USC Scripter Nominees

This is always an interesting award, honoring both the sourch material and the screenplay of adapted works. While it has no connection to the Oscars, most winners in Adapted Screenplay have gotten at least a nomination here, and the winner has matched up rather well in recent years as The Descendants, The Social Network, No Country for Old Men, and Slumdog Millionaire all went on to win Oscars. This year's nominees resulted in a tie, with the five Oscar contenders matched up against the presumed sixth contender The Perks of Being a Wallflower. My guess is that Lincoln, which was probably the most difficult and complex adaptation of the year, and also the best in my humble opinion, takes the prize this year. The winner will be announced Saturday Feb. 9th. and there will be a live webcast on their website.

• Joshuah Bearman, author of the article “The Great Escape,” Antonio J. Mendez, author of The Master of Disguise, and screenwriter Chris Terrio, for Argo
• For Beasts of the Southern Wild, dramatist Lucy Alibar, who wrote the play Juicy and Delicious, and screenwriter Benh Zeitlin, who co-wrote the screenplay with Alibar
• Novelist Yann Martel and screenwriter David Magee for Life of Pi
• Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and screenwriter Tony Kushner for Lincoln
• Stephen Chbosky, author of the novel Perks of Being a Wallflower, as well as the screenplay based upon the book
• For Silver Linings Playbook, author Matthew Quick and screenwriter David O. Russell