By SaltyStix Staff 2/20/2008

Our fourth roundtable discussion will be about the best original screenplay. Just as before, don't hesitate to jump into the fray with your own thoughts by commenting at the bottom.

Brett: And the nominees are: Diablo Cody – JUNO, Nancy Oliver - LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, Tony Gilroy - MICHAEL CLAYTON, Brad Bird – RATATOUILLE, Tamara Jenkins - THE SAVAGES

Aaron: Again, this is a category that I have heavily campaigned for Juno's Diablo Cody to win. It stands an "okay" chance considering it is unlikely an animated film would win - ruling out Ratatouille; and I just have a feeling that The Savages can't take this category - if they take any category, it would be an acting category. Now I think we should consider Lars and the Real Girl as a strong dark horse candidate with Gilroy's Michael Clayton in the lead for a few reasons. First, the screenplay is a true drama which gives it a strong edge over Juno and Lars. And second, the Academy could decide that Clayton deserves some recognition and this could be the only Oscar it wins.

Bob: Yea, but on the same point wouldn't the academy think that Juno deserves some recognition, and this would be the only Oscar it wins? Personally, I really liked both Juno and Michael Clayton, and I wouldn't mind either taking this award, but if it comes down to this being their only award of the night, I think Juno is more deserving of that one award than Clayton is. If Ellen Page was still the favorite for actress, I think it would be a different story, but seeing as Julie Cristie will probably win that award, I think Juno deserves some recognition, and this is most likely the category to recognize it in. Also, the script for Ratatouille was great, and I think that it was a huge honor for the film just to be nominated here.

AJ: Juno's nomination is reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine. People love to see an indie comedy break into the mainstream and become a hit. Michael Arndt won best original screenplay for that and became hot property overnight. I could see the same thing happening to Diablo Cody (plus her whole rags to riches, stripper story doesn't hurt). The only issue I have is that once the dust settled around Juno, critics started to come out and criticize the dialogue for being too stylized. I think that argument is a load of crap, but it could hurt Juno's chances. Other than that, I would say Clayton would be my number 2 pick.

Bob: Another thing to keep in mind is that this is also a category where the smaller indie films usually win. Films that are not going to win best picture or any acting category, but were excellent and loved by both critics and fans. Not only was it Little Miss Sunshine last year, but before that winners in this category were Crash, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lost in Translation, Almost Famous, Good Will Hunting, Fargo, The Usual Suspects, and Pulp Fiction. Also, only three times in the past twenty years has a film won this category, and Best Picture. So, I think that here is where they award a runner up for Best Picture, and I believe that Juno (following the other small independent winners) will come away with the win.

Brett: Absolutely agree with Bob here. He pretty much nailed it. Diablo Cody is going to owe Ellen Page a milkshake or something, after all is said and done.

Aaron: We haven’t really talked about The Savages though. Is that an "indie" that could also win being that it is a lot more "serious" than Juno? And it probably won't win any other awards.

Bob: I think in most years, The Savages would be a really legit film to win this award. Seeing as this is oftentimes the award for the best indie film, I think it would have an awesome chance, but films were so good overall this year, that it really doesn't stand a chance. Juno needs to be the film that is honored here because it too probably won't win any other awards. Juno also fits the bill as an indie film that needs to win something. If Juno wasn't this year, I would say The Savages had a great shot, but The Savages just got the unfortunate distinction of being released the same year as Juno. It might very well be the second best "indie" film of the year (although you could make an argument that Blood and No Country are indie films).

Aaron: Speaking of Hoffman [The Savages], Thank God Before the Devil Knows You're Dead wasn't nominated for any of these screenplay awards. That guy probably churned that one out in about two hours. But we really don’t think The Savages have a shot?

Bob: I thought it looked pretty good, I just don't think that enough people saw it (compared to Juno) for it to win.

Brett: Come on, the buzz around Juno is impossible to avoid. There is no reason it cannot win. They pretty much have to give something to Juno and the film has the best chance at winning this category

Aaron: Quickly, before we discuss Lars and the Real Girl, who are we picking?

Brett: Diablo Cody for Juno

AJ: Juno

Bob: Juno

Aaron: Juno all around I guess

SaltyStix Roundtable 1: The Academy's Mistakes

SaltyStix Roundtable 2: Best Animated Feature

SaltyStix Roundtable 3: Best Adapted Screenplay

SaltyStix Roundtable 4: Best Original Screenplay

SaltyStix Roundtable 5: Best Visual Effects

SaltyStix Roundtable 6: Best Art Direction

SaltyStix Roundtable 7: Best Editing

SaltyStix Roundtable 8: Best Costume Design

SaltyStix Roundtable 9: Best Cinematography

SaltyStix Roundtable 10: Best Actor

SaltyStix Roundtable 11: Best Actress

SaltyStix Roundtable 12: Best Supporting Actor

SaltyStix Roundtable 13: Best Supporting Actress

SaltyStix Roundtable 14: Best Director

SaltyStix Roundtable 15: Best Picture

Could “Avatar” Win Best Picture?

By Brett Hogan

 

Last week, the trailer for James Cameron’s sci-fi experiment “Avatar” debuted. While initially unimpressed with the teaser, I began to wonder: Could this film win best picture? 

 

Buzz has been generating for this movie for years. Years. The technology to make this movie didn’t exist when Cameron conceived it, so he invented it. When is the last time you heard of a director spearheading the invention of anything? The casting started in 2005. Most movies these days, even epics, are done in half that time. I could go on. 

 

The most important thing to take away from all of this is that people are saying this will be the future of movies. Now, I don’t agree with the idea that CGI will become more prevalent than it already is. But I do believe that this will set the bar miles higher for sci-fi. I mean, that is what Titanic did. And that won some awards if memory serves.

 

I’ll bet you’re asking yourself, how can you even suggest that a film like this will win Best Picture when the initial trailer was nothing better than visual stimulation? Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, the Academy has expanded Best Picture to ten films. This doesn’t guarantee anything other than improved chances for most films on the cusp.

 

Second, after last year’s Oscars debacle, which saw the best film of the year, “The Dark Knight,” not only get shafted in awards but nominations as well, the Academy is pulling out all the stops to appease those with the loudest voices in the film industry, the fanboys. Now, the Academy probably didn’t lose anything because of that other than some viewers of the award show. Perhaps if people are again outraged with the winners or nominees, the heads of the Academy would lose their jobs. So this is all about the Academy protecting itself, which is not so outrageous.  

 

 

Third, there is an economic motive here. I’ve heard this film will cost $190 million, not counting the R&D costs associated with Cameron’s inventions or the cost of getting 3-D cameras into every theater in the country. The Academy will do everything in its power to get people into the seats and make this the next “Titanic” or “The Dark Knight.” But the Academy doesn’t have much power, besides nominating and awarding, so they will slap the “Nominated for Best Picture” moniker onto every commercial and print ad to get the people who didn’t believe the critics to relent and see this movie.

 

Of course, all of this is pure conjecture, and no revolutionary film (Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, etc.) has ever won the Best Picture category because it changed the game. Except maybe Titanic. But still, could this movie actually win? My answer is no but a nomination is certain and who knows what could happen from there. We’ll know more come February 2010.