BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
NOMINEES:
- Before Midnight (Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Richard Linklater)
- Captain Phillips (Billy Ray)
- Philomena (Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope)
- 12 Years A Slave (John Ridley)
- The Wolf of Wall Street (Terrence Winter)
SHOULD BE HERE: The Place Beyond The Pines (Derek Cianfrance, Ben Coccio, Darius Marder)
The main reason The Place Beyond The Pines is such an excellent film was because of the script. The style used throughout in combination with the unconventional story telling makes this script easily one of the best of the year. I could go into all sorts of detail about how great the script is, but then I'd ruin the movie for you. Just go rent it now.
MY THOUGHTS:
BEFORE MIDNIGHT: I don't understand how this film falls into the "adapted" category. The stories are original and it came from personal experiences of the writers, but because these people created these characters in another movie, this is automatically "adapted"? I don't get it. I consider Dallas Buyers Club and American Hustle more "adapted" than Before Midnight, because at least the writers of those films have a basis point of their stories. Anyways, I haven't seen any of the "Before" movies in the trilogy because I'm not a complete movie snob. Just a moderate one.
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS: A very good script made better by Paul Greengrass's direction and camera work. However, Ray's script does a great job of simply setting up the plot, building three dimensional characters, and telling a thrilling story that managed to fly by.
12 YEARS A SLAVE: For all of my ranting and raving about how I don't like the film (more to come on that in future 2014 Oscar Preview posts), I enjoyed this script by John Ridley. He did a darn good job bringing Solomon Northrup's story to life. The film drags at many parts and Ridley has to take some of the blame for that, but I put most of that on director Steve McQueen. The fact that 12 Years A Slave produced 3 acting Oscar nominations speaks volumes to how well the script was written.
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET: It boggles my mind that a man who runs a big budget (and very good) television show like Boardwalk Empire has time to write a script like this one, but that's exactly what Terrence Winter did. I understand TV writers taking breaks from their day job to write a movie script, but I can't think of an example where a show runner does it. Anyways, Terry Winter is fantastic as always.
PHILOMENA: Writer and star of Philomena, Jeff Coogan, saw a report about the tragedy of what happened to the real Philomena Lee, and said to himself, "I want to make this into a comedy!" A very bold move, and from what I hear, it works. But unfortunately, I think Philomena is a movie that will soon be forgotten, so I didn't waste either my time nor money to see it.
IF I HAD AN OSCAR VOTE:
- The Place Beyond The Pines (Cianfrance, Coccio, Marder)
- Captain Phillips (Billy Ray)
- The Wolf of Wall Street (Terrence Winter)
- This Is The End (Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg)
- 12 Years A Slave (John Ridley)
WINNERS:
WHAT SHOULD WIN: The Wolf of Wall Street
WHAT WILL WIN: 12 Years A Slave
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
NOMINEES:
- American Hustle (David O. Russell, Eric Singer)
- Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
- Dallas Buyers Club (Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack)
- Her (Spike Jonze)
- Nebraska (Bob Nelson)
SHOULD BE HERE: Don Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
HER: Spike Jonze wrote a phenomenal script that only his great and twisted mind could. The film works on so many levels. It's a wonderful straight narrative, but then you peel back the layers to find its a story about our society's reliance on technology. You can go even deeper than that to find a pure unadulterated love story. Because that's really what it is at its core. To serve all these masters at the same time is brilliant.
WHAT SHOULD WIN: Her
SHOULD BE HERE: Don Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
MY THOUGHTS:
AMERICAN HUSTLE: It's hard for me to distinguish between how good the script is, versus how terrible the direction, camera work, and editing is. On one hand, I really didn't like the movie, but on the other, I loved the acting. And I know David O. Russell did a poor job directing it, so I think it's safe to say I think the script is pretty good. I guess.
BLUE JASMINE: Woody Allen is a very talented screen writer who I just personally do not like or enjoy. I can see why other people and Hollywood enjoy his work, but I am just not one of them. Therefore, I am fine actively avoiding Allen's yearly film.
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB: Dallas Buyers Club has a difficult job to do, as it has to tell the story of Ron Woodruff (Matthew McConaughey), a homophobic man who contracts HIV who then starts selling unapproved FDA medication, and turn it into a 2 hour film while also being character driven. It's an extremely interesting topic, but really, it's not a 2 hour film. It's more like a 45 minute to an hour film. Plus, it's an Indie, so they can't take different perspectives, because there's neither the time nor the budget to do so. What Borten and Wallack do is take this anti-FDA stance, and make McConaughey go on these tirades and soliloquys. It's a creative approach to take, and I don't think there's anything they could have done anything differently considering the size of the film, but realistically, it forces the film to drag a little.
NEBRASKA: This film is beautifully written with rich characters and a compelling story. It's really everything you'd want out of a script. The plot is extremely simple, and really nothing happens, yet the 2 hour film just flies by.
IF I HAD AN OSCAR VOTE:
- Don Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
- Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler)
- Gravity (Alfonso and Jonas Cuaron)
- Her (Spike Jonze)
- Nebraska (Bob Nelson)
WINNERS:
WHAT WILL WIN: Her
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Since 1998, 12 out of the 15 Best Picture winners also took home the prize for Best Screenplay. I hate to spoil the ending for you, but I think 12 Years A Slave wins Best Picture, so I think it also wins Best Screenplay. Plus, it's difficult to say a film is the Best of the Year without having its screenplay also be the best. (Some will say director, and that's probably true as well... Another spoiler, I don't think Steve McQueen wins Best Director this year).
I know some people who think American Hustle is going to win, and that's a reasonable prediction to take, and if that's the case, then maybe Ridley doesn't win for 12 Years A Slave and Russell and Singer win for American Hustle. However, Spike Jonze has won the Golden Globe and the WGA award for writing Her, and I think that's another thorn in the "American Hustle wins Best Picture" side.
Which film did not get a Best Screenplay nomination that you thought should have?
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