The sequel to Death and Death gets an Oscar nomination, but this time Rian Johnson’s work is in the category of best non-original screenplay: why?
History repeats itself. Rian Johnson can breathe a new sigh of relief because this time too he got one Oscar nominations 2023 thanks to the saga of Knives Out. Already in 2019, with Dinner with crime, the director was able to celebrate the milestone by taking home the nomination in the category of best original screenplay. This time, however, with Glass Onion pointed to another category, best adapted screenplay. Why this difference? What exactly changes between the first and second film?
Glass Onion at the Oscars 2023: why as best adapted screenplay
The common thread between the first and second film is Daniel Craigwho plays the private detective Benoit White. In both Murder and Death and Glass Onion, Blanc finds himself investigating a somewhat mysterious murder case. Both films were able to count on an ensemble cast that left their mark. While Cena con crime involved actors such as Chris Evans, Ana de Armas e Jamie Lee Curtisthe sequel Glass Onion drew attention to Janelle Monae, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson ed Edward Norton to mention a few. The film was released briefly in the cinema, before landing on a permanent basis Netflix streaming. Since then, it has racked up hit after hit becoming one of the most watched movies on the platform. Therefore, the Academy’s interest in him should come as no surprise. But why is it competing in the category of best non-original screenplay? For the second film, Rian Johnson drew inspiration from already existing works. She had told it some time ago to the microphones of EWexplaining that he drew inspiration from Crime under the sun by Agatha Christie e A rebus for the killer diretto da Herbert Ross.
It should be noted that Glass Onion is not an adaptation of either of the two, but has simply drawn inspiration from both stories. However, this is not the reason that allowed the sequel to Dinner with a crime to end up in that category of Oscar. The regulation provides that each sequel must fall directly into this category. Glass Onion is the sequel to Dinner with a crime, although the two films can be enjoyed separately. The common point remains Benoit Blanc, the character of Daniel Craig, which therefore makes the two films linked to each other. Also Top Gun: Maverick earned a nomination in the same category following the same reasoning, as a sequel to the first Top Gun with Tom Cruise.
