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Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

I've said each year that this is my favorite category. Here's an updated example why:  thanks to the pandemic, we got through the movies much earlier than usual. While working on this screed, I happened to see a movie about the Apalachin mafia summit in 1957, Mob Town. Being a fan of the genre, and curious to see how Jamie-Lynn Sigler was doing with her MS (this is a 2019 production and we haven't seen her in a while). Only a few minutes in, I was thinking how stilted the dialogue was:

 

"I need some friggin cod"

"How much friggin cod"

"35 pounds"

"Who the frig do you think I am?"

"Your the friggin fish guy with the friggin cod"

​

So I go to Rotten Tomatoes to see...any guesses?                                                                Yup. 

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Not to belabor the point, but here is the Memorable Quotes page from IMDB:

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This thing was beautifully filmed, with the impressive '50s Cadillacs and suits, aerial shots of rural New York, south of the Finger Lakes and an important historical event. The town of Apalachin is named for the Lenape phrase "from where the messenger returned". I think the message, in this case, was "send a friggin writer".

 

  • Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja & Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern, Borat Subsequent

    • SBC is punking me with the number of words in the title and the number of names in the writing credits, right? For a movie that, by its nature, has a fair amount of improvisation?  Feels like his dream was holding the script in his arms and making romance explosion on keyboard.

  • Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller, The Father

    • Clever examination of dementia. If they win, they should share the celebratory coke with Yorgos Lamprinos (Editor) and Hannibal Lechter.

  • Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

    • Impressive how much of this Chloe controlled (Producing, Directing and Editing), but given that she was retelling actual nomad's stories, I'd pass on this award.

  • Kemp Powers, One Night in Miami

    • This has to win, IMHO {insert your 'H' scowl here}. While each of the participants (Ali, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke) have spoken or written about this night, no one else was with them after Ali's victory over Sonny Liston. So Kemp has a lot of void to fill. It could easily have slid into cliches, since each of the famous men were as famous as black me got in the '60s. He does not draw hard lines and does not paint any of them as more right or wrong than the others. Brilliantly done.

  • Ramin Bahrani, The White Tiger

    • [SR, the fat man mounts his soapbox] This is the beauty of this category -- the work of art that otherwise would not come to our attention. Do watch The White Tiger. It is clever, contemporary and culturally enlightening. 

Writing (Original Screenplay)

  • Will Berson & Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah

    • Loved this movie and every aspect of it. I'm only favoring Lee Isaac Chung because of the 'original' label - the Black Panthers are a well documented part of our history. Won't be upset if any of the first 4 listed here win, though.

  • Lee Isaac Chung, Minari

    • This is a beautifully told story, so I immediately look to the writer. Chung took elements from his family story to tell this one and inserted a terrific balance of tension and humor to make it memorable.

  • Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

    • I don't want this movie to be lost in the shuffle (and not just because Carey Mulligan's character ​scared me). While some will sneer at another #metoo story, this one is cleverly assembled and, while pointed, not merely finger-pointing.

  • Darius Marder & Abraham Marder, Sound of Metal

    • This brother team was way under my radar (save the documentary Freeheld​, but honestly only because it was set in Ocean County, NJ). Hoping to see a ton more from them.

  • Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

    • I am a loyal fan of A Few Good Men, The Social Network and Moneyball. While this was an entertaining historical drama, Sorkin couldn't resist overdoing it with the fictional standing ovation at the end (sorry -- I'm not apologizing for spoiling his spoiling. If you've seen it, you understand).

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