Oscar Screenplay Records That Could Be Broken
Tuesday, February 23, 2016 at 10:30AM Manuel here to talk Oscar nominated screenplays. We first greeted them by looking at their first lines of dialogue, we crunched the numbers about how 2015 was a good year for female scribes, ranked them by quotability, and this week we’re taking a more playful approach. Think of it as a way to find some levity as we near the Big Day.
Now, we know there are frontrunners (and some dark horses) but I put all of that aside and imagined a world where every screenplay nominee has a shot and offered some records that could be broken Sunday night.
IF Bridge of Spies wins
Joel & Ethan Coen would join the ranks of most awarded screenwriters of all time, tying Woody Allen, Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, Francis Ford Coppola, and Paddy Chayefsky, all of whom have three wins, though Allen holds the distinction of winning all three for Original screenplays.
IF Ex Machina wins
It would be the first film with a Latin title to win (previous failed bids include Equus and Europa Europa)
IF Inside Out wins
It would be the first animated film to win a screenplay award (previous failed bids include Toy Story, Shrek, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, WALL-E and Up in the Original Screenplay category and Toy Story 3 in Adapted)
IF Spotlight wins
It’d be the second Michael Keaton film in a row to win a writing Oscar. Last time an actor led back-to-back screenplay wins? Silence of the Lambs/Howards End both led by Anthony Hopkins. Apologies to Guy Pearce (The Hurt Locker/The King’s Speech) and Benedict Cumberbatch (12 Years a Slave/Imitation Game) who don’t quite fit the bill.
IF Straight Outta Compton wins
It would match Pillow Talk as film with most screenwriters ever awarded in this category (4).
IF Brooklyn wins
It’d be the first film named after a city to win since Fargo (other failed bids include Manhattan, Peyton Place and Philadelphia)
IF Carol wins
She’d joined an eclectic roster of female named-films to win screenplay awards: Julia, Gigi, Juno, Annie Hall and Marie-Louise. (What a dinner party that would be, no?)
IF The Big Short wins
Adam McKay would become the first Oscar winner to have also penned a Marvel film (Ant Man).
IF The Martian wins
It’d be the first film set in outer space to win a screenplay award (failed bids include: Star Wars, Apollo 13 and 2001: A Space Odyssey)
IF Room wins
Donoghue would become the first female novelist to win for adapting her own work, a distinction male novelists Mario Puzo (The Godfather), Peter Blatty (The Exorcist), Michael Blake (Dances with Wolves) and John Irving (The Cider House Rules) have all accomplished before.
Some are, of course, more plausible (and serious-minded) than others, but which records might I have missed that you hope get broken on Oscar night?
Reader Comments (14)
Brooklyn is not a city!
Chayefsky is the only one to have won his 3 screenplay Oscars as the sole writer!
This is the kind of Oscar stats that I love to read about! Thanks!
Small correction: Shrek was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, not Original (it's based on a book by William Steig)...
Huh, could have sworn The Incredibles won Original Screenplay but apparently it lost to Eternal Sunshine. (Not that I'm complaining.)
Santy C.: I would love if Inside Out won over Spotlight. Ratatouille probably should have won in 07, especially in comparison to what it lost to.
As a reader, the Screenplay categories (original and adapted) are always my favorite, so thanks for this. I hope the awards go to INSIDE OUT and a tie to ROOM/BROOKLYN (IMO both of these films were more enjoyable than their source material, and the best of the category. Also, I'm very sad that BROOKLYN hasn't garnered as much award notice as it deserves.)
@ Matt
If Brooklyn ain't a city, then neither is Manhattan....
The Exorcist's writer is William Peter Blatty, not just Peter Blatty.
Pam - totally agree, I know Spotlight is excellent and is tipped to win, but on merit, "Inside Out" deserves the Oscar.
Brooklyn was just perfect in my opinion, and yet will likely go away empty handed. I honestly think Nick Hornby makes it look so easy that people take him and his work for granted.
I would vote for Inside Out (and Brooklyn)!
I also hope the Coens win that third screenplay Oscar someday, though I'd rather it be for one of their movies. They belong on that list of three-time screenplay winners.
That Emma Donoghue stat just gave me rage fits about Gillian Flynn last year. :(
If The Big Short wins, will it be the first exposé of the financial industry to win an Oscar for its screenplay?
Matt: Brooklyn was its own city until 1898. Also if it were its own city today it would be the 5th largest in the US. Maybe we can cut it a break?