Weâre continuing on with our weeklong preview of the upcoming 85th Academy Awards, and after running down both acting categories itâs time to take look at some of the other races. Today weâll be looking at the Best Animated Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Screenplay categories in depth, and Iâll also make some way-too-early quick picks in the technical categories. The fun begins after the jump.In case you missed them, click here to read our preview for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, and click here to read our preview for Best Actor and Best Actress.
Best Animated FeatureÂ
None
Likely to Be Nominated:Â
- Brave
- Frankenweenie
- Wreck-It RalphÂ
Other Contenders:Â
- Rise of the Guardians
- ParaNorman
- Madagascar 3: Europeâs Most WantedÂ
The Best Animated Feature race is a little all over the place at the moment. Many were expecting a frontrunner to emerge in the way of DreamWorks Animationâs Rise of the Guardians, but that film has received a much more mixed reception that most were expecting. The film is still likely to nab a nomination, though, as is Pixarâs Brave even though most agree the fairy tale isnât exactly in the same league as many of the studioâs other films. It's still leagues better than Cars 2, but that's not really saying much.
Surprisingly, the closest thing we have to a frontrunner right now may be Tim Burtonâs Frankenweenie. Though the filmâs box office isnât spectacular, it was warmly received by critics and generally liked overall by most who saw it. For my money, Laikaâs ParaNorman is the best of the bunch, but it may be edged out by Frankenweeenie if voters are remiss to include two âHalloweenâ movies on their ballots.
Disneyâs Wreck-It Ralph is a safe bet for a nomination as well, and also has a decent shot at the win. It nabbed quite a few high marks from critics and a hefty box office total of $159 million. Also in the mix is DreamWorks Animationâs Madagascar 3: Europeâs Most Wanted, which netted the best reviews and highest box office of any film in the franchise thus far.Â
Best Adapted ScreenplayÂ
Frontrunners:
- Tony Kushner â Lincoln
Likely to Be Nominated:Â
- Chris Terrio â Argo
- David O. Russell â Silver Linings Playbook
- Behn Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar â Beasts of the Southern Wild
Other Contenders:Â
- David Magee â Life of Pi
- William Nicholson â Les Miserables
- Ben Lewin â The Sessions
- Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Phillipa Boyens â The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
- Judd Apatow â This Is 40Â
For Your Consideration:Â
- Steven Chbosky â The Perks of Being a WallflowerÂ
As many are expecting a big Oscar night for Lincoln, screenwriter/playwright Tony Kushnerâs script for the Steven Spielberg film is undoubtedly a major contender here. The language in Lincoln is splendid, and much of the picâs success is owed to Kushnerâs magnificent screenplay given that the film is an incredibly talky drama that mostly takes place in rooms full of people. Kushner manages to make a story about political process wildly engaging, funny, and even thrilling, so I expect him to be this categoryâs primary frontrunner once nominations are announced.
Chris Terrioâs nail-biting script for Argo is also a big player in this category, and I imagine heâll be singled out for skillfully blending the filmâs lighter, Hollywood side with the dramatic hostage crisis. David O. Russell also looks poised to land another screenwriting nomination for Best Picture hopeful Silver Linings Playbook, but one of the more interesting contenders here is Behn Zeitlin and Lucy Alibarâs wonderful screenplay for Beasts of the Southern Wild. The tiny-budget drama is a magnificent piece of filmmaking due in large part to Zeitlin and Alibarâs fascinatingly original script, and it has a very good shot at netting a Best Screenplay nom.
The adaptation of Life of Pi could draw notice for its script given that the source novel was considered âunfilmable,â and itâs wise to consider Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Phillipa Boyens for The Hobbit given that they were previously nominated for penning The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King, winning the award for the latter. Itâs also smart to keep an eye on Judd Apatow for This Is 40. The Academy recognized Bridesmaids in the Original Screenplay category last year, and Apatow was previously nominated by the Writers Guild of America for his The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up screenplays.
For my For Your Consideration pick, Iâd like to single out Stephen Chboskyâs adaptation of his own novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Adapting a book as beloved as this was a hard enough task as is, but Chbosky made it that much more difficult by tackling the screenplay himself. He brilliantly translated the essence of the novel to the screen, making some pleasantly surprising alterations and additions that enhanced the bookâs themes and even enriched a few characters in the feature film version. Weâve seen countless uninspired âtranslationsâ of books to screen in the past few years (ahem, Twilight), and I applaud Chbosky for recognizing the need to make changes when turning a book into a movie. Chbosky crafted not only one of the best films of the year, but he also turned in one of the best book-to-film adaptations in a long, long time.
Best Original ScreenplayÂ
Frontrunners:
- Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola â Moonrise Kingdom
- Michael Haneke - Amour
Likely to Be Nominated:Â
- Quentin Tarantino â Django Unchained
- Paul Thomas Anderson â The MasterÂ
Other Contenders:Â
- Mark Boal â Zero Dark Thirty
- John Gatins â Flight
- Ava DuVernay â Middle of Nowhere
- Rian Johnson â Looper
- Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon â The Cabin in the WoodsÂ
The Original Screenplay category is a bit tougher to parse out at the moment, but there are a few clear major contenders that stand out from the rest of the pack. Wes Anderson made one of the best films of his career with this yearâs delightfully charming Moonrise Kingdom, and the filmâs crackerjack screenplay by Anderson and Roman Coppola will undoubtedly be one of this yearâs nominees in the category.
Also at the top of the pile is Michael Henekeâs script for his devastating drama Amour. The film is an incredibly tough watch, but itâs been hailed as one of the best films of 2012 for quite some time now (it won the Cannes Palm dâOr back in May), so look for it to be a major contender in the Original Screenplay category.
Sight unseen, itâs pretty safe to say that Quentin Tarantino will find himself among the nominees for Django Unchained. The guy just doesnât make bad movies, and depending on how things shake out he might pull off his first Oscar win since taking home the Best Original Screenplay trophy in 1995 for Pulp Fiction.
Another living legend, Paul Thomas Anderson, should also land among the nominees for his The Master screenplay. Even though the film has gathered a rather polarizing response, Andersonâs talent is unlikely to be overlooked. Itâs shocking to think that the guy behind Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood has yet to win an Academy Award, but itâs entirely possible that he could find himself standing at the podium come Oscar night.
The last time Mark Boal wrote a screenplay he won an Oscar, and heâs reteamed with his The Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty so look for him to be a major player in this category as well. Weâll have a better idea of his chances of winning once the film screens for critics, but heâs already talked extensively about the lengths to which he and Bigelow went to maintain accuracy when dramatizing the hunt for Osama bin Laden. I also donât think itâs out of the realm of possibility for Rian Johnson to nab a nomination for his refreshingly original sci-fi film Looper. The pic was incredibly well-received by critics, and Iâm really hoping it picks up some steam this awards season.
When I see the words Best Original Screenplay, one of the first 2012 films that comes to mind is my For Your Consideration pick for this category: Drew Goddard and Joss Whedonâs The Cabin in the Woods. The duo turned the horror genre entirely on its head with a brilliantly fresh genre film that was packed to the brim with humor and smarts. I know itâs a very long shot for a nomination, but when running down the best original screenplays of the year, I donât see how itâs possible to leave this one out.
The technical categories are tricky enough to predict just before Oscar night, so in lieu of running down each category by frontrunners, likely nominations, and other contenders, Iâve simply listed four or five picks that are currently a part of the conversation. A lot can change between now and when the nominations are announced, so donât be surprised if the end result is a tad different.
Many of the categories will be easier to parse out once the official list of eligible contenders is released. The Original Score category is particularly difficult to weigh in on as there are many strange rules that keep some worthy scores from being eligible to compete. Nevertheless, hereâs a look at some of the contenders:
EditingÂ
-
- William Goldenberg â Argo
- Jay Cassidy â Silver Linings Playbook
- Peter McNulty â The Master
CinematographyÂ
- Cloudio Miranda â Life of Pi
- Roger Deakins â Skyfall
- Robert Richardson â Django Unchained
- Mihai Malaimare Jr. â The Master
Production Design
Sound MixingÂ
- Les Miserables
- Skyfall
- The Dark Knight Rises
Sound EditingÂ
- Skyfall
- The Dark Knight Rises
- The AvengersÂ
Costume DesignÂ
Original ScoreÂ
- Dario Marianelli â Anna Karenina
- Tom Tykwer, Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek â Cloud Atlas
- Behn Zeitlin, Dan Romer â Beasts of the Southern Wild
- John Williams â Lincoln
MakeupÂ
Visual Effects
- Life of Pi
- Cloud Atlas
- The Avengers
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Foreign Language Film
- Amour â Austria
- The Intouchables â France
- No â Chile
- A Royal Affair â Denmark
Documentary FeatureÂ
- The House I Live In
- The Central Park Five
- West of Memphis
Thatâs it for todayâs run of Oscar categories. Check back tomorrow for our final installment of Oscar Preview 2013 when we take a look at the big ones: Best Picture and Best Director.