The screenplay categories have always been consolation prizes for best picture snubs. Crazy Rich Asians picked up a historical Golden Globe nomination in the best motion picture in a comedy or musical category, but will it get the same critical acclaim at the Oscars?
Though I would love a win in the biggest category of the night, the main reason I can't see Crazy Rich Asians getting an Academy Award bid for best picture is because romantic comedies don't usually get their due credit alongside dramas. Even funny and romantic movies in the past best picture categories — La La Land, Midnight in Paris, and The Shape of Water, for example — have pretty serious undertones. If the Academy thoughtfully considered box-office hits after quickly nixing the best popular film category, Crazy Rich Asians, along with crowd-pleasers such as Black Panther, could potentially earn a best picture bid.
But I'm placing my bets on the movie becoming an adapted screenplay contender. Not too long ago, the 2017 rom-com The Big Sick received a nomination for best original screenplay. Nora Ephron, perhaps the queen of rom-coms herself, never saw any of her rom-com films in the running for best picture, but she was nominated several times for best original screenplay, including her scripts for When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. As Crazy Rich Asians is an adaptation of Kevin Kwan's novel, I can see it picking up attention for best adapted screenplay for cowriters Adele Lim and Peter Chiarelli.
