When he’s not busy making twelve-year-old girls cry, George Clooney may well be fuming over the Academy’s classification of his film “Syriana” as an original screenplay rather than an adaptation. The move may jeopardize “Syriana”’s chances for a screenplay nomination, since Warner Brothers touted the film as an adaptation in its “For Your Consideration” campaign, and ballots inadvertently cast in the wrong category cannot be corrected in the film’s favor.
Could this be a right-wing conspiracy led by the hard-line geezers who still control much of the Academy’s activity? Is this a political commentary, or a true oversight? If “Syriana” is missing from the screenplay nominees to be announced January 31, controversy will surely rage.
But of course, all this assumes that anyone wants to nominate “Syriana” for an Oscar in either screenplay category…which may be wishful thinking.
