BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY FRONTRUNNERS

1 Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain

Source: short story by E Annie Proulx

McMurtry and Ossana, who together optioned the rights afterthe short story first appeared in The New Yorker in October 1997, faithfully adapted Proulx's impeccably precise shortstory into a feature screenplay, giving voices to the characters, fleshing outthe married lives of Ennis and Jack and making scenes out of Proulx'ssentences.

2 Dan Futterman, Capote

Source: book by Gerald Clarke

Futterman took the sections of Clarke's exhaustive biographyof Truman Capote relating to the writing of In Cold Blood and wrote a wildly intelligent screenplay,illustrating the ethical dilemmas of the creative process and only graduallyexposing Capote's own bloodless ambition.

3 Deborah Moggach, Pride& Prejudice

Source: novel by Jane Austen

Perhaps Moggach's greatest achievement on this latestadaptation of Pride & Prejudice isto remain so loyal to Austen, reproducing dialogue and scenes from the novel,while comfortably distilling it to a feature-film length. A worthy successor toEmma Thompson's Oscar-winning screenplay adaptation of Sense AndSensibility.

4 Stephen Gaghan, Syriana

Source: memoir See No Evil by Robert Baer

Although Gaghan's script for Syriana was merely suggested by Baer's memoirs, it is beingsubmitted as an adapted screenplay which makes Gaghan's adaptation all the moreaudacious. Adopting a similar structure to his screenplay for Trafficfor which he won the Oscar, Globe and BAFTAin 2000, he weaves together multiple storylines in his study of the MiddleEastern oil trade.

5 Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, Munich

Source: novel Vengeanceby George Jonas

Roth wrote the first draft of the screenplay for Munich based on George Jonas' book Vengeance, but celebrated Angels In America playwright Kushner worked on the shooting scriptwith Spielberg, inventing a set of moral dilemmas for the assassination squad whichdrives the drama.

6 Gill Dennis and James Mangold, Walk The Line

Source: autobiographies Man In Black and Cash The Autobiography, both by Johnny Cash

Dennis and Mangold took the early days of Johnny Cash andhis long-gestating affair with June Carter as the focus for theirautobiography, boiling down Cash's long career and two autobiographies into ascreenplay on which they had plentiful feedback from the couple before theirdeaths in 2003.

7 Jeffrey Caine, TheConstant Gardener

Source: novel by John Le Carre

Caine delivered one of the most satisfactory Le Carreadaptations since The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, having written numerous drafts with input from thenovelist over a two-year development process. The resulting script is crisp andfaithful in tone, if not in detail.

8 Steve Martin, Shopgirl

Source: novella by Steve Martin

Martin took his quirky 2000 novella about thwarted love andheartbreak in Los Angeles and turned it into a spare, effective screenplaywhich developed the relationships between the three characters while stillcharting the unspoken feelings of isolation which engulf them.

9 David Auburn and Rebecca Miller, Proof

Source: play by David Auburn

Auburn worked with Personal Velocity film-maker Miller in restructuring his hit stageplay for the screen, shifting events into a linear order and depicting otherswhich were only mentioned in passing in the play.

10 Robin Swicord, MemoirsOf A Geisha

Source: novel by Arthur Golden

It was never going to be easy adapting Golden's sweepingstory into a palatable screenplay, but Swicord just about pulled it off,maintaining the book's keen spotlight on the politics and unspoken enmities ofthe teahouse circuit and only coming unstuck once the World War II portion ofthe story begins.

THE OTHER CONTENDERS

Jane Anderson, ThePrize Winner Of Defiance, Ohio

John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler, Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride

Gregg Araki, MysteriousSkin

Julian Fellowes, SeparateLies

Susannah Grant, InHer Shoes

Neil Jordan and Patrick McCabe, Breakfast On Pluto

Craig Lucas, TheDying Gaul

Josh Olson, AHistory Of Violence

Liev Schrieber, EverythingIs Illuminated

Michael Seitzman, NorthCountry