Sunday, February 11, 2007

Oscars 2006: Who Should/Will Win? [Screenplays]

Best Original Screenplay

Babel
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
The Queen

Who deserves to win? I'm not seeing Jima till the 23rd. Of the other films vying for the prize, only Little Miss Sunshine manages to create characters that you can imagine going about their daily existence before and after the film's detailed ephemeral portion. Pan's Labyrinth is certainly a very original script, though is at times incredibly easy to read. As for Babel and the Queen, the less said the better.

Who will win?
Probably Peter Morgan's script on the aftermath of the death of media darling Diana. One suspects Little Miss Sunshine definitely has a shot here, given that they love to give this prize to the indie comedy (Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine), but Morgan's screenplay seems to have strangely gathered a rather prestigious aura. But lest we forget that Sunshine is probably the BP frontrunner, and Crash was thrown the bone here last year. I'm saying The Queen.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Borat
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal

Who deserves to win?
Patrick Marber, whose Closer screenplay I completely detested, creates some wonderful phrases for Dench to spit out in Notes on a Scandal. William Monahan's Departed script is lively and exhilarating, though a couple of its characters seem like spare parts.

Who will win?
Definitely The Departed. No other film here has anywhere near enough support on that front. Borat probably has a few supporters but does it really represent good scripting? I'm dubious.

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