The Writers Guild is unusual among awards-giving groups in that it strictly enforces the rule that only screenplays written for films produced under Guild agreements are eligible. That tends to exclude some of the major indie movies of the year and many foreign imports, which are produced non-Guild for budgetary and other reasons. The result this year is that strong Oscar contenders like 12 Years A Slave, Philomena, Rush and Fruitvale Station weren’t eligible for nomination. This makes the WGA a less effective bellwether for Oscar choices than other guilds. Nevertheless, it’s an important group, and these are its 2013 nominees (note: the use of “&” between writers’ names indicates the script was written by them as a team, while “and” means a separate rewrite)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMERICAN HUSTLE – David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
BLUE JASMINE – Woody Allen
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB – Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack
HER – Spike Jonze
NEBRASKA – Bob Nelson
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY – Tracy Letts
BEFORE MIDNIGHT – Richard Linklater & Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS – Billy Ray
LONE SURVIVOR – Peter Berg
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET – Terence Winter
Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club and Her continue to show strength after being named in yesterday’s Producers Guild list, and Before Midnight and Lone Survivor got needed boosts from the WGA. However, it’s all but a foregone conclusion that 12 Years A Slave (and possibly Philomena) will get Oscar nods, so the adapted scripts shouldn’t get too comfortable. Meanwhile, the Coen Brothers missed out for Inside Llewyn Davis, which seems to be fading as a contender, and the hope that Nicole Holofcener’s Enough Said would get recognition from the writers didn’t happen. Less surprising were the failures of Gravity and The Butler, neither of which has gotten much praise for its script.
Next up: the Directors Guild nominations on Tuesday. That group only names 5 nominees, so its choices will be particularly important. In addition, the National Society of Film Critics, the last major group to be heard from, announces its choices tomorrow.
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