USC Scripter nominees announced
Credit: The Weinstein Company
The Scripter Award is among the more unique prizes of the cinematic awards season, as it honors only scripts adapted from pre-existing source material. However, the award goes a step farther, not only awarding the screenwriter, but also the author of the original work upon which the script was based. This year, the nominations feature a diverse array of adapted material, given that this was a pretty spectacular year from film adaptations, as evidenced by a tie in the voting that produced six nominees for this year's Scripter, as opposed to the usual five.
The nominees, via Awards Daily:
Joshuah Bearman, author of the article “The Great Escape,” Antonio J. Mendez, author of The Master of Disguise, and screenwriter Chris Terrio, for ArgoDramatist Lucy Alibar, who wrote the play Juicy and Delicious, and screenwriter Benh Zeitlin, who co-wrote the screenplay with Alibar for Beasts of the Southern Wild
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 and screenwriter of the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Author Matthew Quick and screenwriter David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook
The Friends of the USC Libraries established the Scripter in 1988, presenting the inaugural awards to author Helene Hanff and screenwriter Hugh Whitemore for 84 Charing Cross Road. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the award.
Previous Scripter winners include eventual Oscar winners The Descendants, The Social Network, and L.A. Confidential, along with the authors of the works upon which those screenplays were based.
