And, finally, the first disappointment of the night. Mark Boal won for The Hurt Locker. While I'll agree that this film was very good, that goodness wasn't necessarily reliant on the screenplay. I felt that Inglourious Basterds was much, much more well written. Tarantino's script beat Boal's into the ground. Also, aside from Christoph Waltz's win for Best Supporting Actor, I think that this category was Basterds's only other chance for a win.
Don't get me wrong, The Hurt Locker was a very good film, and possibly even a very good script. But I think Tarantino's writing simply outmatched Boal's.
Boal's acceptance speech was rather nice. He thanked his late father, and then proceeded to thank the troops overseas. If I can say one thing in Boal's favor, it's that Tarantino's spech would have been funnier but less meaningful.
[...] Best Original Screenplay – The Hurt Locker by Mark Boal [...]