Best Original Screenplay is probably one of my favorite above the line categories at the Oscars. Screenwriters have the hardest, but most gratifying jobs in the entertainment industry. This years, there have been some fantastic original movies this year, and honestly any of the nominees this year would be deserving, but whether they will win is another question.
I think in the lead is a Spike Jonze for Her. It has a few things going for it, but first and foremost it is one of the two nominees that is wholly original (the other being Bob Nelson for Nebraska). He has also consistently been winning different critics’ groups award including the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice awards. I also think that it is wholly unique from anything that has been nominated before. Romances are no strangers to this category (Before Sunset, the prequel to current nominee Before Midnight, was nominated in this category), however none have commented on society like Spike Jonze did in Her. It is also probably the one category that voters would feel comfortable awarding the film.
However, right on their tail is Eric Singer and David O. Russell for American Hustle. The film is one of the three frontrunners for Best Picture. It also helps that the Academy has quite the love affair with David O. Russell, who has been nominated in Best Director three times and nominated last year in Adapted Screenplay for Silver Linings Playbook. Although the film has a good chance in other categories, voters may decide that this is where they should award the film if it fails to win (Picture, Director, Actress, or Supporting Actress, where I have the film in second place).
Although I’m pretty certain that one of the two above films will win, there is room for Bob Nelson for Nebraska to potentially upset. He has created such a charming screenplay with great characters. If Gravity is a director’s film, then Nebraska is a writers film. Woody Allen was a factor when nominations first came out, but the Academy would not want to hand him an Oscar amidst the recent controversy concerning Dylan Farrow.
Check out my predictions below and all of our Oscar predictions here!
Will Win: Spike Jonze, Her
Could Win: Eric Singer & David O. Russell, American Hustle
Should Win: Spike Jonze, Her
Should Have been Nominated: Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis
Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.