A few readers have already plugged into the idea that Bright Star might not be considered wholly original — Steve Pond with another scoop:
Although Campion makes use of Keats’ poetry and letters, the writer-director did not adapt any existing material, because there is none that tells the story of Keats and Brawne in any depth.
But an executive committee of the writers branch determined that the film should be considered an adaptation, and included it as such on the “Reminder List” of eligible screenplays that accompanied nomination ballots.
The original-screenplay category has more contending films, 153 as opposed to 106 adaptations. As usual, though, the competition is stronger in the adapted-screenplay category, meaning it’ll be harder for “Bright Star” to break into a field whose frontrunners include “Up in the Air,” “An Education,” “Precious,” “Julie & Julia,” “A Single Man,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “District 9.”
Prime contenders in the original-screenplay category include “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “A Serious Man,” “(500) Days of Summer” and “Up.”