7. Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye - Foxcatcher
Foxcatcher has got to be one of the more intriguing film's on the 2013 slate. Directed by Bennett Miller, who has thus far done solid work in his very young career (Capote and Moneyball, proving his affinity towards one-word titles), Foxcatcher chronicles the grotesquely fascinating true-life story of one of the wealthiest men ever to be convicted of murder. John duPont, heir to the fortunes of the enormous DuPont chemical company, was a paranoid schizophrenic who had an obsession for wrestling. His passion for the sport, along with a near limitless amount of disposable income, led him to build his own wrestling facility on his extensive state. To teach him in the finer points of Greco-grappling, duPont hired a fraternal duo of Olympic wrestlers, Mark and David Schultz. Together, duPont declared the trio as Team Foxcatcher, but unfortunately duPont's mental instability would not let this amiable situation last, as he would eventually murder David Schultz and hold up in his mansion for two days as the police tried to negotiate with him to come out. It's a bizarre story that would be hard to swallow if you didn't know it was true, but this aspect will likely make the film all the more mesmerizing. The film is co-written by actor/writer Dan Futterman, who teamed up previously with director Bennett Miller on Miller's debut movie, Capote, as well as E. Max Frye, whose most notable credit in his career may be the Carentan episode of the excellent HBO mini-series, Band of Brothers. Certainly Futterman and Miller have proven their chops at turning the life of a mentally unbalanced individual into a compelling cinematic endeavor with Capote, which earned Mr. Futterman a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination and Mr. Miller a Best Director nomination, but the question is can they do it again and will the Academy respond? The film's story definitely has enough of an operatically tragic bent to it to merit the attention of Oscar, and the fact the film is based on real events at least partially insulates it from criticism of being too "manipulative". My guess then is that as long the film goes over well enough with Academy, which I suspect it will unless people really just can't buy Steve Carell in a dramatic role, a subsequent Best Adapted Screenplay nomination should be expected.