Because I'm too lazy to even watch the DVD's of the Oscar winners I have sitting on my entertainment center, I thought I might as well do these last couple previews in case I don't get to them by 5pm tomorrow.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Courtney Hunt for 'Frozen River'
Martin McDonagh for 'In Bruges'
Mike Leigh for 'Happy Go Lucky'
Dustin Lance Black for 'Milk'
Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon for 'WALL-E' (Story by Stanton and Pete Docter)
THE NOMS: I haven't seen two of them -- though I'm still hoping to watch my DVD of 'Frozen River' (no, this is not a recording), which was a big winner at the Independent Spirit Awards tonight -- but the ones I saw ('Milk', 'WALL-E', and 'In Bruges') were all exceptionally written. I'd have loved to see Charlie Kaufman's 'Synecdoche, NY' -- another winner tonight at the Independent Spirit winner -- but without seeing all the nominees I can't exactly cast stones. Well, I could, but they'd be very uninformed stones.
WHO SHOULD WIN: 'WALL-E' will make a strong case with its style, substance, and message. 'Milk' also has a message, and a great performance by Sean Penn to carry it. The other three are low-budget, independent films. That's great for the Independent Spirit Awards, but at the Oscars, it probably won't fly. I say 'Milk' edges out 'WALL-E' based on the timeliness of its issue, Penn's performance, and the whole live-action thing. If so, it'll be the second straight year a writer's first produced screenplay wins them an Oscar (after Diablo Cody's 'Juno').
WHO WILL WIN: I liked 'Milk' quite a bit, and admired 'WALL-E' even more, but 'In Bruges' was the best surprise of the year for me. And I think it announced Martin McDonaugh as a great voice to watch for in the future.
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