Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! It’s time for the 89th annual Academy Awards ceremony. And I just looked at the most important, or what should be considered the most important categories, Best original and best adapted screenplay. Here are the nominees for both categories. Because with a script, there ain’t no movie.
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
Arrival,
Fences,
Hidden Figures,
Lion,
Moonlight,
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Hell or High Water,
La La Land,
The Lobster,
Manchester by the Sea,
20th Century Women
What script do you think will win and why? And is your reason for that choice because you truly the best writing?
Now I confess, the only one of these films I’ve seen was arrival, which I thought was a muddled mess. However, I intend to watch *Manchester by the Sea” this weekend. Now my question for you dear screenwriting friends, is how important are the Oscars? I know that winning one certainly won’t hurt a writer’s career. And most of the folks winning or being nominated are very heavyweight players. So how relevant is that to you? Most of us are struggling to sell a script for a small budget and God forbid… big budget film.
Do you aspire to stand behind the podium, accepting your gold stature and having your acceptance speech cut off after 20 seconds? Or is this a meaningless pipe dream or the stuff that dreams are made of?
"And the award goes to......Hidden Figures......and La La Land."
I love watching the Oscars. I can still remember Isaac Hayes (RIP) rolling out on his keyboard to perform "Shaft" like it was yesterday. Crikey....that was like 45 years ago....time flies. Double-Crikey....I still have a pizza in the oven from that night! Gotta go!
Bill C
1972 was a great Oscar show and Isaac's performance was arguably the best one ever for best song nominee. I remember all the winners that year. French Connection for movie, Gene Hackman for best actor, Jane Fonda for best actress, Cloris Leachman best supporting actress and Ben Johnson for best supporting actor. And Ben started off as a stuntman for John Ford. I don't know if it was not nominated but the Last Picture Show sure has held up nicely over the past 45 years. Perhaps it was the black and white.
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Hell or High Water - La La land
I meant to say was Hell or High Water & Moonlight - La La land best pic and director... Denzel, Stone, Davis, Ali.
Phillip: Now that I think about it....that guy at the 1974 Academy Awards behind David Niven looks remarkably like a younger version of you. www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWBc-ir6IFM
Arrival and Hell or High Water, both great scripts that were translated into great films imho!
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La La Land and Moonlight will win. Arrival and Hell or High Water should win.
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I never miss the Oscars. I'm not going to debate it's importance or accuracy, as we all know that film politics play a role, but it doesn't matter. I'm not just a writer and an actor, I'm a fan....and the Oscars, at the core, are a celebration of filmmaking. I'll never agree with every choice, but I love that we take a night to honour the industry itself, because that's what it's really all about. :)
I would like to see longer speeches though. They could get rid of some of the theatrical numbers and give the winners more time (especially the non-stars...it's their moment after all) and give a couple of minutes to let the winners enjoy their spotlight.
Dene:
I totally agree about Arrival.
Did anybody else feel like Hidden Figures was just too simple? It was a great story and a good movie but it never really shocked you or punched you in the stomach. I'm not meaning to sound cynical but it kinda felt like a lifetime movie with really good acting. Movies like Selma, The Help, Moonlight really penetrated my emotions. Figures was pretty much exactly what I expected it would be before I saw it. Just my thoughts. Still a good film.
Moonlight was something to see.
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Winning an Oscar for my writing was something I dreamed about, when I first started writing decades ago, but now I don't even think about. Having a film be seen by as many people as possible is what I aspire most of all, after is for people to see my work and be affected by it, that I write. Always your fan Phillip E. Great post, as always. Oh, I too will be watching "Manchester by the Sea" its already on Amazon Prime.
Jorge
Thanks my friend.
Saw every nominee except The Lobster (some twice) and I'd vote for Hell or High Water (my favorite film of 2016) and in VERY close call for Adapted: Moonlight over Lion and Hidden Figures.