Best Original Screenplay Oscar ContendersWe like to predict these things far in advance, so we can say "I told you so!" months and months from now.
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It's August and you know what that means ... Oscar buzz! Well, that's what it means at Camp Film.com anyway. It's Oscar talk, seven days a week, fifty-seven weeks a year. Next week we'll take a look at the 2012 Oscar race, but for now the powers that be have asked for a look at the Best Original Screenplay category and when they say jump I say, "How high?" I've divvied these puppies up into three categories -- "Longshots," "Runners-up," and "Your Likely Candidates" -- simply to give myself more "See, I told you so!" room months and months from now. See, I told you Gran Torino was at least a long shot! That kind of thing. Speaking of ... THE LONGSHOTS
Gran Torino I have no idea who wrote this movie since information on it appears to be pretty scarce, so scarce that some were even left wondering if it's actually a sixth Dirty Harry venture. If that's the case, ignore this entry. Dirty Harry pictures do not nominations make. Still ... I can't ignore this entry. IMDb.com describes the movie as follows: Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: his 1972 Gran Torino. Not exactly Harry Callahan territory and more in line with the Hmong-kid-meets-old-white-man brand that's all the rage these days. Consider this a long shot contender.
Guerrilla
Soderbergh's got two Che movies coming out this year. The question is who is going to release them and when? And oh yeah, are they any good? Word has been all over the place.
Seven Pounds
Burn After Reading Okay, No Country for Old Men this does not look to be but I can't count the brothers out just because it's one of their wackier efforts. It's the darn Coen brothers and they are fresh off some real Academy respect. Say tuned.
THE RUNNERS-UP
Nothing But the Truth I like most of Lurie's work. Deterrence was an insane but ballsy little movie and The Contender is an above-average drama with some great performances. I liked Resurrecting the Champ even if it didn't all come together for me. This story of a journalist who goes to jail for outing a CIA agent has Valerie Plame's name written all over it (in invisible ink). Color me intrigued.
Milk Gus Van Sant and Sean Penn team up to tell the story of Harvey Milk, our first (openly) gay politician. Milk, along with San Francisco mayor George Moscone, was gunned down a year after he took office. Sounds like a blast!
W. I'm not sure what to make of Oliver Stone's latest. It looks a little fluffier than his previous efforts and that's attractive to me. He's re-teaming with his Wall Street scribe in what will surely be the year's most talked-about film (at least for a couple of weeks).
Changeling Stracyznski wrote 15 glorious episodes of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe which is a pretty big deal. Think about it. He wrote about the actual masters of our universe and he delivered. Here he's only dealing with like missing babies in the '30s or something, so I'm assuming he can do this kind of stuff in his sleep.
Rachel Getting Married Jonathan Demme pictures automatically command some level of respect so I'm curious to see how this one turns out. Based on the trailer, it looks like a winner. And winners never die. YOUR LIKELY CANDIDATES
Synecdoche, New York Kaufman's been nominated three times now so it's hard not to consider him a serious contender for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar, especially since, you know, he's really original. This one looks ultra bizarre (that's Kaufman's modus operandi) but it has the Oscar-friendly Philip Seymour Hoffman in the lead.
Baz's first film in seven years is one of the most anticipated films of the year. If this movie hits, I expect nominations all around. It's got the epic thing, the Kidman thing, and the Baz thing going for it I guess and that's a pretty good way to start. Maybe Hugh Jackman can finally get some respect around here too.
The Visitor Sadly, I missed Thomas McCarthy's film when it was in theaters last spring but any movie that stars the great Richard Jenkins is worth my time. I think I first developed my man-crush on the guy when he snuck into his own therapy session with Ben Stiller in There's Something About Mary, expertly licking off mustard from the side of his mouth. Don't read into that. Anyway, the word of mouth is good and if the campaign swells enough support don't be surprised to see Best Actor and screenplay nominations come of it.
Wall-E Okay, I really don't think this movie is going to get nominated for Best Picture. Let me just say that. However, I do think it has an excellent shot at a Best Original Screenplay nom, just a little nod to Mr. Stanton to let him know the Academy cares and knows he made one of the year's best films.
Happy-Go-Lucky I'm not a huge Mike Leigh fan, but the guy seems to make movies the Academy loves. I'd rather be tied to a cactus naked than watch some of his movies but hey, I'm not the Academy. His collaborative writing style goes over well with actors and might even land Sally Hawkins a Best Actress nod as well. Comments
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This Will Smith vehicle is a sweet-sounding drama (complete with suicides!) and it's being released in the Oscary month of December. Doesn't mean it's Oscar-caliber (it may just mean Will Smith can clean up) but I'm sure the studio is crossing their fingers that something special happens. Hey, me too!
