I remember how appalled I was when I saw A Beautiful Mind during its opening weekend. I read Sylvia Kassar's excellent biography the previous summer and I was looking forward to the film. The film was a work of fiction that had almost nothing to do with the fascinating true story of John and Alicia Nash. A real biopic of Nash could only be done as a miniseries (he had one hell of a life story). But I thought every one of Goldsman's changes made Nash's story less interesting and less credible. I have never even attempted to write a film script in my life. But during the entire film I saw opportunities to take real stories from John and Alicia's lives that would have fit in with the fictional parts, would not have messed up the pacing of the film, and would not have inordinately lengthened the film. Having something true in the film would have also given it some integrity.
Goldsman and Howard had a book with a wonderful true story and decided to place the name of that book on a lame fictional story. And it was totally unnecessary. I became even more disgusted when I read abut the political reasons behind their decisions.
Worst Best Adapted Screenplay
There was nothing wrong with the Precious script. The problems with the film stemmed from the direction, not the writing.
I think there's plenty wrong with the Precious script. For starters, it doesn't actively bring us into Precious' learning process on any level. It's wall-to-wall hoary cliché, but really the penultimate scene undermines what precedes it. It's rooted in so much honesty (maybe not on the page, but on the screen) that the lack of narrative follow-up is disheartening. If anything, the film needed to go much farther. I understand obviously why this didn't happen, but it's a crock of shit. Not as much as A Beautiful Mind is, but there you have it.
I think Precious is one of the worst films of 2009 and probably a worse piece of filmmaking than A Beautiful Mind, but only for reasons of budget and Howard's bland competence. But there's no comparing the failures of screenwriting between the two.
I would imagine the runaway favorite for these Worsts would be Crash for Original Screenplay, but now it looks like it's A Beautiful Mind for Adapted Screenplay with token noms for The Return of the King (which is not a great script at all) and Precious.
"How's the despair?"
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Mister Tee
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The hideous A Beautiful Mind, of course.
I'd have to go over the entire list of winners, but off the top of my head, Akiva Goldsmith must be the biggest hack ever to win a writing Oscar.
Edited By Damien on 1270321683
I'd have to go over the entire list of winners, but off the top of my head, Akiva Goldsmith must be the biggest hack ever to win a writing Oscar.
Edited By Damien on 1270321683
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Mister Tee
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I assume there'll eventually be some scattered votes for others -- from our board contrarians -- but for now, anyway, the clear choice is pitching a shutout.
Precious was the other consideration, but it at least had that final scene, which had to have been halfway well-written for Mo'Nique to so soar with it.
Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman. Makes the whole designation feel cheap.
Precious was the other consideration, but it at least had that final scene, which had to have been halfway well-written for Mo'Nique to so soar with it.
Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman. Makes the whole designation feel cheap.
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Big Magilla
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This is no contest.
There was nothing wrong with the Precious script. The problems with the film stemmed from the direction, not the writing.
A Beautiful Mind, on the other hand, was a total mess. There wasn't much Ron Howard and his his actors could do with it, though Russell Crowe and to an extent, Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany did their best to rise above it.
I have always thought that the reason this mediocre at best, film won its four Oscars was due to Universal's marketing campaign woe-betiding the alleged internet campaign against it. It's interesting to note that the Special Edition DVD has just one "critic's" blurb on its back cover - "A Beautiful Mystery - George Will, Newsweek" as if there were any doubt as to which political persuasion the film is meant to appeal.
There was nothing wrong with the Precious script. The problems with the film stemmed from the direction, not the writing.
A Beautiful Mind, on the other hand, was a total mess. There wasn't much Ron Howard and his his actors could do with it, though Russell Crowe and to an extent, Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany did their best to rise above it.
I have always thought that the reason this mediocre at best, film won its four Oscars was due to Universal's marketing campaign woe-betiding the alleged internet campaign against it. It's interesting to note that the Special Edition DVD has just one "critic's" blurb on its back cover - "A Beautiful Mystery - George Will, Newsweek" as if there were any doubt as to which political persuasion the film is meant to appeal.
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The Original BJ
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There are two true stinkers of this bunch. One of them is a grossly underdeveloped coming of age story that undermined by amateurish direction (Precious) and the other is a grossly miscalculated portrait of mental illness (A Beautiful Mind). I hate Precious, but it's harmless compared to A Beautiful Mind, and anyhow it's possible that the script wouldn't suck as much had Daniels not been such a hack. I'm voting for Akiva "Bad Idea Jeans" Goldsman.
Edited By Sabin on 1270316052
Edited By Sabin on 1270316052
"How's the despair?"