Faithfully and successfully adapting an original source into a workable feature film screenplay often poses itself as a daunting task to even the most seasoned writers. Combined with the constant concern of providing a captivating narrative to drive a story, the added pressure of doing justice to the source increases expectations. Ranging from a stage play to best-selling novels to a sweeping biopic, this year’s nominees tackle their adaptations with the vigor and mastery to propel their respective films into the life-affirming endzone, out of a hostage crisis, within safe distance from ancient aurochs, out of a morally-divisive Civil War, and into a colorful voyage of survival.
The Nominees are:
- Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell
- Argo – Chris Terrio
- Beasts of the Southern Wild – Lucy Alibar, Benh, Zeitlin
- Lincoln – Tony Kushner
- Life of Pi – David Magee
In his adaptation of the Matthew Quick novel, David O. Russell provides his Silver Linings Playbook cast with the necessary ammunition to fire off at one another with the electric energy that’s the lifeblood of this human comedy. As one of only two director-writer combos in this category, he exerts a masterful command over the material his actors deliver, coaxing a natural chemistry between them. This marks the first time the three-time nominee–including Best Director for The Fighter in 2011 and this year for director and adapted screenplay– has been in contention for a writing award with the Academy. Read more on Oscar Circuit: Adapted Screenplay…
 It’s the first of the month. Not only that, it’s the first day of the second half of the year. Anybody else feel like that was fast? Yet, here we are.
It’s time to start getting serious, Oscar-wise. Not many things have come out, and not many films are looking like Best Picture nominees from the first half. Some will argue The Avengers with a $600 million dollar bank is in talks. Some think the little indie-film Moonrise Kingdom from Wes Anderson could be our “Little Miss Sunshine” of the year. In limited release, Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild has opened and received one of the best word-of-mouth reviews of the year. Is that a contender for the big prize? I’d say it is.
I’m ready to start getting down and dirty with these predictions.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: “Let’s dance…”…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions Tags: alexandre desplat, Amour, Anna Karenina, Anne Hathaway, Annette Bening, Argo, batman, Baz Luhrmann, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ben Affleck, Benh Zeitlin, Bill Murray, Brave, Daniel Day-Lewis, David Strathairn, Disney, Django Unchained, Editor, Hugh Jackman, Hyde Park on Hudson, Imogene, Jane Fonda, Joaquin Phoenix, Joe Wright, John Hawkes, Julianne Moore, Keira Knightley, Laura Linney, Les Miserables, Lincoln, love, Lucy Alibar, Marvel, olivia colman, Olivia Williams, Oscar Circuit, oscar predictions, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Michell, the avengers, the dark knight rises, The English Teacher, The Great Gatsby, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Master, The Sessions, tobey maguire, Tom Hardy, Tom Hooper, Woody Harrelson
 Another year, another widely loved indie Oscar contender that I just can’t get as excited about as the masses do. Last year, it was ‘The Tree of Life’ that left me cold and wanting more (and ‘The Artist’ to a much lesser extent), and now I find myself not as crazy about ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ as I’d hoped to be. I’m certainly in the minority (even here at The Awards Circuit) with this opinion after wildly successful runs at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals, but I just can’t see what all the fuss is about. This modern-day fairy tale of sorts is a good movie, I grant you that, and at times a very good movie, so it’s certainly got plenty going in its favor, but it doesn’t ever reach that next level for me, and its flaws are readily apparent. For every good element in the flick, there’s a part that I wish was done differently. The acting is mostly terrific, especially by Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry in the lead roles, but the supporting cast is forgettable. The direction by Benh Zeitlin is ambitious, but only some of his choices wind up helping the film, and the same goes for the screenplay by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar. I definitely appreciate this movie (much like ‘The Tree of Life’ last year), and I like it more than I don’t, but overall I don’t really see what’s inspiring such adoration from the majority of people who’ve seen it so far. It may very well end up getting some Oscar nominations, and I don’t think it’d be a terrible selection, but I sure hope 2012 has some better movies in store for us than this odd mix of ‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close’, ‘George Washington’, and ‘The Tree of Life’.
Read more on Beasts of the Southern Wild (***)…
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