Bringing a Little Attention to the Ignored

I think I’m going to postpone the bane-of-my-existence Supporting Acting categories to see if any new contenders pop on to the radar in the next week. So, I’ve moved right to the screenplay awards, which are obviously no less important, if a little less glamorous.

Traditionally, the big picture contenders skew towards the adapted screenplay category, but in recent years there has been a more even split. This year, it’s back to tradition (in more ways than one), with 8 out of 10 of my picture list falling in the adapted category. This will make a solid list of Originals harder to assemble.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. JUNO – There is always a guaranteed spot for a lovable, but intelligent indie film in the original category. The writer is also very interesting. Her name is Diablo Cody, and she’s a former ad executive/stripper. Bet you never thought you would see that hyphenate.

2. I’M NOT THERE – This film is probably way too out there to get a lot of support from the academy (except for Cate Blanchett). The one branch that may want to reward the risk is the writers.

3. LIONS FOR LAMBS – If it’s good, it’s a shoe-in. If it sucks, I’ll be shaking my head at this list in a few months.

4. THE SAVAGES – Repeat the above sentiments.

5. IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH – There are obviously a lot of Paul Haggis fans in the Academy, as evidenced by Crash’s wins in Picture and this category. Haggis fans are also very defensive of his work against the haters, so they might just vote for him even if they didn’t like the film.

6. ONCE – The indie sleeper hit of the year. Normally that would make it a shoe-in, but it’s a musical. Musicals face an uphill battle as there is just less screenplay, and some may view the songs as the good writing with the screenplay only there to support them.

7. MARGOT AT THE WEDDING – This got love-it-or-hate-it reviews at Toronto. So, we’ll see what the general consensus is when it’s released. Baumbach’s previous work The Squid and the Whale was nominated.

8. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD – People seem surprised at just how good Sydney Lumet’s latest is.

9. RATATOUILLE – This is the rare animated film that could slip in here. It has a few things going for it – it was very adult, it was very successful, and though there are many story credits, sole screenplay credit went to one of the only animation auteurs, Brad Bird.

10. THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE – This is an unknown quantity as of yet. I’m going for this one based on the writer. This is his first feature credit, but he has four films in development. It sounds like he’s hot.

OTHER CONTENDERS:
Michael Clayton
Reservation Road
Eastern Promises
The Darjeeling Limited
Knocked Up
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Waitress
Rendition
P.S. I Love You
Superbad


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – I’m willing to write this one in permanent ink on my final nomination predictions. It’s so in.

2. ATONEMENT – Most people thought it couldn’t be done. Most reviews have commented on how well they did it. It’s a major accomplishment and it will be rewarded.

3. THERE WILL BE BLOOD – Choosing to go back a hundred years and even approach an Upton Sinclair novel was audacious. (It hasn’t been done since his death in 1968.) If it turns out as well as people at the first screening are saying, it could be legendary.

4. THE KITE RUNNER – This book was a huge best seller, so turning it into a successful (and good) movie will probably make readers excited.

5. CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR – Of course, this is a guess since no one has seen it. But people have read the script and said it was great.

6. INTO THE WILD – Another difficult adaptation that has gotten raves. Even if this film is too small to make the picture list, it will likely show up here.

7. AWAY FROM HER – With a lot of epics up there, some voters may want to go for something personal, like Sarah Polley’s surprisingly mature adaptation of an Alice Munro story.

8. YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH – This is Coppola’s first screenplay in ten years.

9. 3:10 TO YUMA – This script got a lot of compliments for reminding us how good an old fashioned western story could be without feeling old.

10. GONE BABY GONE – Previous winner Ben Affleck (I know it sounds weird) writes his first script in ten years (with the help of a former assistant). Based on a Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) novel.

OTHER CONTENDERS:
Sweeney Tood
American Gangster
Love in the Time of Cholera
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Lust, Caution
Leatherheads
The Hoax
Zodiac
The Golden Compass

* Last year was mixed. It wasn’t bad, but not super awesome like my picture, director, actor, and actress picks. Let’s take a look…

ORIGINAL
1. Little Miss Sunshine (right!)
2. The Queen (right!)
3. Volver
4. Babel (right!)
5. The Good Shepherd
6. Stranger Than Fiction
7. United 93
8. Venus
9. Breaking and Entering
10. For Your Consideration

A didn’t get Letters from Iwo Jima, which, if you remember, wasn’t eligible at the time. I totally would have picked it if I knew I could, and I did put Flags up, so I’m taking a half point! I also missed Pan’s Labyrinth. Few could see that one coming until a late season swell of support. A respectable 3 ½ .

ADAPTED
1. The Departed (right!)
2. The Good German
3. Flags of Our Father
4. Running with Scissors
5. The Last King of Scotland
6. Little Children (right!)
7. Thank You for Smoking
8. Fast Food Nation
9. The History Boys
10. Half Nelson
Other Possibilities: Children of Men (right!), Notes on a Scandal (right!)

I can’t believe I didn’t put Borat on here. I’m a doof, what can I say. “Other possibilities” only get half points, so give myself a 3 out of 5 which isn’t half bad.