Alright, so this is a bit of a cheat because I’m writing this in January, but we now know Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s screenplay for Barbie is being forced to compete in the adapted category despite the fact the WGA has deemed it original and it’s been nominated thusly from the critics groups, where it has won five prizes so far. There’s a lot of debate online about this. Personally, I can see both sides of the argument, but if Barbie is adapted from the toy, how is Maestro not adapted from Leonard Berstein’s life? But it is what it is and Barbie tumbles out of this category.
Our current frontrunner appears to be David Hemingson for The Holdovers who is leading the charge with the critics groups including a big win from the National Board of Review. Hemingson faces tough competition from the likes of Celine Song (Past Lives) with a lot of love floating around for both the film and Song’s incredible screenplay. Both are strong contenders across the board, so this will be a tight two-horse race.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY PREDICTIONS:
1. The Holdovers – David Hemingson (Focus Features) – CCA
2. Past Lives – Celine Song (A24) – CCA, GG
3. Anatomy of a Fall – Justin Triet, Arthur Harari (NEON) – GG
4. Maestro – Bradley Cooper, Josh Singer (Netflix) – CCA, GG
5. May December – Samy Burch (Netflix) – CCA
IN CONTENTION:
Air – Alex Convery (Amazon MGM Studios) – CCA
Asteroid City – Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola (Focus Features)
The Boy and the Heron – Hayao Miyazaki (GKIDS)
Fair Play – Chloe Domont (Netflix)
The Iron Claw – Sean Durkin (A24)
Napoleon – David Scarpa (Sony Pictures / Apple Original Films)
Origin – Ava DuVernay (NEON)
Rustin – Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black (Netflix)
Saltburn – Emerald Fennell (Amazon MGM Studios)
