Best Adapted Screenplay 2018

For the films of 2018
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Which of the 2018 nominees for Best Adaapted Screenplay was the best?

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
0
No votes
BlackKklansman (Spike Lee)
3
17%
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Witty)
3
17%
If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)
12
67%
A Star Is Born (Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters)
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 18

Sabin
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Re: Best Adapted Screenplay 2018

Post by Sabin »

I'm thrilled that Spike Lee has an Oscar and BlacKkKlansman is a good reminder of the filmmaker in top form, but honestly the script is the film's weakest aspect. I knew a month or two out from Oscar night that A Star is Born would fumble nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, or both. It's a mess of pacing and structure but a weak field let it in like Gangs of New York.

Pretty torn between Can You Ever Forgive Me? and If Beale Street Could Talk. They're both worthy Best Picture also-rans. I might enjoy Can You Ever Forgive Me? a little more but I can't deny that Beale Street is the worthier achievement and the more daunting adaptation. I suspect I'll be able to warm to it a little more on a second viewing as well.
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Re: Best Adapted Screenplay 2018

Post by Big Magilla »

Not too many complaints about omissions from me.

I would replace A Star Is Born and Buster Scruggs with First Man and Lean on Pete, but with Can You Ever Forgive Me, BlackKklansman and If Beale Street Could Talk all in the running, it's one of the year's strongest.

If Beale Street Could Talk was probably the most difficult to write, because it's more exposition than dialogue, looking to me like writer Jenkins wrote it to suit director Jenkins' vision of what he wanted to show rather than the other way around. A strong runner-up.

BlackKklansman was fine, intelligent writing by Lee until that tacked-on nonsense about Stallworth pranking Duke on the phone which didn't happen in real life. The film didn't need that, so while Lee gets my vote for the year's Best Director, he loses points on the screenplay which he allegedly rewrote from someone else's submission.

I went with Can You Ever Forgive Me? because I thought it was the most perfectly written screenplay of the three. I've always thought Holofcener was a better writer than she was a director, so it's probably a good thing that she let Heller direct this in her stead. Co-writer Witty may also have helped tighten the screenplay which was completely on target, never veering off in odd directions that some of Holofcenr's earlier screenplays do.
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Re: Best Adapted Screenplay 2018

Post by Big Magilla »

Precious Doll wrote:
Big Magilla wrote:All the nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay have now been made available for home viewing the U.S. and Canada, as well as many other countries, with one (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) only available for streaming. The other four are all available on DVD, and all but Can You Ever Forgive Me? on Blu-ray.
Fox have ended up giving Can You Ever Forgive Me? the Blu Ray release it deserved. Don't know what caused their change of heart but it was most welcome. My copy is about to be dispatched from Amazon.
Thanks, Precious. I just checked Amazon. The release date was yesterday. I'm wondering if they planned a Blu-ray release all along, but it was held up by the plant that prints the Blu-rays, which are not the same ones that print the DVDs. So many of them have closed down that the few that are left have to process orders from all the distributors with priority given to the big ticket items that provide the most revenue. Fox also released If Beale Street Could Talk yesterday, so they were probably printed at the same time by the same plant. It affects all distributors. Sony, for example, released the DVD of Stan & Ollie yesterday, but Blu-ray distribution has been delayed.
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Re: Best Adapted Screenplay 2018

Post by Precious Doll »

Big Magilla wrote:All the nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay have now been made available for home viewing the U.S. and Canada, as well as many other countries, with one (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) only available for streaming. The other four are all available on DVD, and all but Can You Ever Forgive Me? on Blu-ray.
Fox have ended up giving Can You Ever Forgive Me? the Blu Ray release it deserved. Don't know what caused their change of heart but it was most welcome. My copy is about to be dispatched from Amazon.

I voted for If Beale Street Could Talk with BlacKkKlansman a close second. Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a most deserving nominee and I certainly have no complaints of Buster Scruggs taking a slot. This would have been a very appropriate category for Burning to be cited particularly over a tired and dogged eared version of A Star is Born.
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Re: Best Adapted Screenplay 2018

Post by dws1982 »

If Beale Street Could Talk, easily.
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Best Adapted Screenplay 2018

Post by Big Magilla »

All the nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay have now been made available for home viewing the U.S. and Canada, as well as many other countries, with one (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) only available for streaming. The other four are all available on DVD, and all but Can You Ever Forgive Me? on Blu-ray.
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