Best Adapted Screenplay
WINNER: Argo (Chris Terrio) Chris Terrio's superb screenplay is the main driving force behind Ben Affleck's crackerjack thriller, which sees CIA exfiltration expert Tony Mendez (Affleck) flying to Tehran to rescue 6 U.S. embassy employees who are currently hiding with the Canadians. The unbelievable fact that the true story involved Mendez concocting a plot with the Hollywood elite to sneak the six out as members of a film crew is made all the more thrilling by the countless in-jokes about Hollywood that Terrio peppers his script with, making for a film that is it at once nerve-racking, hilarious, and ludicrously entertaining.
RUNNERS UP: The Dark Knight Rises Skyfall Lincoln This Is 40
Best Original Screenplay
WINNER: Looper (Rian Johnson) There were many great original screenplays this year, but none proved quite as imaginative or inventive as Rian Johnson's script for Looper, the masterful sci-fi picture of 2012 that has earned its spot among recent modern genre classics like District 9 and Inception as a smart, ingeniously-constructed blockbuster pic. Though it looks fantastic and is superbly-acted, none of this would really matter if the script wasn't up to par, but Johnson, again proving his penchant for witty, noir-ish dialogue, paints an emotional sci-fi adventure that doesn't ignore the thornier issues of its plot, and references plenty of the genre's classics.
RUNNERS UP: Robot and Frank Smashed Django Unchained The Master Now it's time to look at Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.