Such a Brilliant Script...


Wow. Such great writing. The actors were given so much to work with, too. Had to check the '89 Oscars to see why Christ Gerolmo's scripts didn't get nominated...

The Accidental Tourist
Gorillas in the Mist
Little Dorrit
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
DANGEROUS LIAiSONS - Winner "Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium"

1988 just wasn't that great of a time to tell this kind of story?
Your thoughts?

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yeah I agree it was extremely well done!

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A Bummer Story, even if it was brilliant story and well acted. Even liberals don't want to be reminded of the awful climate of the South in the Sixties, not to mention the latest Trump atmosphere currently. Extremely uncomfortable.

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Wow-- 30 years ago. I do remember when it was released and the script actually received a lot of criticism about its historical inaccuracies. I think that is what killed it for being nominated.

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Good point. I wonder if Gorillas in the Mist received any flack.

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And then one also takes into account that it was 20 years after ‘68, a crazy year, to put it mildly.

I watched this movie on cable when I was about 12, home alone out in the country of East Texas. Parents weren’t coming home till after midnight. The movie was both uncomfortable and terrifying.

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Agreed, Wish more movies of this caliber came out nowadays.

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I found the writing pretty heavy-handed at times, particularly in its characterisation of the villains. The great cinematography and the acting by Hackman, Dafoe and McDormand carried it. I haven't seen it since the early 90s, though.

It is still surprising it wasn't nominated for writing, but I think it would have been eligible in the original category, being based (very loosely) on true events and not, I believe, on a previously published work.

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