The award for Best Adapted Screenplay is undoubtedly one of the most misunderstood categories at the Oscars. Nobody questions that there is skill involved in taking a novel, play, or short story and turning it into screenplay that both retains the essence of the original story and interprets it for a two-hour film. However, what makes this category difficult is the ambiguity surrounding the selection of a winning film. What do the film script and the film itself need in order to deserve the award for Best Adapted Screenplay? According to past results, the film would need the qualities of a Best Picture winner with fifty-nine of the eighty-one winning Best Picture films having been adaptations. This year four of the Best Adapted Screenplay nominees including District 9, An Education, Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire and Up in the Air have also been nominated for Best Picture. (In the Loop is the only absent nominee not in this category). Whether one these films wins in both categories or not, the Academy clearly has high expectations when it comes to choosing a winner for the Best Adapted Screenplay.Of the nominated films, the first is something of an interesting surprise. District 9 director Neill Blomkamp, based his feature film on his own 2005 original short film Alive in Joburg. Together with co-writer Terri Tatchell, he chose characters, moments and concepts from the short film to use for District 9. For some this is a contentious nomination as the feature film merely borrows from the ideas of the short film, and is in itself an original script. However, the Academy is unrelenting in its rules and determines any connection to a previous work as an adaptation. District 9’s nomination reads as an honorable mention for its ability to manage a fictional documentary style with its political, sci-fi theme. It is unlikely to win, but deserves the recognition it gets nevertheless.
An Education, adapted by Nick Hornby from the same-titled memoir by Lynn Barber, is perhaps one of the leading contenders in the Best Adapted Screenplay category. Despite having used only a partial amount of the material available, Hornby’s screenplay digs under the factual details to get to the heart of every adolescent led astray by fanciful desires. It does what every good adaptation should do by adding to the essence of the story and its characters without inventing unnecessary details. Hornby’s attention to detail in fleshing out the characters from the memoir could win him the award.
Another strong contender in this category, In the Loop clearly surpasses its competition in witty dialogue and political satire. Written by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche, In the Loop is considered a spin-off from the British television series, The Thick of It, despite the story itself being original. The Academy generally awards the Best Adapted Screenplay to serious films, such as last year’s Slumdog Millionaire and 2007’s No Country for Old Men. However considering In the Loop’s clear success including its wins for best screenplay at last year’s New York Film Critics Circle Awards and British Independent Film Awards, the Academy may make a surprising move, but it is sadly unlikely.
Widely considered to be the greatest contending threat to any favorite, Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, has as great a chance as any to take out the Best Adapted Screenplay. Written by Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious is Fletcher’s first adaptation. The critical debate over this film’s worthiness is whether the script itself created the compelling action on screen. Should Precious miss out on Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, the Academy’s choice would likely be that the writing, rather than the acting, gave the film its hidden power. Precious’ chance may also lie in the Academy’s preference for cultural films within this category. District 9 being the only other contender in this category with a similar theme, Precious could be chosen, as Slumdog Millionaire was last year, for its keen awareness of the social issues the film deals with.
Finally, Up in the Air, is the clear favorite in the Best Adapted Screenplay category. Having won the precursor to the Oscars, the Golden Globe in Best Screenplay, its chances of winning are solid at the very least. The Academy favors adaptations from novels, and with An Education’s memoir aside, this leaves only Precious and Up in the Air in the running. Adapted by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner from the original novel of the same name by Walter Kirn, Up in the Air has already accumulated seventeen Best Adapted Screenplay wins in various film awards. That aside, the real-life testimonies from men and women who have actually lost their jobs, will put it over the edge after the fall of the national and worldwide unemployment rate in the past year.
Generally, the screenplay that will win has the most awards, the greatest acclaim and the biggest popularity. Up in the Air already has this, along with the social messages that parts of the film bring across to an audience in similar situations. All of the films nominated in this category deserve the honor of a mention, but when the winner is narrowed down, Up in the Air will be the Academy’s choice.
Who do you think will win Best Adapted Screenplay? And who deserves to win?