Oscars Hopeful ‘Drive My Car’ and Others in Driver’s Seat With Screenplay Adaptations
variety.comTim Gray Senior Vice PresidentAs the March 27 Oscar ceremony looms, conversation has centered on the Academy’s decision to downgrade eight categories, their Twitter contest for fan favorites and their vaccination double-standard for attendees.In other words, while the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences could be shining a spotlight on the nominees, they’re instead shining a spotlight on the Academy.
It’s too bad. The nominees are worth discussing, especially the enormous talent in the adapted-screenplay race.The contenders are Sian Heder, “CODA”; Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, “Drive My Car”; Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth, “Dune”; Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter”; and Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog.” The writers and their scripts are a study in contrasts.
Haruki Murakami’s short story “Drive My Car” needed expansion, while Frank Herbert’s epic “Dune” needed compression. “CODA” is based on a French screenplay, “La Famille Belier.” There are two novels in the mix: “Daughter” was written by the somewhat mysterious Elena Ferrante; Thomas Savage’s 1967 Western novel “Dog” was optioned several times, but the scripts never worked.All writing is difficult.
Asked if there is an extra responsibility to the original author, Hamaguchi tells Variety, “It wasn’t an ‘extra’ responsibility: I saw it as a responsibility that was proper.
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