Awards Season: WGA Sticks to the Letter of the Law

January 4, 2011

WGA nominations were announced this week, and there were some strange results, as the guild is sticking to their rules, which resulted in a number of possible Oscar contenders being ruled ineligible. That said, of the non-documentary films, only one hasn't picked up a single nomination previously, so it is hard to say this list is too out there.

The categories and nominations are...

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The Kids are All Right
• Please Give

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• 127 Hours
• I Love You, Phillip Morris
• The Social Network
• The Town
• True Grit

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

• Enemies of the People
• Freedom Riders
• GasLand
• Inside Job
• The Two Escobars
• Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)

Notes and Reactions...

• Because the rules resulted in a number of Oscar contenders being ruled ineligible, including The King's Speech, Winter's Bone, and Toy Story 3, there are a number of releases nominated today that likely won't make the cut for Oscars.
• I Love You, Phillip Morris is the most obvious example. That's not to say it is a bad movie, but it hasn't exactly been a major player during Awards Season so far.
• On the other hand, Black Swan, 127 Hours, The Social Network, and a couple others a nearly guaranteed to repeat as Oscar nominees.
• As far as documentaries go, Inside Job seems to me to be the obvious favorite at this point.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: Awards Season