NOTE: This “Oscar Moment” is a tad different from any of the prior ones. Rather than focusing on a specific movie, this post focuses on a particular category – in this case, screenplays.
A part of the Oscar season that I particularly love is watching the studios promote their movies. Thankfully, my friends over at Awards Daily do a fantastic job of monitoring the “For Your Consideration” ads that are placed in Variety and other indudstry magazines. But as the Internet becomes bigger and more present in our lives, the studios have adjusted campaigns slightly over the past years. Now, they have set up “For Your Consideration” websites designed to promote their movies to the voters but also provide a place for average moviegoers to learn more about the movies simultaneously.
A recent feature that most studios have graciously included on these sites is access to the screenplay of that movie in its entirety. Personally, I find these a great way to learn about the different styles of moviemaking in the race. Some movies draw heavily from their screenplay, others use it as merely a guideline.
Therefore, I feel it to be my duty to impart the knowledge of this treasure trove of movie gold to any interest moviegoer reading this blog. Click on the links below and they will take you to the screenplay for that movie (I will update this page periodically with new screenplays when they become available). Enjoy, because the race is just beginning!
NOMINEES for Best Screenpalay:
Click here to read the screenplay for “Precious.”
Click here to read the screenplay for “An Education.”
Click here to read the screenplay for “The Hurt Locker.”
Click here to read the screenplay for “Inglourious Basterds.”
Click here to read the screenplay for “A Serious Man.”
Other Screenplays:
Click here to read the screenplay for “A Single Man.”
Click here to read the screenplay for “Nine.”
Click here to read the screenplay for “It’s Complicated.”
Click here to read the screenplay for “Where the Wild Things Are.”
Click here to read the screenplay for “The Informant!”
Today’s “Oscar Moment” is brought to you by the movie “A Single Man,” adapted from a decades-old novel by Christopher Isherwood (if that sounds like the closing of “Sesame Street,” excuse my tardiness of honoring the show’s 40th anniversary). The movie could follow a similar awards season road to “Slumdog Millionaire.” Both were discovered at film festivals, got a distributor, and began attracting much Oscar talk. “A Single Man” burst onto the scene at the Venice Film Festival, where Colin Firth took home the prize for Best Actor. He has since become a frontrunner in the Best Actor race at the Oscars. But Firth is not the only part of the movie getting attention. Julianne Moore has gained some traction in a tight Best Supporting Actress race, and Tom Ford, former fashion designer (something I know only from a quick Google search), has won raves for his first film.
This edition of “Oscar Moment” concerns one of the favorites since last year’s Oscars finished. People have huge expectations for “Nine,” and if it fails to live up to them, the repercussions could be disastrous. It has every reason to succeed, though, based on a pedigree so impressive that it could be never be matched again. It has been a favorite in the Oscar race ever since it was announced; however, at the time of this posting, it remains a wild card in the race because no one has seen the full film yet.
So if Cotillard goes lead, who will be the nominee(s) for Best Supporting Actress? Despite all the talent, history tells us that “Nine” will probably be limited to two nominees in the category. Only “Tom Jones” in 1963 managed to sneak in three women; that movie won 4 Oscars including Best Picture. More notable though is that it did not collect the statue for Best Supporting Actress. The loss is due to a familiar phenomenon: vote splitting. It is how “Dreamgirls” and “Enchanted” managed to lose Best Original Song. Voters want to reward the movie, but they can’t rally behind a single nominee and someone else wins. But luckily for “Nine,” Harvey Weinstein has played this game many times. My guess is that he will start campaigning all the actresses evenly, but as more reviews come in and people see the movie, he will push the clear favorite.
At this time, the favorite is unknown. But based on the Broadway productions of the musical, an educated guess can be formed. In the original Broadway production, the Tony Award winner for Best Featured Actress was Liliane Montevecchi for her portrayal of Lilliane, Guido’s producer. In the movie, Liliane will be played by Judi Dench, who won this category back in 1998 for playing Queen Elizabeth for all of six minutes in “Shakespeare in Love.” Dench also has 5 other nominations, only one of which came from the supporting category. However, the research I have done seems to suggest that Lilliane is not a very flashy role. She does not have a solo song, and even if she is an integral part of other numbers, that seems to suggests that she is more of a subtle presence than a central part of the plot. (This is my interpretation from three years of musical theater experience.)
The remaining prospects left to touch on are Sophia Loren, who plays Guido’s mother, and Nicole Kidman, who plays Claudia, the star of Guido’s new movie. Guido’s mother barely appears in the plot summary anywhere, so I can only see a nomination plausible for Loren if the Academy falls head over heels for “Nine” and nominates Loren for nostalgic purposes. Although I will say, Guido’s mother sings the titular track “Nine,” and it is the sweet thing that melts voters. Claudia, on the other hand, has several beautiful numbers with Guido. Nicole Kidman has shown her capability with handling musicals – in fact, it’s how she got her first Academy Award nomination. But as for being an audience or critical favorite, Claudia has seem to have fallen short on Broadway. The role was only nominated for one major award, the slightly less prestigious Drama Desk, during its two runs on the Great White Way. I am most excited to see how this story plays out; that is, if audiences treasure Kidman especially or if she plays second fiddle to the other actresses like on stage.
You’ve already heard me say my fair share about “Up in the Air,” but a new trailer was released and I couldn’t help myself. This trailer gives us more information about the plot, yet it still leaves us with curiosity and excitement.
Another supporting actress worth noting is Vera Farmiga, who plays Alex Goran, the frequent traveler of Bingham’s dreams. Unlike Kendrick, I have seen one of Farmiga’s performances as the spellbinding lone female presence in “The Departed.” Like Kendrick, Reitman wrote the role especially for her. From my limited vantage point, it would appear that Farmiga has the more daunting character to tackle because Alex seems to illuminate a sensitive side of Bingham through their encounters.
Marshall and the Movies 
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