Since the academy expanded the Best Picture category at the Oscars in 2010, Best Original Screenplay has gone to writers of a wide-range of genres: dramas (“Birdman,” “Manchester by the Sea”); comedies (“Midnight in Paris”); biopics (“The King’s Speech,” “Green Book”); true-life stories (“Spotlight”); period pictures (“Django Unchained”); war movies (“The Hurt Locker”); sci-fi (“Her”) and horror (“Get Out”). (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2020 Oscars predictions for Best Original Screenplay and be sure to check out our predictions for Best Adapted Screenplay.)
Regardless of the type of film, a nominee needs broad academy support to win this race. Indeed, all 10 of these most recent Best Original Screenplay winners were, at the least, Best Picture nominees. And five of them won the big prize, bringing the total number of Best Picture champs with Oscar-winning original screenplays to 17. By comparison, 41 films have done this on the adapted side.
In 2019, four of the five nominees for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards were crafted by writer/directors including the winner, “Green Book,” which also won Best Picture. Expect auteurs to be well-represented in this race once again.
UPDATED: February 9, 2020
Please note: To read full descriptions of each film, check out our Best Picture predictions.
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Leading Contenders
Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won, “Parasite” (Neon – October 11)
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Sony – July 26)
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Strong Contenders
Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, “1917” (Universal – December 25)
Noah Baumbach, “Marriage Story” (Netflix – November 6; streams December 6)
SEE 2020 Oscar Predictions: Best Picture
Possible Contenders
Rian Johnson, “Knives Out” (Lionsgate – November 27)
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Click on the linked categories below to read our previews of each of these races.
Best Actor | Best Actress | Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actress
