85th Academy Awards – 'Best Original Screenplay’

 

    

Although I have a perfect score for Adapted Screenplays… I just can’t seem to get any momentum in the Original category; having only picked 1 correct out of the last 3 years.

For a complete look at eligibility and voting procedures, please take a look at last year’s post:  84^th Academy Awards – Best Original Screenplay..

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Nominations:

·         Amour

o   Michael Hanake – 1^st nomination, also nominated for Best Director.

Hanake has been nominated by numerous critics and industry awards for his writing of Amour, however, he has yet to win.

·         Django Unchained

o    Quentin Tarantino – 3^rd nomination, 1 win for writing.  Winning for Pulp Fiction and nominated for Inglourious Basterds.  For the previous two movies he was also nominated for Best Director.

Tarantino is on fire this year and has a real shot at picking up his second Oscar.  He has already won the BAFTA Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, the Golden Globe, and named the Hollywood Film Festival’s “Writer of the Year”.

·         Flight

o    John Gatins – 1^st nomination.

Gatins has been nominated for the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Image Award, and Writers Guild of America Award.  No wins.

·         Moonrise Kingdom

o   Wes Anderson – 2^nd nomination for writing.  Previously nominated for The Royal Tenenbaums.  He also received a nomination for Best Animated Feature for Fantastic Mr. Fox.

o   Roman Coppola – 1^st nomination.

Anderson and Coppola have won the Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award, Online Film Critics Society Award, Phoenix Film Critics Society Award, and Southeastern Film Critics Association Award.

·         Zero Dark Thirty

o   Mark Boal – 2^nd nomination for writing, 1 win for The Hurt Locker, for which he also produced and won Best Picture.  For Zero Dark Thirty he is also nominated for Best Picture.

Boal has won the Writers Guild of America Award, Chicago Film Critics Association Award, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award, San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award, the Satellite Award, and the Vancouver Film Critics Circle.

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My Two Cents:

Although the Writers Guild of America is normally a safe bet, I’m just no sure if Zero Dark Thirty is going to pull it off.  I think Django has a real shot.

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Prediction: 

1.      Django Unchained

2.     Zero Dark Thirty

3.     Moonrise Kingdom

4.     Amour

5.     Flight