I just noticed that Milk was an Original Screenplay. The Academy needs to revise the Screenplay categories. Milk is not an adaptation, but it does have source material. The screenplay for Benjamin Button is more “original”, because it is only the loosest adaptation.
Maybe Screenplay should be one category. I would have voted for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but without it, I go with Frozen River.
can somebody explain why Wall-E should win when the first 45 minutes are basically without dialogue? if you’re voting for best story then by all means Wall-E should win it. but this is best SCREENPLAY, not best story.
Tony: “Story” is part and parcel of the screenwriting process. There’s a lot more to a screenplay than mere dialogue.
For example, “WALL-E” scredits Andrew Stanton with story and screenplay, while Jim Reardon and Pete Docter have screenplay and story credits respectively. All three are nominated for Best Screenplay.
To Tony: A screenplay is essentially instructions on creating the story. It contains directions to the actors (in the case of WALL•E, these are the animators of the actors) the camera crews, the prop people, and anyone else involved in creating the story the camera will see.
Wall•E did, in my opinion, an extraordinary job — and that first portion with relatively little dialog was all the more original for it. All could follow the story, despite the absence of talking heads explaining their motivations.
Would you rank the screenplay of a mute person poorly, merely because the main character did not speak? Surely not. In fact, the handling of that could produce a very good result, if well conceived.
This film definitely was beautifully conceived, and quite original — you pointed out yourself how unusual the “first 45 minutes” were. The film transcended storytelling, and reached the level of art.
Level_Head says it well. A screenplay is not a series of spoken lines. It is the entirety of the story, from instructions on what events happen, to the overall ideas and themes behind them, often even listing musical cues and visual effects. One could have an entirely dialogue-free screenplay, and it would still be a screenplay.
junjun
I think Wall-E will pull this off. This along with the animated oscar and a technical oscar (or two) will be their “consolation” prize for the best pic snub.
Nicolas Mancuso
I was deeply moved by the story “Frozen River” told. It gets my vote without question.
I believe its last-place ranking in this poll is due to the fact that so few people have seen it.
John Travolta
In Bruges! i can’t believe its second in the polls.
Materweaver
I can. Haven’t seen it, sure it’s a great film…
But WALL-E deserves best pic. Screenplay will have to do.
Sean
I think Milk deserves the award for being a strikingly original screenplay for a biopic. The screenplay chooses to focus on the gay rights movement overall, and not just Harvey Milk, which is, I think, the film’s greatest triumph.
Although I’d love for Happy-Go-Lucky to win, as some sort of retribution for Sally Hawkins not being nominated. Most ridiculous snub ever.
Liz
I thought “Milk”‘s screenplay was definitely its weakest aspect, and I also think it’s the weakest nominee in this (very strong) category. I voted for “In Bruges,” but I would be happy to see any of the other four take it.
I liked “Milk” a lot, but Van Sant’s direction and the performances really took it to the next level and made up for the average screenplay.
BurmaShave
IN BRUGES. One of the gabbiest and more novel crime films ever made. It deserves the consolation more than any of the others.
chris
In my opinion “Milk”, is by far my favorite in the very good original screenplay category. I really hope it wins.
Mike
Oh, tony, tony. You obviously know nothing about screenwriting and screenplays.
HBK
IN Bruges should win ,IMO.
But i think Milk will win .
Speaking English
Dustin Lance Black for his spectacular “Milk.” Mixing pathos and politics seamlessly, interweaving the life and loves of Harvey Milk in with the man’s pragmatic activism, and striking the perfect balance between intelligent political context and the indomitable, unadulterated humanity at its center, the script is through and through an organic thing of beauty.
And I want to see that terrifically handsome man walk up on the stage and collect that award. Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. ;)
Scott
I’m with Liz. I thought Milk’s screenplay was average and the acting was its strength. And I don’t by that it was a “movement” picture at all. Harvey Milk referring to a movement doesn’t mean that the movie was about a movement.
In any event, I think In Bruges was a much stronger screenplay.
KB
I agree with Speaking English. There are great moments of humor within the script as well. Subtle and poignant. I do think that “In Bruges” is deserving as well, but I would vote for Dustin Lance Black.
Björn
Milk! By a mile.
Otherwise In Bruges.
I liked Wall*e ‘s concept of the last robot on earth on a journey through space, but I thought the story unfolded as a rather easy awareness message. And it’s a complete mystery to me why Vicky Christina Barcelona isn’t nominated.
Leone
MILK because it’s a moving story told well.
Speaking English
***And it’s a complete mystery to me why Vicky Christina Barcelona isn’t nominated.***
Throwaway, immensely middling rom-com. Poor writing, especially for Woody.
***MILK because it’s a moving story told well.***
Damn good reason. :)
Speaking English
Oh, and it’s “Vicky CRISTINA,” no “h.”
Too many people make this mistake.
red_wine
Happy Go Lucky easily, but I’ll be partial to Wall-E though Milk which I also love will win it anyway. But it will be a step forward if they finally award an Animated film with a big award. And by god the film deserves it.
Netbug
tony rock: While I can see where you’re coming from, I’d highly recommend checking out the screenplay. It’s up for reading on the Disney Awards website. It’s brilliant.
I think It may be clear from that comment, I’m rooting for WALL-E It should have been nommed for Best Picture to begin with. But the lack of animation noms and 2001 not even getting a nom for BP back in it’s day speak for themselves on the Academy’s opinion of Sci-Fi and Animation. Major bummer.
This year, the writing categories are particularly interesting to me… I greatly admire four of the five original-screenplay films, and only greatly admire one of the five adapted-screenplay films: a perfect inversion. It makes selecting a winner taxing. If I had a vote in the ceremony, I’d probably ask it for “Wall•E,” although I’d be happy if the statuette went to either “In Bruges” or “Milk,” which I suspect will win, for the literary reasons Speaking English outlined well above, plus the amount of time and research that went into the film on Black’s part.
junjun
imho, Milk’s screenplay was ok but not as strong as In Bruges and Wall-E’s. I think Gus Van Sant’s excellent direction actually did more to elevate the screenplay.
PJ
Tough call but “WALL-E”. That first hour was amazing.
Zach Baum
In Bruges
it needs it way more than Wall-e
it saved colin farrel and Wall-e is gonna win annimated anyway
i would have put for best picture before i put Wall-e
Comments
33 responses to “POLL: Who deserves it? — BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY”
I voted for In Bruges even though it has no chance, but my other alternative would be WALL-E
I just noticed that Milk was an Original Screenplay. The Academy needs to revise the Screenplay categories. Milk is not an adaptation, but it does have source material. The screenplay for Benjamin Button is more “original”, because it is only the loosest adaptation.
Maybe Screenplay should be one category. I would have voted for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but without it, I go with Frozen River.
I voted for Synecdoche, New York…
…oh, wait…nevermind.
can somebody explain why Wall-E should win when the first 45 minutes are basically without dialogue? if you’re voting for best story then by all means Wall-E should win it. but this is best SCREENPLAY, not best story.
WALL-E, to make up for the *best reviewed movie of the year* not being the Best Picture race.
Synecdoche! Not even a makeup nod. What a great film that was.
Tony: “Story” is part and parcel of the screenwriting process. There’s a lot more to a screenplay than mere dialogue.
For example, “WALL-E” scredits Andrew Stanton with story and screenplay, while Jim Reardon and Pete Docter have screenplay and story credits respectively. All three are nominated for Best Screenplay.
To Tony: A screenplay is essentially instructions on creating the story. It contains directions to the actors (in the case of WALL•E, these are the animators of the actors) the camera crews, the prop people, and anyone else involved in creating the story the camera will see.
Wall•E did, in my opinion, an extraordinary job — and that first portion with relatively little dialog was all the more original for it. All could follow the story, despite the absence of talking heads explaining their motivations.
Would you rank the screenplay of a mute person poorly, merely because the main character did not speak? Surely not. In fact, the handling of that could produce a very good result, if well conceived.
This film definitely was beautifully conceived, and quite original — you pointed out yourself how unusual the “first 45 minutes” were. The film transcended storytelling, and reached the level of art.
===|==============/ Level Head
WALL-E. Hands down.
Unfortunately, I just can’t see Milk losing this category, being the only Best Picture nominee of the five.
Level_Head says it well. A screenplay is not a series of spoken lines. It is the entirety of the story, from instructions on what events happen, to the overall ideas and themes behind them, often even listing musical cues and visual effects. One could have an entirely dialogue-free screenplay, and it would still be a screenplay.
I think Wall-E will pull this off. This along with the animated oscar and a technical oscar (or two) will be their “consolation” prize for the best pic snub.
I was deeply moved by the story “Frozen River” told. It gets my vote without question.
I believe its last-place ranking in this poll is due to the fact that so few people have seen it.
In Bruges! i can’t believe its second in the polls.
I can. Haven’t seen it, sure it’s a great film…
But WALL-E deserves best pic. Screenplay will have to do.
I think Milk deserves the award for being a strikingly original screenplay for a biopic. The screenplay chooses to focus on the gay rights movement overall, and not just Harvey Milk, which is, I think, the film’s greatest triumph.
Although I’d love for Happy-Go-Lucky to win, as some sort of retribution for Sally Hawkins not being nominated. Most ridiculous snub ever.
I thought “Milk”‘s screenplay was definitely its weakest aspect, and I also think it’s the weakest nominee in this (very strong) category. I voted for “In Bruges,” but I would be happy to see any of the other four take it.
I liked “Milk” a lot, but Van Sant’s direction and the performances really took it to the next level and made up for the average screenplay.
IN BRUGES. One of the gabbiest and more novel crime films ever made. It deserves the consolation more than any of the others.
In my opinion “Milk”, is by far my favorite in the very good original screenplay category. I really hope it wins.
Oh, tony, tony. You obviously know nothing about screenwriting and screenplays.
IN Bruges should win ,IMO.
But i think Milk will win .
Dustin Lance Black for his spectacular “Milk.” Mixing pathos and politics seamlessly, interweaving the life and loves of Harvey Milk in with the man’s pragmatic activism, and striking the perfect balance between intelligent political context and the indomitable, unadulterated humanity at its center, the script is through and through an organic thing of beauty.
And I want to see that terrifically handsome man walk up on the stage and collect that award. Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. ;)
I’m with Liz. I thought Milk’s screenplay was average and the acting was its strength. And I don’t by that it was a “movement” picture at all. Harvey Milk referring to a movement doesn’t mean that the movie was about a movement.
In any event, I think In Bruges was a much stronger screenplay.
I agree with Speaking English. There are great moments of humor within the script as well. Subtle and poignant. I do think that “In Bruges” is deserving as well, but I would vote for Dustin Lance Black.
Milk! By a mile.
Otherwise In Bruges.
I liked Wall*e ‘s concept of the last robot on earth on a journey through space, but I thought the story unfolded as a rather easy awareness message. And it’s a complete mystery to me why Vicky Christina Barcelona isn’t nominated.
MILK because it’s a moving story told well.
***And it’s a complete mystery to me why Vicky Christina Barcelona isn’t nominated.***
Throwaway, immensely middling rom-com. Poor writing, especially for Woody.
***MILK because it’s a moving story told well.***
Damn good reason. :)
Oh, and it’s “Vicky CRISTINA,” no “h.”
Too many people make this mistake.
Happy Go Lucky easily, but I’ll be partial to Wall-E though Milk which I also love will win it anyway. But it will be a step forward if they finally award an Animated film with a big award. And by god the film deserves it.
tony rock: While I can see where you’re coming from, I’d highly recommend checking out the screenplay. It’s up for reading on the Disney Awards website. It’s brilliant.
I think It may be clear from that comment, I’m rooting for WALL-E It should have been nommed for Best Picture to begin with. But the lack of animation noms and 2001 not even getting a nom for BP back in it’s day speak for themselves on the Academy’s opinion of Sci-Fi and Animation. Major bummer.
This year, the writing categories are particularly interesting to me… I greatly admire four of the five original-screenplay films, and only greatly admire one of the five adapted-screenplay films: a perfect inversion. It makes selecting a winner taxing. If I had a vote in the ceremony, I’d probably ask it for “Wall•E,” although I’d be happy if the statuette went to either “In Bruges” or “Milk,” which I suspect will win, for the literary reasons Speaking English outlined well above, plus the amount of time and research that went into the film on Black’s part.
imho, Milk’s screenplay was ok but not as strong as In Bruges and Wall-E’s. I think Gus Van Sant’s excellent direction actually did more to elevate the screenplay.
Tough call but “WALL-E”. That first hour was amazing.
In Bruges
it needs it way more than Wall-e
it saved colin farrel and Wall-e is gonna win annimated anyway
i would have put for best picture before i put Wall-e