Original Screenplay: Who will and should win —
Best Original Screenplay is a tough category to predict this year. Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" is a strong contender, given his Golden Globe trophy, but that was an upset. This might be the category that allows "Zero Dark Thirty" to be honored in lieu of Best Picture, in recognition of Mark Boal's extensive original reporting for the film (even if what he dug up remains in dispute regarding the use of torture). "If anyone's asking, we stand by the film," Boal said. "The film allows us to look back at the past in a way that gives us a clear-sighted appraisal of the future." In his favor: Boal won Sunday night at the Writers Guild Awards.