USC Scripter Award Nominations

Nominations for the 27th USC Scripter Award were unveiled.  Announced by the USC Libraries, the Scripter Award celebrates the best adapted screenplays of the year by honoring both the screenwriter and the writer of the original source material.

• Gone Girl- adapted by Gillian Flynn, based on Flynn's best-selling novel of the same name
• The Imitation Game- adapted by Graham Moore, based on the non-fiction book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges
• Inherent Vice- adapted by Paul Thomas Anderson, based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon
• The Theory of Everything- adapted by Andrew McCarten, based on the non-fiction book Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Hawking
• Wild- adapted by Nick Hornby, based on the memoir of the same name by Cheryl Strayed

USC Scripter Awards

Sort of a precursor for the Best Adapted Screenplay category, but not completely, the USC Scripter Award honor screenplays based on previously existing material.  But with a text.  They honor both the author of the screenplay as well as the author of the original source.  This years nominees were selected from a panel that consisted of Michael Chabon, Geoffrey Fletcher, Callie Khouri, Michael Ondaatje, Leonard Maltin, Kenneth Turan and Steven Zailian.

THE WINNER:
12 Years a Slave- screenplay by John Ridley, based on the book by Solomon Northup

Solomon Northup, who died in 1863, shares the USC Scripter Prize with John Ridley who wrote the screenplay for 12 Years a Slave.

The other nominees were:
Captain Phillips
Philomena
The Spectacular Now
What Maisie Knew

LITERARY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Robert Towne

USC Scripter Award Nominations

Sort of a precursor for the Best Adapted Screenplay category, but not completely, the USC Scripter Award honor screenplays based on previously existing material.  But with a text.  They honor both the author of the screenplay as well as the author of the original source.  This years nominees were selected from a panel that consisted of Michael Chabon, Geoffrey Fletcher, Callie Khouri, Michael Ondaatje, Leonard Maltin, Kenneth Turan and Steven Zailian.

What Maisie Knew

The nominees are:

• 12 Years a Slave- written by John Ridley; adapted from the autobiography by Solomon Northup
• Captain Phillips- written by Billy Ray; adapted from the non-fiction A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates , Navy SEALs and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips and Stephen Talty
• Philomena- written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope; adapted from the non-fiction The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith
• The Spectacular Now- written by Scott Nuestadter & Michael H. Weber; adapted from the novel by Tim Tharp
• What Maisie Knew- written by Carroll Cartwright & Nancy Doyne; adapted from the novel by Henry James

USC Scripter Award

The USC Scripter Award was established in 1988 by the Friends of the USC Libraries to celebrate the years best in writing-- specifically honoring the Best Adapted Screenplay; the recipients being the screenwriters and the original authors.  This year 82 screenplays were in contention, eventually whittled down to six nominations.  The winner:

• Argo- screenplay by Chris Terrio, based on the Wired article "The Great Escape," by Joshuah Bearman and the book, The Master of Disguise, by Tony Mendez. 

The remaining nominees were Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, Lincoln, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Silver Linings Playbook.

In the last five years, the USC Scripter winner has taken home the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award four times-- Up in the Air being the lone standout.

USC Scripter Nominations

The Scripters celebrate adapted screenplays by honoring both the screenwriters and the original authors of the source material.  The 2012 nominees are:

• Argo- Joshuah Bearman, author of the article "The Great Escape," Tony Mendez, author of The Master of Disguise, and screenwriter Chris Terrio
• Beasts of the Southern Wild- Lucy Alibar, dramatist of the play, Juicy & Delicious, and screenwriters Alibar and Benh Zeitlin.
• Life of Pi- Yann Martel, author of the novel, and screenwriter Chris Magee
• Lincoln- Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and screenwriter Tony Kushner.
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky, author and screenwriter.
• Silver Linings Playbook- Matthew Quick, author of the novel and screenwriter David O. Russell.

USC Scripter Award

Created in 1988, the USC Scripter Award is handed out by the Friends of the USC Libraries and honors the Best Adapted Screenplay in filmmaking, saluting both its original source and the finished film.

The nominees for 2011 were, The Descendants triumphs:

A Dangerous Method
written by Christopher Hampton, adapted from the non-fiction book A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud and Sabina Spielrein by John Kerr and the 2002 stage play The Talking Cure by Christopher Hampton.

The Descendants
written by Alexander Payne, Jim Rash & Nat Faxon, adapted from the novel by Kai Hart Hemmings.

Jane Eyre
written by Moira Buffini, adapted from the novel by Charlotte Bronte.

Moneyball
written by Steven Zailian & Aaron Sorkin, adapted from the novel Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Stan Chervin

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, adapted from the novel by John le Carre.

USC Scripter Awards

The Scripters acknowledge the art of an adapted screenplay as well as it's original source material.  The 2011 award:


The Social Network- written by Aaron Sorkin, based on "The Accidental Millionaires" by Ben Mezrich

Perhaps an easy get; it's razor sharp writing has been universally acknowledged.  Tomorrow night might be a more telling big win for team Social Network with the WGA awards, in which it's main competition The King's Speech will be nowhere in sight.

My WGA predictions:

Best Original Screenplay: The Kids Are All Right

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network

USC Scripter Award Nominees

The USC Scripter awards adapted screenplays, as well as their original source.

• 127 Hours- based on the autobiography, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, by Aron Ralston; screenplay by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy.

• The Ghost Writer- based on the novel, The Ghost, by Robert Harris; screenplay by Roman Polanski and Robert Harris.

• The Social Network- based on the novel, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal, by Ben Mezrich; screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.

• True Grit- based on the novel Charles Portis, screenplay by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.

• Winter's Bone- based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell; screenplay by Debra Granik and Anne Rosselini.