Scripter to Honor Coens' Old Men
Photo/Courtesy of Miramax Films
The Scripter recognizes the writers’ contribution to the critically lauded film as the year’s greatest achievement in cinematic adaptation. The USC Libraries announced the winners on behalf of the selection committee and the Friends of the USC Libraries, who sponsor the award.
The Scripter selection committee, led by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, chose No Country for Old Men from an unprecedented field of nearly 50 eligible films adapted from novels, short stories or novellas.
“No Country for Old Men is an accomplished work of filmmaking from the Coen brothers,” Gyllenhaal said, “who have adapted Cormac McCarthy’s book with enormous skill and feeling for the dark places in our souls.”
Atonement, Into the Wild, There Will Be Blood and Zodiac rounded out this year’s group of Scripter finalists.
No Country for Old Men, starring Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones, was directed by the Coens. It has been nominated for four Golden Globe awards and has been named film of the year by the Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, Phoenix and Washington D.C., critics associations and the National Board of Review.
Author McCarthy’s career spans more than four decades and includes such books as The Orchard Keeper, Child of God and Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West. McCarthy was a Scripter finalist in 2001 when his 1992 book All the Pretty Horses was adapted into a film with Matt Damon. His novel The Road earned a 2007 Pulitzer.
The Coens’ screenwriting credits include Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, The Hudsucker Proxy and Intolerable Cruelty. Their 1996 collaboration Fargo won the Oscar for best original screenplay. They also an earned Academy Award nomination for an adapted screenplay for O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Vintage Books, a division of Random House, publishes No Country for Old Men, which was distributed in the United States by Miramax Films.
Scripter 2008 marks the award’s platinum anniversary. To celebrate the 20-year milestone, the USC Libraries will honor director, producer and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian with the first Scripter Literary Achievement Award. The Friends of the USC Libraries created this new prize to recognize writers who have made significant and sustained contributions to the art of adaptation.
USC trustee, Scripter co-founder and president of the Friends of the USC Libraries Glenn A. Sonnenberg described Zaillian as the ideal first recipient, noting the scribe’s Academy Award-recognized screenplays for Awakenings, Schindler’s List and Gangs of New York. Zaillian also is a three-time Scripter winner, receiving honors for Schindler’s List, Awakenings and A Civil Action.
“As our only three-time Scripter winner, Steven embodies what the Scripter is all about –outstanding storytelling,” Sonnenberg said. “His body of work represents the best in adapted screenwriting.”
Zaillian’s other credits include the screenplays for American Gangster, The Interpreter, Searching for Bobby Fischer and The Falcon and the Snowman.
Tony Award-winning actor Jason Alexander will serve as master of ceremonies for the Feb. 2 Scripter gala. Catherine Quinlan, dean of the USC Libraries, will host the annual black-tie event at Doheny Memorial Library.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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