Sunday 28 September 2008

2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Adapted Screenplay (2009 ceremony)





These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

These are my very early predictions for the twenty screenwriters who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Adapted Screenplay" category. Their work is not original but is based on a short story, play, novel, comic book, or newspaper article previously in existence. Many of these figures have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. Others are not very well known, and are caught up in awards fever due to the “buzz” surrounding their movie. Will we see a mix of newcomers with old favourites welcomed back into the fold?

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WINNER:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Eric Roth) - he won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for "Forrest Gump", and was also nominated for "The Insider" (with Michael Mann) and "Munich" (with Tony Kushner). "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

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NOMINEES:

Doubt (John Patrick Shanley) - he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for "Moonstruck". "Doubt" is based on his own stage play of the same name.

Frost / Nixon (Peter Morgan) - he was previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "The Queen". "Frost / Nixon" is based on his own stage play of the same name.

Revolutionary Road (Justin Haythe) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar. "Revolutionary Road" is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Yates.

The Road (Joe Penhall) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar. "The Road" is based on the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy.

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OTHER CANDIDATES:

Body of Lies (William Monahan) - he won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for "The Departed". "Body of Lies" is based on the novel of the same name by David Ignatius.

Brothers (David Benioff) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar. "Brothers" is based on the Danish film of the same name ("Brødre"), directed by Susanne Bier.

Che (Peter Buchman & Benjamin van der Veen) - neither of them have previously been nominated for an Oscar. "Che" (or the two parts, "The Argentine" and "Guerrilla") is based on the writings of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara.

The City of Your Final Destination (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala) - she won two Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars for "A Room With A View" and "Howards End", and was also nominated in the same category for "The Remains of the Day". "The City of Your Final Destination" is based on the novel of the same name by Peter Cameron.

The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan) - they were both previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "Memento". "The Dark Knight" is based on the original "Batman" comic book characters.

Defiance (Clayton Frohman & Edward Zwick) - Frohman has not previously been nominated for an Oscar but Zwick won Best Picture (as co-producer) for "Shakespeare In Love" and was also nominated for "Traffic". He has not previously been nominated for his writing.

The Duchess (Jeffrey Hatcher, Anders Thomas Jensen, & Saul Dibb) - none of them have previously been nominated for an Oscar in the Screenplay categories. Jensen won an Oscar and was nominated a further two times in the Short Film category. "The Duchess" is based on Amanda Foreman's non-fiction book "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire".

Elegy (Nicholas Meyer) - he was previously nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution". "Elegy" is based on the novel "The Dying Animal" by Philip Roth.

Miracle At St. Anna (James McBride) - he has not previously been nominated for an Oscar. "Miracle at St. Anna" is based on his own novel of the same name.

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day (David Magee & Simon Beaufoy) - Magee was previously nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for "Finding Neverland" while Beaufoy was previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "The Full Monty".

The Other Boleyn Girl (Peter Morgan) - see notes above for "Frost / Nixon".

The Reader (David Hare) - he was previously nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for "The Hours". "The Reader" is based on the novel of the same name by Bernhard Schlink.

The Soloist (Susannah Grant) - she was previously nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category for "Erin Brockovich". "The Soloist" is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Steve Lopez.

The Time Traveler’s Wife (Bruce Joel Rubin) - he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for "Ghost". "The Time Traveler's Wife" is based on the novel of the same name by Audrey Niffenegger.

Towelhead (Alan Ball) - he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for "American Beauty". "Towelhead" is based on the novel of the same name by Alicia Erian.

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