A Look at Best Adapted Screenplay

We start the Big 8 today, which means...

JUST ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL OSCAR NIGHT!!

Today's Category is Best Adapted Screenplay. The nominees are...

Borat
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal

I've seen Borat and The Departed. And one by one we go...

BORAT-Eh, it's really unlikely. Most of it is improv/unscripted and there really isn't a story to it all. There are really only one character, Borat of course, that they develop. I was really surprised that it got nominated, not only because it is far from the Academy's cup of tea, but also because I found it so vastly overrated. The nomination is, and always will be, its reward.

CHILDREN OF MEN-If it got a Best Picture nomination then I'd probably be predicting it, but the buzz was too last minute for it to do any significant damage. All it will do is take votes away from the frontrunner, but the frontrunner will still come out with the plurality. But, nonetheless, this does have an outside chance of winning. A very outside chance, but still a chance.

THE DEPARTED-Being the only BP nominee in this category (who would have thought that the Academy would go original this year?), it is the overwhelming favorite. I suppose Children of Men or Little Children (heh) could upset, but I seriously doubt it. It's almost--ALMOST--The Departed's to lose.

LITTLE CHILDREN-Remember the days when Kate Winslet was the frontrunner for Best Actress? Remember when people were predicting this for Best Picture? I don't have anything witty to follow that up with, I'm just remembering. The book is universally loved, but the movie had very little exposure. Is that to say that it couldn't pull off the upset? No. Well, yes, actually. Moving on...

NOTES ON A SCANDAL-This is pure Patrick Marber material; controversial subject matter, sexual content and a hard "R" rating. But, what really drives Notes on a Scandal (if I understand correctly) is the performances by its stars Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. They are what is being recognized, rather than the screenplay or movie itself.

WILL WIN: The Departed
SHOULD WIN: The Departed
IN ORDER OF LIKELINESS:
1. The Departed
2. Children of Men
3. Little Children
4. Notes on a Scandal
5. Borat

Tomorrow: Best Original Screenplay