Blueprints: The Nominees for Best Original Screenplay

With the Oscar nominations finally announced, Jorge takes a deep dive into the nominees for Best Original Screenplay.

We all rose to the crack of dawn on Tuesday morning to hear Tiffany Haddish give the most upbeat and energetic nomination announcements in recent memory. One of the best picked categories was Best Original Screenplay. Even though there were no real surprises, it showcases a range of diversity not often seen: among the nominees is a Pakistani, a Mexican, a black man, and three women. Three of those people were also nominated for Best Director.

So let’s do a quick roundup on the nominees, their writers, their past history with Oscar, and what scene might have helped land them that nomination... 

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Final Nomination Predictions: Picture / Director / Screenplays

by Nathaniel R

What a final month this has been in the march towards nominations. What were Oscar voters thinking during the week that stretched from the Golden Globes through the BAFTA nominations? You had to freeze the buzz right there and try and make sense of it while also trying to ignore anything that happened thereafter which can't really have an effect. Hell, you can't even really be sure that things that happened during voting truly changed things. Was there time, for instance, for voters to turn on James Franco -- he was added to the long list of men being accused of sexual misconduct that week but the story didn't get loud until the last few days of voting. Did voters even notice the BAFTA nominations and their total rejection of The Post and the minor kisses blown to both Phantom Thread and Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (two very last minute releases that have mostly struggled in the precursors). How did Oscar voters feel about the Three Billboards frontrunner heat and its subsequent backlash? We shall soon find out. Tuesday morning in point of fact...

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Blueprints: "The Shape of Water"

On the last week before the Oscar nominations are announced, Jorge takes a look at another of the potential screenplay contenders. This week, he explores a fight, in which one person has to speak both sides of dialogue.

Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is a fairytale about the forbidden love between a mute woman and a captive fishman. But as much as the film is about their romance, it is also about the unique friendships and relationships made by those that society has pushed to its margins for being “different”. 

Let’s take a look at one of the most memorable scenes in the film, between Sally Hawkins’ hopeful and infatuated Elisa, and her closeted gay neighbor and best friend, Giles, played by Richard Jenkins. It’s a fight where Elisa not only begs him to help her save the creature, but also to be seen and understood...

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US Scripters Nominations (Gloriously) Add to the Adapted Screenplay Confusion

by Nathaniel R

Lost City of Z finally makes a precursor markOne of the funniest developments this awards season is how weirdly empty the Adapted Screenplay became in the wake of so many top contenders being "originals". The balance is way off. Even the 'true' stories, the ones adapted from history or people's lives this year were mostly originals (Some have argued in the past should be considered for the Adapted category since they're not originating the stories and characters... though we've never come to a definitive conclusion as to whether or not we agree).

Today the US Scripters chaired by USC professor and past president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, and a selection committee chose the nominees from a field of 91 film and 28 television adaptations. Because of a three way tie in voting they have SEVEN film nominees this year. Which is hilarious since most people though the category "weak" in terms of Oscar candidates. In spreading their net so wide they've done little to clear up the confusion as to which five films will receive Oscar nominations. More after the jump...

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Blueprints: "Get Out"

We’re right in the middle of the awards race heat. Jorge takes a look at one of the most celebrated screenplays of last year, and how the meaning of its words change upon a second reading.

[Caution! Spoilers ahead for Get Out!]

 

Get Out has rightfully been one of the most acclaimed movies of the year. It’s genre-bending reflection on white liberalism is a seamless blend of comedy, horror, and satire. As it goes with all great movies, it all goes back to the script. Jordan Peele’s screenplay plays with the audience’s expectations masterfully, packing it with thrills and reveals and twists.

There is a twist about two thirds into Get Out, where a character who we thought was on Chris’s side (and therefore, the audience’s) turns out to have been in on it the entire time, the reveal done with only the jingle of keys... 

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