The Adapted Screenplay category is painfully slim this year, while the Original Screenplay category is STACKED and packed and crowded. These nominations are theoretically supposed to honor both the source material and the screenplay. They sometimes hold to this and other times don’t. These look like a pretty good bet for WGA and perhaps Oscar, give or take a Joker.
And don’t be surprised if Greta Gerwig wins this. The win SHOULD go to either Jojo Rabbit or The Irishman, but I suspect all of the press about women being shut out will influence this. The Two Popes could also win. Or they could all split and they go for the lone female. And honestly, if you wanted to give any award to this movie for any reason? It would be her adaptation, which is interesting and unique.
At the Scripter ceremony, unlike the Oscars, both the adapter and the adapted are nominated and honored. That is why this year’s finalists are:
Matthew Carnahan and Mario Correa for Dark Waters based on the New York Times Magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” by Nathaniel Rich
Steven Zaillian for The Irishman based on the nonfiction work I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt
Taika Waititi for JoJo Rabbit based on the novel Caging Skies by Christine Leunens
Greta Gerwig for Little Women based on the novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott
Anthony McCarten for The Two Popes based on his play The Pope
Since 2016, USC Libraries has also presented a Scripter Award for best television adaptation. This year’s finalists are:
Phoebe Waller-Bridge for the first episode of Fleabag based on her one-woman play of the same name
Joel Fields and Steven Levenson for the episode “Nowadays” from Fosse/Verdon based on the biography Fosse by Sam Wasson
Emerald Fennell for the episode “Nice and Neat” from Killing Eve based on the novel Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings
Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman for the first episode of Unbelievable based on the article “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong
Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson for the episode “This Extraordinary Being” from Watchmen based on the comic book series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Finalists were chosen from 61 film and 58 television adaptations. The winners of both awards will be announced at a black-tie dinner ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 25 at USC’s historical Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library.
