I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Boal, the celebrated journalist and screenwriter of “The Hurt Locker,” over a beer in London last week, and was glad to find him as alert and interesting a subject as the film he wrote. (The interview will crop up on these pages soon, by the way.)
So as awards season unfolds over the coming months, I’ll be cheering every bit of recognition that comes his way. And the first such citation, neatly enough, comes at the place where “The Hurt Locker” made its first appearance nearly a year ago: the Venice Film Festival.
Variety reports that Boal has been shortlisted for the Gucci Group Award, a prize presented during the festival since 2006 to honor outstanding cinematic achievement by individuals from outside the world of film. Should he win, he’ll be in excellent company: previous recipients include Julian Schnabel (for “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”) and Steve McQueen (“Hunger”).