Oscars 2020: 15 Insanely Early Predictions For Next Year's Academy Awards

9. Best Adapted Screenplay: Greta Gerwig - Little Women

Other Nominees: Armando Iannucci and Simon Blackwell (The Personal History of David Copperfield), Richard Linklater (Where'd You Go, Bernadette?), Peter Straughan (The Goldfinch), Steven Zaillian (The Irishman)

This is shaping up to be an absolutely stacked category, with a lot of Academy favourites or other awards-friendly writers ready for a breakthrough, with the kind of material that should see them do it (Ianucci was an outsider shot for The Death of Stalin, and this sounds much more Oscar-friendly). Linklater is a strong player in this category, Straughan was nominated for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and given the strength of the source material, The Goldfinch should have a superb screenplay if it's a hit. Zallian has won before, and The Irishman will be a big player across the board if it's as good as everyone hopes (and maybe even if it isn't).

The winner might ultimately depend on what wins the bigger prizes. If, say, Best Director is going to Gerwig, then they might opt to give this to Iannucci and Blackwell. But since it seems like it might not win in Director or Picture at this point, then Screenplay will be the next best prize for Gerwig, who was nominated (and should've won) for Lady Bird last year.