Oscars force Barbie to compete in Best Adapted Screenplay because it adapted… Barbie

The Oscar's Best Adapted Screenplay category is often populated by creations brought to life from books - novels, memoirs, and sometimes, non-fiction. There are, of course, exceptions, which include the likes of short films and plays. The critical factor is the transformation of a written piece into a cinematic screenplay—the shift from one writing medium to another. This makes it rather surprising that Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's screenplay for their summer hit will be in contention for this award at the upcoming Academy Awards. The pair had adapted Barbie, yes, the unequivocal doll, into a script.

There is precedent for such a precedent—Christopher Miller had similarly christened his and Phil Lord's 2014 screenplay as an "adaptation" because it was inspired by Lego. This trend of consider "existing characters" for the category is not new. (As seen in the previous award season, when both and were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay as they were sequels of "existing characters".) However, Gerwig and Baumbach had a different perspective and had advocated for their film to be considered for Best Original Screenplay. This was acknowledged by the Writers Guild Of America in their upcoming awards, classifying the script as original. Still, the Academy's Writers Group's verdict was given today, labeling it an adaptation.

Considering the film, we see where both parties are coming from: Gerwig's movie delves into understanding a legacy character's role in the world - a concept that may not have worked similarly had it been based on a fictional doll. Yet, Gerwig and Baumbach's script barely has any connection to existing written material unless one counts the promotional copy on doll boxes. It's challenging to blame them for considering their film as not adapting anything beyond the cultural ethos at the time of its creation, a sentiment that applies to practically every script.

Regardless, this decision will likely revamp both categories' dynamics- Best Original Screenplay will now witness fiercer competition between movies like , , and , the Cannes winner, while , finds itself competing against Martin Scoresese's and- more than likely, Christopher Nolan's. [ ]