WGA Goes For "Get Out" and "CMBYN"
Monday, February 12, 2018 at 5:00PM Chris here. One of the final major set of prizes before the Oscar ceremony was handed out over the weekend, the Writers' Guild of America awards. The WGA awarded their screenplay honors to Get Out in original and Call Me By Your Name in adapted. Even though the latter's Oscar competition is now even further in the dust, its safest-bet-of-the-night odds to win the big prize will still be an exciting victory lap for its never-awarded legend screenwriter James Ivory.
Meanwhile original screenplay is the tightest race and Get Out's Jordan Peele has gained an advantage in what will be a photo finish to Oscar. With the heat waning on Three Billboards Outside, Ebbing Missouri (which, it should be noted, was ineligible here) and Lady Bird looking for a second wind, this win here is a much needed leg up. And paired with Peele's Debut Director win at the DGA, signs point to voters being eager to award him overall. If it had recently looked like Get Out and Lady Bird were directly competing with one another, Lady Bird's fans might want to rally their support around its actresses to see a win because I think we have a new frontrunner.
WGA also handed out their Documentary writing prize to Oscar miss Jane, though it faced no competition from Oscar doc nominees. Because the fluidity of television awards is the real shape of water, The Handmaid's Tale picked up multiple TV prizes (Drama Series and New Series) and returning winner Veep won Comedy Series. The episodic prizes were awarded to Better Call Saul ("Chicanery") and Will & Grace ("Rose's Quinceañera"), and additional prizes for Big Little Lies and Bojack Horseman.
Reader Comments (25)
I think GET OUT is more deserving of the screenplay Oscar than LADY BIRD (which was likely its best place of a win at this stage, sadly) so I hope it can defeat THREE BILLBOARDS. Hopefully if voters are giving BILLBOARDS actress and supporting actor then they can spread the wealth a little in this category.
Yay Get Out. Such a well deserved win. Hopefully Peele takes it all the way come Oscar night.
I hold Get Out is the biggest threat to Shape of Water's Oscar success. Three Billboards is too divisive to come on top on a preferential ballot. Even though I expect BAFTA to pump some love into Shape of Water and Three Billboard's campaigns.
The Shape of Water remains on front, but not by much. Get Out's ability to remain the underdog works in its favor, and this decade has actually shown writing awards correlate to the eventual winner more so than the directing one.
My beloved Lady Bird is stuggling so...😣😣😣
YASSS fot both.
3BBs winning screenplay at the Oscars should be a travesty, really. It's like an Aaron Sorkin film in the Midwest, without the witty thing. Pulling the strings so heavy, you can almost see the "play" on the "screen. For me, it's the least deserving of the supposed "frontrunners".
I'm just grown accustomed that the film get Best Actress and Supp. Actor. Even though in my fairy world Ronan and Dafoe will take it,
Both "Get Out" and "Call Me By Your Name" have Oscar worthy screenplays
If Peele wins the Oscar, he will be the first African American to do so in the original screenplay category. That's pretty exciting.
Get Out was winning the majority of the critics awards and the critics choice award, with it's only hiccup being that it missed out on the globes (which CMBYN also missed), how was it not a frontrunner before this?
You've heard here first: Three Billboards will go home empty-handed. Yes, even the acting categories. Since Greta is not winning screenplay, I can see Ronan beating McDomand and Defoe getting the sentimental vote. A vote for Rockwell feels like an endorsement if that character, and the mood now is very different for such a statement.
I see: Pic/Dir: The Shape of Water
Oldman/Ronan/Dafoe/Janney
Peele/Ivory
Eh, that's fine, but it's pathetic that it's been 10 years since a woman won an Oscar for screenwriting in either category at the Oscars (Diablo Cody for Young Adult).
Women have won Emmys 3/10 times in both the drama and comedy categories at the Emmys in the past 10 years. That may not be parity, but it seems a whole lot more equitable.
WILL & GRACE's win was a pleasant surprise. It was a well-done, touching episode that was dramatic without being like a ham-fisted '90s Very Special Episode.
cal roth -- I like your confidence, but I think you're wrong. McDormand and Rockwell have it. I just don't think Academy-wide opinion has shifted that much.
Cal Roth:from your lips to God's ears. McDormand is easily fifth for me in her category.
Rosario, not Rose.
Sad tt Jane ia receiving all these luv but can't repeat it at the Oscars 😕
Bafta may give their homegrown McDonagh the sp win but Get Out is on track to winning sp at Oscars. This is the strongest bid among its 4 nods.
I tink the voters wld wanna give Lady Bird a win somewhr n since its pic, dir n sp prospects seem so dim now, I tink some of them may put Ronan or Metcalf or maybe even both as their ba n bsa choices come Oscar time. Fingers X!
Sadly, Dafoe's momentum has kinda run outta steam n if thr's anyone who cld upset Rockwell's current status, its his co-star, Harrelson, who is ano beloved vet onto his 3rd nom + his role is the most sympathetic n least controversial in 3BB. If Bafta goes w Rockwell, then its sealed. However, if someone wins, it will throw up the race again!
Troy H.
But what about White Women?! Let's change the subject to White Women!
I'm wondering if Get Out wins the writing Oscar, then it could lead to a win for my beloved Laurie, since it's the only way for AMPAS to recognize Lady Bird. I hope so.
brookesboy - I doubt it's going to happen. The Academy populace just doesn't care for the movie that much. Peele isn't going win either - the absence of 3 Billboards skewed the results of this award (remember when Grand Budapest won?).
Suzanne--that makes me so sad. If Janney wins, it will be one of the worst travesties ever in Supporting Actress. I'm shocked she's nominated for this one-dimensional portrayal. Sigh.
Don't know, call me nuts, but I actually think Dafoe will win the Oscar. Don't know why I feel this is so, but he could very well pull an Alan Arkin and take it from Rockwell just like Arkin took it from Murphy.
It's the better performance of the two, anyway.
Manny: I hope that happens. I too think Dafoe is better than Rockwell - although I think Rockwell is good.
I'm having an even crazier thought: I'm wondering if Call Me By Your Name could win Best Picture...
Eward L -we can only dream- "Call Me By Your Name" was the only film I saw in a long time that I had to see twice in the theater- such a great work of film art - too bad narrow minded people are judging it with out even seeing it. I do hope Peele wins the Oscar his script is terrific
jaragon: I haven't seen Lady Bird or The Shape of Water yet (they are both only opening this month in the UK!), but I would give Peele Original Screenplay over The Big Sick or Three Billboards (much as I thought they were pretty good pieces of writing too).
As for Call Me By Your Name, it would be a huge stats breaker if it were to win Best Picture. And on the whole, I'm not fond of stats-breaking moments in the Oscars. I like my Oscar race neat and tidy (though with some surprises)! But I would drop everything if it managed to win. Because it's so good!
Three Billboard's so-called divisiveness is more of an Internet phenomenon, not really within Hollywood (or certainly AMPAS). Underestimate its across-the-board Oscar chances at your peril; it's definitely stronger than many would like to think, including in screenplay.
I, too, hope Lady Bird or Get Out manage to win here, but the collective nashing-of-teeth online may be wishful thinking more than anything rooted in reality. Go Greta/Jordan!
CMBYN isn't winning Best Picture. That's about as hoop dream as hoop dreams get. Shoot, even if I was a die-hard believer in it (or its screenplay), I still would never think it stood a chance.
It's lucky to have had Ivory as its screenwriter, otherwise it also wouldn't stand a chance at that prize, but as he is indeed its writer, it's almost assumed it'll go home with one prize on the night of the awards.
Phantom Thread, Nolan, Day-Lewis, Ronan (or Robbie), Dafoe, and Metcalf, alongside Get Out and Logan would be my picks for the top awards. And Mystery of Love for Original Song as the one "tech" award I'd love to see happen!