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Or is this Bob Verini article in the latest issue of Script Magazine just desperately in need of a fact checker? Normally I wouldn’t bring it up, but crazy stuff like this happens all the time. Clearly, it’s a case of “based on characters created by,” etc. But there tends to be a lot of discussion on how much material was original to the piece, and I think it’s fair to say that, while a number of the situations in the film recall installments such as “The Long Halloween” and even “Batman” #1, the Nolan brothers did a great job of manifesting circumstances for their narrative.
I’ve made some calls, haven’t heard back yet. My guess is it’s a mistake. But while we’re talking about it, I can’t help but think Eric Roth’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin BUtton” is so much more an original screenplay than a piece adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story. I’ve been wondering what might happen with that at the WGA all year long.
Anyway, I’m somewhat out of pocket today and tomorrow. Guy should be popping back in from vacation to keep the train rolling before long. If I don’t make it back here beforehand, everyone have a happy and safe new year.
12 responses so far
1 12-30-2008 at 11:09 am
Ben M. said...
I just searched for FYC ads for the film and they list it as adapted. So it is probably a mistake.
2 12-30-2008 at 11:17 am
alynch said...
Even if the events aren’t really based on any previous comics in particular, isn’t automatically an adapted screenplay just by being a sequel? They’re adapting film characters established in a previous screenplay after all. For example, Before Sunset was considered an adapted screenplay despite not being based on anything from another medium.
3 12-30-2008 at 11:44 am
Peter said...
Thank you for raising the script from ‘Benjamin Button’. It’s so distant from the original work, it might as well be a piece of new material.
Nonetheless, it’s considered adapted despite the only thing the film and story have in common is the title, the concept of a guy aging backwards and Ben and Daisy’s names.
4 12-30-2008 at 11:46 am
VagrantFarce said...
It should be “best adapted screenplay” because it’s based on characters and situations published elsewhere. Regarding Benjamin Button, There Will Be Blood deviated from the source text last year, but it was still considered an adapted screenplay.
This is a really silly discussion.
5 12-30-2008 at 11:51 am
McGuff said...
Peter, actually, even Daisy’s name is a new one. In the Fitzgerald story (which I read yesterday), her name is Hildegarde Moncrief. Needless to say, a big improvement. There are some subtle things that Roth borrowed:
– The first thing Benjamin noticed in Daisy/Hildegarde was her eyes, like “blue enamel.”
– At a dancing party, an older Benjamin watches Daisy/Hildegarde dance with younger men and feels out of place.
– Daisy/Hildegarde has a real issue with aging, though they handle this differently.
There’s some other really, really minor connections (look, both used John Wilkes Booth!), but I agree with Vagrant: if There Will Be Blood was adapted, so was Benjamin Button.
6 12-30-2008 at 12:00 pm
Mr. F said...
If “Borat” was nominated for adapted screenplay, then why shouldn’t this be?
7 12-30-2008 at 12:06 pm
Dr. Strangelove said...
My thoughts exactly, Mr. F. It’s not original, period.
8 12-30-2008 at 12:18 pm
Jonathan Spuij said...
Must be a mistake. Carry on folks.
9 12-30-2008 at 1:01 pm
Jamie said...
Just by virtue of it being a sequel, “The Dark Knight” is an adapted screenplay. A good example would be “Before Sunset,” which is based on original material but was still nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.
My personal favorite example of weird rulings like this is when “Adaptation.” was placed in the adapted category even though it is more about the process of adaptation rather than an actual adaptation of The Orchid Thief.
10 12-30-2008 at 1:35 pm
Michel said...
Not only the characters were adapted into the film, but certain scenes, storylines and imageries. There are also dialogue lines coming directly adapted from issues of The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, Batman: Year One, etc. The rooftop meeting of the three good guys, Joker disguised as a cop, the Joker poisoning the drink of one of his targets, Batman telling the Joker how he was doing it all to prove that the rest of the people weren’t that different from him… lines like “He does that.” or “…misplaced sense of self-rihgteousness”… al that was taken from the comics.
It was certainly an adaptation, a great one, and it was based on more than just characters. It should not be running for original screenplay.
11 12-30-2008 at 1:37 pm
Michel said...
Oh, and the line that went like “He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall”… that’s straight from The Killing Joke. And the whole Harvey Dent arch was almost raised from The Long Halloween. It’s an adaptation.
12 1-01-2009 at 7:20 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
Preaching to the choir, Michel.