You would struggle to find a better scenario for an Australian film script than the Shakespearean tragedy being played out between Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott.
An otherwise caring, mega-smart man with small 'l' liberal tendencies has a fatal flaw of unbridled ambition at any cost. That flaw gets him the top job as a Liberal Party leader only to find his rival's fatal flaw of blinkered self-belief is equally destructive for them both, their party and their country.
Who would play the protagonists?
The Herald recommends Oscar winning actor Geoffrey Rush as the psychologically complicated Turnbull. He'd be up against Russell Crowe as the firefighting budgie -smuggling athlete rival driven by God and Queen to drag Australia back into his old-world view.
Our Nicole Kidman would be perfect as the scheming Peta Credlin, with Cate Blanchett or Rachel Griffiths as Julia Gillard. Hugh Jackman would star as that Stephen Bradbury of politics, Bill Shorten, while Magda Szubanski would be a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actress as Pauline Hanson.
Perhaps an Oscar hopeful for next year.
In the meantime Our Nic must be content with her 2017 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in the Australian film Lion, which itself is up for Best Picture in the Oscars ceremony on Monday (Sydney time).
The story of an Indian boy on a journey of discovery from Tasmania to his roots has six nominations. While box office takings have been sparse for local films lately, lines of patriotic Aussies rushed to see Lion over the weekend.
Lion hoists the Aussie flag alongside fellow six-time nominee Hacksaw Ridge, a local by virtue of prodigal son Mel Gibson, its Australian financing and local shooting.
Australians have a record 14 nominations this year: a wonderful achievement for a nation like ours.
But Gibson is unlikely to top La La Land's Damien Chazelle for Best Director. That divisive movie - a feel good flick amidst a bevy of dark ones - is expected pick up heaps of awards including Best Picture, although Manchester by the Sea - with deserved Best Actor favourite Casey Affleck - and Moonlight have an outside shot.
Still, the twin Aussie nominations for the big one send a clear message to the world that Australian cinema is back. We are more than just a cultural desert capable of producing the much-lauded Max Max: Fury Road, which bagged six Oscars last year.
This year will be less successful if betting is a guide, but Tanna – the story of a Vanuatan tribe - would be our first Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Hills boy Jason Billington has a good chance at winning for Visual Effects in Deep Water Horizon, too.
But our best chances appear to be in sound editing and mixing categories for Andrew Wright, Robert Mackenzie, Peter Grace and Kevin O'Connell (an American with a record number of no-win nominations) for Hacksaw Ridge, although they will run up against La La Land, too.
Luke Davies is up for Best Adapted Screenplay for Lion and cinematographer Greig Fraser is in the running for the same film.
The depth of Australian technical skills has long been in demand in Hollywood and has attracted overseas filmmakers here. Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast all host world-class studios – and the relatively weak Australian dollar has helped revive interest from foreign backers. Alien: Covenant was shot in Sydney and Thor: Ragnarok was shot in Queensland.
Our tax breaks for producers have been wound back and funding from government reduced, although that seems to have stopped.
While Aussies remain in demand in Hollywood, and Our Cate, Our Nic and Our Geoffrey have done okay from their victories, the Oscars still fill that peculiarly Australian yearning for global validation among a nation that likes to think our countrymen and women punch above their weight on the world stage.
If all else fails on Monday, and La La Land scoops the pool, we can always find a way to claim victory. The Brisbane- and Melbourne-educated conductor Tim Davies, whose efforts made the complex score come to life and drive the great songs in La La Land, is not nominated - there's no category for what he does - but can take credit for what is an amazingly entertaining and somewhat original musical.
With Davies deserving of so much credit, we can share in that too.