MAFFE Awards 2008!! The Screenplays

John Orloff
for
"A Mighty Heart"

Shows immense restraint and respect in adapting this horrific true life story.

Never clumsy, never sentimental and always smart as well as incredible tense.




Christopher Hampton
for
"Atonement"

Never once falters in keeping alive the very complex and beautiful original material.

You are always aware of it's literary source





Sean Penn
for
"Into the Wild"

Always stays neutral in his opinion of the main character, letting the audience feel what they will.

This is what make the film so strong and work so well.



The Coen Brothers
for
"No Country for Old Men"

Sets up character and pace instantaneously. The viewer is gripped.

Very little dialogue is need to tell the story, but when it is used, it is perfect.




Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi
for
"Persepolis"

She writes the screenplay to the book about her own life and keeps the humor, intellegence and heart brimming over.

However she never skims of the political and social elements.



Ronald Harwood
for
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

The adapted the impossible.

Remarkable.

There is nothing more to say with this










Cristian Mungiu
for
"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"

The tension builds out of no where.

Masterful storytelling.






Todd Haynes & Oren Moverman
for
"I'm Not There"

Difficult, challenging but still completely engaging.

The different story thread must have been a struggle.




Diablo Cody
for
"Juno"

An amazing debut.

Never letting the heroine get away with being too smart for her own good.





Tony Gilroy
for
"Michael Clayton"

Creating a good old fashioned legal caper yet making it fresh.

Never once do you feel it is preposterous.





Brad Bird & Jan Pinkava
for
"Ratatouille"

A rat in the kitchen would usually turn stomachs.

They made it poetic.





Tamara Jenkins
for
"The Savage"

Brothers and sisters have never been so flawed, funny and real.