Coens win adapted screenplay Oscars
LOS ANGELES - "No Country for Old Men" was living up to its front-runner status at Sunday’s Academy Awards, winning adapted screenplay for the Coen brothers and supporting actor for Javier Bardem. "La Vie En Rose" star Marion Cotillard was a surprise winner in the best actress category.
Cotillard rode the spirit of Edith Piaf to Oscar triumph over Julie Christie, who had been expected to win for "Away From Her."
Joel and Ethan Coen are mainly known for their original screenplays, making only two films based on adaptations, "No Country" from Pulitzer winner Cormac McCarthy’s novel, and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," loosely inspired by the ancient Greek epic "The Odyssey."
"I think whatever success we’ve had in this area has been entirely attributable to how selective we are. We’ve only adapted Homer and Cormac McCarthy," said Joel Coen.
Previous original-screenplay winners for 1996’s "Fargo," the Coens came in as the best-picture and directing favorites for "No Country."
The Coens missed out on a chance to make Oscar history — four wins for a single film — when they lost the editing prize, for which they were nominated under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes.