Oscars 2013: ‘Argo’ and ‘Django Unchained’ take screenplay honors
“Django Unchained” won the original screenplay Oscar while “Argo” took adapted screenplay honors Sunday at the 85th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
“Argo,” screenwriter Chris Terrio’s dramatization of the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, had won numerous writing prizes leading up to the Oscars, including the Golden Globe and awards from the Writers Guild and the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.
“He wrote the movie and I just shot the movie he wrote,” “Argo” director Ben Affleck said when he introduced the film at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. “I was the reason for the occasional [mess]-up.”
Oscars 2013: Nominee list | Ballot | Trivia | Timeline
“Django Unchained,” like Quentin Tarantino’s previous film “Inglourious Basterds,” was crafted as a revenge-themed genre film. Where “Basterds” tackled the Holocaust, “Django” examined America’s past with slavery in the guise of the story of a freed slave partnering with a bounty hunter to rescue his wife from the clutches of a brutal plantation owner. The film has been a huge commercial hit, grossing more than $360 million worldwide.
“It’s such an honor to get up this year because both in the original and adapted categories, the writing is just fantastic,” Tarantino said from the stage.
ALSO:
VIDEO: Nominees’ definining scenes
OSCAR WATCH: What you need to know
BUZZMETER: Pundits make their final picks
MORE OSCAR COVERAGE
VOTE: Play-at-Home Oscar Ballot 2013
TIMELINE: Academy Awards through the years
From the Oscars to the Emmys.
Get the Envelope newsletter for exclusive awards season coverage, behind-the-scenes stories from the Envelope podcast and columnist Glenn Whipp’s must-read analysis.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
