The 2010 RopeofSilicon Movie Awards

Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted)

Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit

NOTES:

It took a lot of time to settle on this. Did I go with the whip-smart dialogue of Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Network screenplay of which David Fincher hardly deviated? Perhaps the impressive levels constructed by Christopher Nolan for Inception? The heart-felt ability of Michael Arndt and team to make us feel compassion for a bunch of animated toys? Or perhaps the excruciating reality stemming from Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini’s adaptation of Daniel Woodrell’s novel for Winter’s Bone?

All were taken under consideration and I’d be lying if I said one or the other hadn’t occupied the top slot at one point or another while a few others also jumped in and out of the top five. However, after reading Charles Portis’s novel and the Coens’ screenplay for True Grit I couldn’t help but believe I was dealing with a perfect adaptation of a novel for the screen as they shuffled aspects of the story around to fit their goal and applied their own stamp on the screenplay with a few added characters that felt just as at home in the movie as they would had they been part of the original novel.

I also considered Sofia Coppola’s screenplay for Somewhere. At 42 pages it was sparse to say the least. I also considered Mike Leigh’s Another Year, but I find his screenplays brilliant if you consider the process under which they’re made, but without foresight as to who would be playing the roles I don’t get nearly as much from them. Leigh deserves more of a screenplay lifetime achievement award rather than a singular amount of attention.

Best Score

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network

NOTES:

I wanted to make this a tie, but ties are for people that can’t make a decision. Did I appreciate Daft Punk’s TRON: Legacy score enough to call it the best of the year? Yes, I even started writing this category up with it at #1, but when it came time to explain why Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Social Network was first runner-up I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t mention the opening credits theme, “Hand Covers Bruise,” and explain how its haunting melody and ominous tone wasn’t one of the best pieces of music this year and it continues throughout the entire film.

That said, Daft Punk’s TRON: Legacy score is a miracle when you consider the film it was written for. You don’t have to be a fan of techno or electronica to appreciate what Daft Punk brought to TRON: Legacy, a film that suffered from start to finish anytime there wasn’t an action sequence propelling the narrative… that is, outside of its score.

Hans Zimmer’s score for Inception was also a tough one not to name #1, but it felt a bit more familiar than the other two. Clint Mansell’s Black Swan score is nightmare inducing and suits its material perfectly and Carter Burwell’s score for True Grit was axed from contention by the Academy because it was mostly based on 19th-century hymns, and while that wasn’t original enough for the Academy’s Original Score category, it was this relation that I found so perfectly suited for such a wonderful film.

I also considered Rachel Portman’s score for Never Let Me Go, Alexandre Desplat’s score for The Ghost Writer and John Powell’s score for How to Train Your Dragon.

And as an added bonus I also really liked Fincher’s use of Dennis de Laat’s “Sound of Violence” in the Ruby Skye scene in The Social Network. Here’s the track: