Some memorable snubs among the nominated (dating back to 1970):
Best original screenplay
*Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman, "Manhattan," 1979. For the "most overrated" scene alone. "Breaking Away" isn’t objectionable, but "Manhattan" is a classic.
*Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal, "Tootsie," 1982. A good old-fashioned Hollywood comedy, a la "Some Like It Hot." Not an all-time favorite, but I barely remember anything from "Chariots of Fire" except the Vangelis score. And "Tootsie" has Dabney Coleman.
*Ron Shelton, "Bull Durham"; John Cleese, "A Fish Called Wanda"; Naomi Foner, "Running on Empty," all from 1988, all much, much better than "Rain Man," written by Ron Bass and probably 50 other people. Bass’ scripts aren’t inspirations or labors of love, but assembly line creations. Committees don’t write great scripts — Bass certainly hasn’t.
*Woody Allen, "Crimes and Misdemeanors"; Spike Lee, "Do The Right Thing," 1989. Quite possibly Allen’s best film. Defenitely Spike Lee’s greatest (though "Crooklyn" is vastly underrated). How could these heavyweights lose out to the writer of the treacly "Dead Poets Society?" Fitting coda to a decade filled with shitty movies.
*Every other film made in 1990. "Ghost" was the winner.
*David Peoples, "Unforgiven," 1992. A damn near perfect film. "The Crying Game" was good, but "Unforgiven" singularly revived and redefined a flagging genre.
*Charlie Kaufman, "Being John Malkovich," 1999. Just getting the movie made was a stunning achievement. "American Beauty," meanwhile, is barely credible.
*Kenneth Lonergan, "You Can Count on Me," 2000. A beautiful, honest script. That year’s winner, "Almost Famous," played like a saccharine version of a true story.
Best adapted screenplay
(too many names to list with each screenplay, so sticking with just the movie and year here)
*"The Elephant Man," 1980, losing to "Ordinary People."
*"The Verdict," 1982, losing to "Missing."
*
"My Life as a Dog," 1987, losing to "The Last Emperor." ("My Life as a Dog" is in my all-time Top 10 — the Swede-est film ever.)
*"Goodfellas," "The Grifters," "Reversal of Fortune," 1990, losing to "Dances with Wolves." Cue John McEnroe.
*"The Player," 1992, losing to "Howard’s End."
*"Election" and "The Insider," 1999, losing to "The Cider House Rules."
*"Ghost World," 2001, losing to "A Beautiful Mind."
*"City of God," 2003, losing to one of those troll trilogies.
*"Notes on a Scandal" and "Borat," 2006, losing to "The Departed."
Filed under: Film
