They played TOTALLY DIFFERENT characters named Badger.

Ah, that was going to be my next guess.

In the Loop nominated for adapted screenplay? But what is it adapted from? Or do they mean that it's based on the TV series "The Thick of It" even though it's an original piece? Oscar noms confuse me (though I think nothing beats "O Brother Where Art Thou" getting an adapted screenplay nomination because it was "Based on 'The Odyssey' by Homer". The Academy fails to appreciate Coen Brother jokes).

"In the Loop" and "The Thick of It" are must sees for Peter Capaldi's incredible Malcolm Tucker alone, the Shakespeare of swearing.

Edit: Nick Hornby was nominated! That makes me happy.

In the Loop nominated for adapted screenplay? But what is it adapted from? Or do they mean that it's based on the TV series "The Thick of It" even though it's an original piece?

Well, if it's based on something, by definition it's not original.

Well, if it's based on something, by definition it's not original.

But is it based on like Dark Knight was based on characters and premises from Batman Begins, or is the story itself based on something pre-existing?

Y'know, I can accept that District 9 and The Hurt Locker are among the best movies of the year, but I thought both had serious problems with their scripts. District 9 had an excellent premise, but it used some lazy, lazy action-movie tropes to solve some of the situations it threw at its hero (such as the row of cars with keys in the ignition conveniently located a thin wall away from the alien-technology-testing lab or the orange-vest alien suddenly deciding to save the life of the dude who left him for dead some 5 minutes earlier). And all of the dialogue in The Hurt Locker was waaaay on the nose. It was a character study that assumed that the audience couldn't figure anything out about its central character unless another character commented on it. The scene with the juice box was nice, though.

And I liked A Serious Man quite a lot, but figure that one was far too opaque to get any awards. In short: I'm a grumpy old man.

But is it based on like Dark Knight was based on characters and premises from Batman Begins, or is the story itself based on something pre-existing?

Well, for purposes of the Oscars, it is "adapted" if it based on any material previously published (or, in the case of TV or films, produced).

If they had been nominated, I would assume both Dark Knight and Batman Begins would be adapted because they are based on the comic character.

Y'know, I can accept that District 9 and The Hurt Locker are among the best movies of the year, but I thought both had serious problems with their scripts.

As opposed to Avatar?

Maybe I can get TCG to see "A Single Man" now that it is nominated. I haven't seen much that was nominated, but I am happy to see Penelope Cruz nominated for Nine; she was fabulous!

I think the problem with "adapted" for me is that it implies "take an existing text and rework it for the screen". The content of "In the Loop" is completely original, but is based on a premise and characters who already existed on TV. If I just change "adapted" to "not entirely original" in my head I should be OK.

I'd have been similarly surprised to see Dark Knight nominated for adapted, since the story is new. Any sequel is using existing characters--would they all fall under an adapted rubric?