In a crowded yet predictable year in U.S. awards season, this year's Writers Guild of America nominations prove one thing: the guilds are a reliable indicator of an Oscar nomination.
Aside from the usual suspects (Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire,Dark Knight), veterans Woody Allen (for Vicky Christina Barcelona) and the Coen Brothers (surprise nominees for the fall comedy Burn After Reading) are up for Best Original Screenplay. (This is Allen's 15th WGA nod.) Previously unheralded contenders Thomas McCarthy (The Visitor) and Robert Siegel (The Wrestler) were shortlisted along with Allen and the Coens, while Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black complete the line-up. (PGA and Globe nominee Waltz with Bashir is up for the Documentary Screenplay category.)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: A HIGHLY CONTESTED FIELD
This year's adapted writing contenders are the much awaited. Button and Slumdog Millionaire have so far dominated the guilds (PGA, ASC, SAG, Globes), though Dark Knight was surprisingly shut-out at the Golden Globes. Previous original screenplay winners John Patrick Shanley (1987's Moonstruck) and Peter Morgan (2006's The Queen)are up for the actors' showcase Doubt and Frost/Nixon, respectively.
And who were left out of the box? Happy-Go-Lucky's Mike Leigh, WALL-E's Andrew Stanton (though animated pictures are ineligible in the guild), The Reader's David Hare (2002's The Hours), and certainly Revolutionary Road's freshman scribe Justin Haythe. Let's hope that they fare better at the Oscars.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Burn After Reading, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Focus Features (pictured above)
Milk, Written by Dustin Lance Black, Focus Features *
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Written by Woody Allen, The Weinstein Company
The Visitor, Written by Tom McCarthy, Overture Films
The Wrestler, Written by Robert Siegel, Fox Searchlight Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen Story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord; Based on the Short Story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures*
The Dark Knight, Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan; Story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer; Based on Characters Appearing in Comic Books Published by DC Comics; Batman Created by Bob Kane, Warner Bros. Pictures
Doubt, Screenplay by John Patrick Shanley, Based on his Stage Play, Miramax Films
Frost/Nixon, Screenplay by Peter Morgan, Based on his Stage Play, Universal Pictures
Slumdog Millionaire, Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, Based on the Novel Q and A by Vikas Swarup, Fox Searchlight Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, Written by Stefan Forbes and Noland Walker, InterPositive Media
Chicago 10, Written by Brett Morgen, Roadside Attractions
Fuel, Written by Johnny O’Hara, Greenlight Theatrical / Intention Media
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Screenplay by Alex Gibney, From the Words of Hunter S. Thompson, Magnolia Pictures*
Waltz with Bashir, Written by Ari Folman, Sony Pictures Classics
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