/director Ryusuke Hamaguchi. If it wins, it will be the first international feature to win Best Adapted Screenplay.

On the Original Screenplay front, Joaquim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World hopes to be a surprise upset. The comedy-drama from Norway may not be in Best Picture, but it has amassed a strong art house following and grown steadily since its opening last month.

Do these movies actually have a shot though? Let’s take a look at the track record for International Feature in the Screenplay categories.

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Podcast Special: Lots and Lots of Reader Questions Answered

Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl answer your questions this week

On this special edition of the podcast we ONLY answer reader questions. As many as we could get to in an hour. We had soooo much fun doing this one so we hope you enjoy, and thank you for the diversion.

Index (60 minutes)
00:01 Who will win SAG's Supporting Actress + fixing category fraud?
06:50 Original screenplay nominations + buying DVDs
12:00 Characters wardrobe, female directors, and films that define 2018
22:30 "Shallow" + "If you saw this... than why?" + replacing Oscar lists
31:35 Nominee presentations + Oscar Hosting 
35:45 Ben is Back and Roma questions
41:40 Nomination balloting procedures + Fav scenes of the year
52:00 Mandatory Best Actress diversion
57:00 Changing opinions on previous top 10 lists?

Further Reading / References
• Nadine Labaki (Capernaum) interview
• Smackdown of 1943
• Oscar Charts
• Kyle Buchanan on the hostless Oscars article

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Special Episode: Reader Questions!

Film Bitch Awards: The Best Screenplays

by Nathaniel R

We just called to tell you you have amazing screenplays.

Movies are much more than their screenplays. There's a reason they call them motion pictures. But no matter what a filmmaker has up their sleeve in terms of visuals or sound, a sturdy platform from which to lift off is crucial. These ten films (and some finalists, too) were already starting at a significant advantage before the first day of shooting due to the calibre of their words, plots, themes, ideas, and structure. Herewith Nathaniel's ballot in both screenplay categories. We don't expect the bulk of these to be Oscar-nominated on Tuesday (let us not weep for Diablo Cody's Tully, for example, because history will be kind to it) but here's hoping that Eighth Grade, The Favourite, First Reformed, BlacKkKlansman, and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (at least) make their respective Oscar shortlists since they appear to have good shots at doing so. 

P.S. in case you missed them, the visual categories are half done, and the sound categories are complete. You can also see an ongoing nomination tally as we announce at the bottom of the sound page.

Podcast: El Angel, The Front Runner, Oscar's Screenplay Race

Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl talk new films and the Oscar race

Index (58 minutes)
00:01 The story of Gary Hart in The Front Runner starring Hugh Jackman
16:25 El Angel starring Lorenzo Ferro and Chino Darín which is Argentina's Oscar submission
27:22 Sidebar: My Fair Lady on Broadway
34:24 Best Adapted Screenplay: Bradley Cooper, Barry Jenkins, Gillian Flynn, Nicole Holofcener, Spike Lee, Armando Iannucci, Paul Dano & Zoe Kazan could all compete here but which of them will?
45:23 Best Original Screenplay: Roma, The Favourite and Green Book and...?
54:40 Beck claims he's recording a score for Roma... which has no score.

 References / Further Reading
• The horror of Beck's Tweet about Roma
• Chris's review of The Front Runner
• Foreign Language Film Submission Chart 
• Screenplays Oscar Chart

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

El Angel and The Front Runner