The USC Libraries announced the nominees for the 34th USC Scripter Awards this morning and it was perhaps the most genre-based group of honorees ever. “Dune,” “Station Eleven” and “WandaVision” earned nominations in both the film and television categories. The Scripter is given to the best adapted screenplays in said fields and, unlike other awards, honors the author of the original material as well.
READ MORE: 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations [Complete List]
Somewhat of a precursor to the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, this year’s other film nominees are “The Lost Daughter,” “Passing,” “The Power of the Dog” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” The rest of the recognized television projects are “Dopesick,” “Maid,” and “The Underground Railroad.”
The Libraries also announced that Barry Jenkins will receive the USC Libraries Literary Achievement Award for his contributions to cinematic storytelling, including his work adapting the 2017 Scripter winner “Moonlight” and the 2019 finalist “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
It should be noted that only English-language adaptations are eligible for the Scripter.
The finalist writers for film adaptation are, in alphabetical order by film title:
Screenwriters Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, and Denis Villeneuve, for “Dune” based on the novel by Frank Herbert
Maggie Gyllenhaal for “The Lost Daughter” based on the novel by Elena Ferrante
Rebecca Hall for “Passing” based on the novel by Nella Larsen
Screenwriter Jane Campion and author Thomas Savage for “The Power of the Dog”
Screenwriter Joel Coen and playwright William Shakespeare for “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
The finalist writers for television are, in alphabetical order by series title:
Danny Strong, for the episode “The People vs. Purdue Pharma,” from “Dopesick,” based on the nonfiction book “Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America,” by Beth Macy
Molly Smith Metzler for the episode “Dollar Store,” from “Maid,” based on the memoir “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive” by Stephanie Land
Patrick Somerville for the episode “Wheel of Fire,” from “Station Eleven,” based on the novel by Emily St. John Mandel
Barry Jenkins for the episode “Indiana Winter” from “The Underground Railroad,” based on the novel by Colson Whitehead
Jac Schaeffer for the episode “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience,” from “WandaVision” based on Marvel Comics characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
The USC Libraries will announce the winning authors and screenwriters at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022.
