5. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Best Adapted Screenplay
Four years after the release of Life Of Pi, director Ang Lee is back with Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, set for release in November 2016. The film has a bunch of things going for it. For a start, it's co-written by Simon Beaufoy, the man responsible for writing Everest, 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire. It tells the story of Billy Lynn, a soldier fighting in Iraq. After Lynn and his squad engage in an intense battle, they're returned to the U.S. as war heroes and sent on a tour around the country in an attempt to invoke support for the war. During this tour, Lynn and his fellow soldiers are informed they are to return to Iraq. The film recounts their final hours at home. Just like Life Of Pi was based on a book by Yann Martel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is based on the book of the same name by Ben Fountain, who won the National Book Critics Circle Award for the novel (so it's clear there's a very strong source material). Throwing Beaufoy together with a celebrated author makes it very likely the movie will succeed in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.
