Before approaching the Writers Guild Nominations with Oscary enthusiasmbe forewarned: only guild members are eligible for these prizes which discounts a good chunk of the movies one might otherwise expect to see honored each year. Hollywood isn't nearly as averse to working with non-guild writers as they are about non-unionized actors (Beasts of the Southern Wild was the only significant "ineligible" situation when the SAG nominees were announced a month ago). One of the reasons for this is surely the prevalence of writer/directors who are often members of the DGA without being members of the WGA.
The benefit of this is that by their script eligibility rules they are forced to award films that have been largely ignored in the grand scheme of year end hoopla. The curse is that when you are nominated from a smaller field of potentials it might not feel as notable.
- Flight, Written by John Gatins; Paramount Pictures
- Looper, Written by Rian Johnson; TriStar Pictures
- The Master, Written by Paul Thomas Anderson; The Weinstein Company
- Moonrise Kingdom, Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola; Focus Features
- Zero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures (ARTICLE)
not eligible and therefore unsnubbed so you could still see them on Oscar's list:
Django Unchained, Seven Psychopaths, Amour, Your Sister's Sister, Take This Waltz, The Intouchables, Middle of Nowhere, Rust & Bone and The Impossible
Typically we only here of what's been declared ineligible so it's tough to know what other films were competing although I'd feel worse for actor/screenwriter Reid Carolin's absence for Magic Mike above if he'd also played one of the Cock-Rocking Kings of Tampa. That'd be putting it all on the line for your movie!
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the WiredMagazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. Pictures
- Life of Pi, Screenplay by David Magee; Based on the novel by Yann Martel; 20th Century Fox
- Lincoln, Screenplay by Tony Kushner; Based in part on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincolnby Doris Kearns Goodwin; DreamWorks Pictures
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Screenplay by Stephen Chbosky; Based on his book; Summit Entertainment (LOGAN LERMAN INTERVIEW)
- Silver Linings Playbook, Screenplay by David O. Russell; Based on the novel by Matthew Quick; The Weinstein Company
not eligible and therefore unsnubbed:
Les Miz, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Anna Karenina, The Deep Blue Sea, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The nominee list for the WGA is highly plausible as the final Oscar list in this category too, don't you think?
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
- The Central Park Five, Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects
- The Invisible War, Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group
- Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
- Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendejelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
- We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media
- West of Memphis, Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
Sugar Man, Mea Maxima and The Invisible War continue to show real strength in the oncoming Oscar Best Documentary race.