2006 Diva Cup Awards: Best Original Screenplay

And the nominees are...

Pedro Almodóvar, Volver

The women in Volver always feel like a real family and, dead husbands aside, the constant warmth is a refreshing feeling. Too bad so many people won't see this because it's in a foreign language...it's a knockout.

Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine

Another real family, but this time, one of the most hilariously dysfunctional ever put on screen. Arndt does a fine job turning this cliché plot into something fresh and exciting.

Nicole Holofcener, Friends With Money

The relationships between the women and their men never feel artificial. We may have seen this a hundred times before, but Holofcener adds levity and wit to make it something fresh.

John Cameron Mitchell, Shortbus

It could have been a glorified porn film, but Mitchell uses sex in ways I've never seen before and creates warm, inviting characters for us to get involved in that goes way beyond porn. Bonus points for that beautiful monologue that The Mayor gives towards the beginning.

Peter Morgan, The Queen

Morgan gets inside the head of Queen Elizabeth and makes us understand why she does the things she does (all without sneaking too much sympathy in there).

Runners Up: Michel Gondry, The Science of Sleep...Russell Gerwitz, Inside Man...Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Half Nelson

BRONZE
Pedro Almodóvar, Volver
SILVER
John Cameron Mitchell, Shortbus
GOLD
Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine