2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions: ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (May)
The screenplay categories are a bit convoluted with some contenders muddied as to whether or not they are truly original or truly adapted. We’ve seen category switches happen before, either by choice or by designation. The Best Picture Oscar winner Moonlight initially ran as an Original Screenplay – where it won the WGA – but was deemed Adapted by the Academy (from an unproduced play) and went on to win the Oscar there, too.
This year we have a handful of screenplays that could fall under either category and therefore you’ll see them in both Adapted and Original Screenplay predictions for the time being. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (based on an Esquire profile of Mr. Rogers by Tom Junod) are The Farewell (based on an idea from an episode of This American Life) are both in limbo although my instinct is that ABDITN will stay in Adapted and The Farewell will be in Original.
Here are my ranked 2020 Oscar Nomination predictions in Adapted Screenplay for May 13, 2019.
| 1. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Sony/Columbia) |
| 2. The Irishman (Netflix) |
| 3. Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight) |
| 4. The Farewell (A24) |
| 5. Just Mercy (Warner Bros) |
| NEXT UP (alphabetical) |
| Ford v Ferrari (20th Century Fox) |
| The Laundromat (Netflix) |
| Little Women (Sony/Columbia) |
| The Personal History of David Copperfield (TBD) |
| The Woman in the Window (20th Century Fox) |
| OTHER CONTENDERS (alphabetical) |
| Downhill (Fox Searchlight) |
| The Glorias: A Life on the Roads (TBD) |
| The Goldfinch (Amazon/Warner Bros) |
| The Good Liar (Warner Bros) |
| The King (Netflix) |
| The Last Thing He Wanted (Netflix) |
| Motherless Brooklyn (Warner Bros) |
| Radioactive (Amazon) |
| Toy Story 4 (Disney/Pixar) |
| Untitled Todd Haynes aka Dry Run (TBD) |
| Waiting for the Barbarians (TBD) |
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 2025 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTOR (November) - November 21, 2024
- 2025 Oscars: Eligibility Lists for Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards - November 21, 2024
- Nava Mau, Sean Wang Among 2024 BAFTA Breakthroughs Championing New ‘Must-Watch’ Creatives - November 21, 2024
2025 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTOR (November) 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 72 – ‘Three Colours: Blue’ (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1993) 
2025 Oscars: Eligibility Lists for Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards 
Nava Mau, Sean Wang Among 2024 BAFTA Breakthroughs Championing New ‘Must-Watch’ Creatives