Barbie Eligible For Adapted Screenplay Oscar Nomination, Not Original
This is apparently a big deal that will hurt Barbie’s chances in the category, as now it’ll potentially be up against films like Killers Of The Flowers Moon and Oppenheimer for Adapted Screenplay. The studio had been campaigning for it to be considered in the Original Screenplay category. Like Everything Everywhere All At Once last year, Barbie is one of the most overrated movies of all time (although, it’s not a bad movie and nowhere near as awful as EEAAO), so it’s fun to watch Barbie stans lose their minds over the category change. Variety has a full breakdown of what this means, but here’s a summary:
Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster comedy “Barbie” has been deemed an adapted screenplay by the Writers Branch executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, despite campaigning for original screenplay, Variety has exclusively learned.
When official Oscar nomination voting opens Thursday, Jan. 11, eligible voting members of the branch will only be able to cast votes for the script written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach in adapted screenplay.
[…]
Many films about pre-existing characters are ultimately classified as adapted screenplays — such as previous nominees like “Toy Story 3,” “Borat 2,” “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight.” Barbie and Ken were Mattel dolls long before they came to the big screen, which is where the Oscars’ decision likely originated.
[Variety]
With one less blockbuster in the Original category, hopefully this increases the odds that May December—one of the best films of 2023, and easily the best original screenplay of the year—could win.
