27th USC Scripter Nominees Turn the Page
Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 3:56PM Books, books, nothing but books.
Pages, letters, paragraphs and sentences,
Adjectives and syllables and
Consonants and adverbs-!I said alright,
But it wasn't quite,
Cause he wasn't nominated
For a Scripter last night.
Glenn here, and while Into the Woods did not receive a nomination today from the USC Scripter organization, I just have the prologue stuck in my brain. Still. It will not leave, how about you?
The Scripters award both a film's screenwriter and the writer of the original work. They used to only be open to adaptations of novels, which meant - much like the WGA - certain films were not allowed to be nominated. In recent years I believe they have started to allow comic book adaptations and short films expanded to feature length (like District 9); they've never nominated a stage musical or play adaptation so I'm not even sure if they're eligible. The rules seem kind of vague. Like most organisations that started before the modern award season made for homogenised lineups, the group have some curious wins in their early years including in its first year a film that didn't even get any Oscar nominations (84 Charing Cross Road).
In 1997 they expanded to include nominees and since then have always been quite a respectable award to win (last year's nominations for What Maisie Knew and The Spectacular Now were particularly welcome). They still do not allow for foreign language films, but... well, baby steps, I guess. Last year's winner was 12 Years a Slave for John Ridley and Solomon Northup, but what do you think will take the prize this year? The hiking woman, the British code-breaker, the gone girl, the physisist's wife, or the stoned investigator?
- GONE GIRL
Author: Gillian Flynn; Screenwriter: Gillian Flynn - THE IMITATION GAME
Author: Andrew Hodges; Screenwriter: Graham Moore - INHERENT VICE
Author: Thomas Pynchon; Screenwriter: Paul Thomas Anderson - THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
Author: Jane Hawking; Screenwriter: Anthony McCarten - WILD
Author: Cheryl Strayed; Screenwriter Nick Hornsby
These are the exact same five films that Nathaniel is predicting, although we're not entirely sure what methods this group use to find their nominees. Are they considering Foxcatcher, for instance, which uses a novel as its jumping off point? Presumably they didn't buy into the "Whiplash is adapted" from just the other day, either. And after they nominated Iron Man in the past, one must assume that Guardians of the Galaxy wasn't that far off. I must say, doesn't Wild feel like it could drop out of the Oscar lineup at any moment? Apart from Reese it hasn't caught on with awards, which can mean odd films with pockets of feverish love can surprise like an American Sniper (although with WGA that would hardly be a surprise anymore) or Guardians of the Galaxy or, gosh, maybe even Into the Woods? Maybe somebody knows the stats better than I, but how often do films only get actress and screenplay nominations? Was Frozen River the last one? Hmmm... food for thought?
Reader Comments (8)
Yep, Frozen River was the last one in 2009, but the year before it happened twice with both Julie Christie in Away From Her and Laura Linney in The Savages
What I've never understood about this award: Do they choose a winner based on the quality of the source material as well as the adaptation, or are they choosing the best adaptation and then honoring the source material along with it?
Put another way: Do judges read the source as well as see the film? If so, then Gone Girl and Wild, as blockbuster books, probably have the edge.
Having just seen The Imitation Game, I'd say its script is both its great strength (making a complicated plot about espionage and engineering and homosexuality into a lean, propulsive drama) and its great weakness (manipulating every possible emotional moment for obvious impact). It could make an impact on judges here.
Gone Girl should have this in a cake walk.
I am personally thrilled to see that 84 Charing Cross Road got this first award. It’s a charming movie and a personal favorite. Let’s hope this year’s nominees have such staying power.
84 was a play in-between. Or, as the NYT called it, a "staged reading" with a fabulous set. Miss Ellen Burstyn starred in the 1982 Broadway production.
Glenn -- beautiful that you opened with into the woods ;)
The Scripter can sometimes underwhelm but also show a tide change. Like, it was the first major indication the Argo script was going to beat Lincoln.
Thomas Pynchon being cited would be pretty cool, but so would Gone Girl.
Actually it’s like you’ve read my thoughts! You seem to know so much about this topic, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think this is great blog, in fact it is a Klondike for me – so many interesting posts!