This week is huge for precursor nominations (Visual Effects Society, DGA, PGA, and BAFTA all hit tomorrow) but today was the Writers Guild of America's turn.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- 1917 -Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns
- Booksmart - Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, Katie Silberman
- Knives Out - Rian Johnson
- Marriage Story - Noah Baumbach
- Parasite - Bong Joon Ho & Han Jin Won
A strongish lineup even if we wouldn't single out 1917's strength as its writing. Curiously, both The Two Popes and Hustlers were eligible for Original with the WGA (and missed) but they're both competing in Adapted for Oscar voters where they actually belong since they're based on a play and a magazine article respectively. Did the confusion cost them votes? This WGA lineup is bad news for critical darlings like Honey Boy, Uncut Gems, and Dolemite is My Name, any of which might have made headway in a weaker year for Originals. But the three strongest alternate threats for an Oscar nomination weren't eligible...
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Pedro Almodóvar (Pain and Glory) aren't WGA members. They've both won writing Oscars without ever being WGA nominees due to the exclusionary rules. The third possibility is Lulu Wang's personal and wonderful The Farewell which was also ineligibl.
Of the five screenplays that were nominated for the WGA surely Booksmart (due to it being a pure comedy) and 1917 (due to it being largely a visual set-piece movie) are surely the most vulnerable against various potential spoilers, Pedro, Quentin, and Lulu being the most likely to show.
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - Michah Fitzerman-Blu & Noah Harpster basd on "Can You Say... Hero?" by Tom Junod
- The Irishman - Steven Zaillian based on "I HeardYou Paint Houses" by Charles Brandt
- Jojo Rabbit - Taika Waititi basd on "Caging Skies" by Christine Leunens
- Joker - Todd Phillips & Scott Silver based on DC Comic books
- Little Women - Greta Gerwig based on "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
JIn truth this is one of the weakest years for Adapted Screenplay we've seen in our years of Oscar watching. There just weren't many adaptations and even fewer undeniable ones.
TRIVIA NOTE: If Taika Waititi is Oscar nominated for his Jojo Rabbit screenplay it will actually be his second Oscar nomination. Though few people remember it due to the low profile of the category he also competed for Best Live Action Short for the beautiful miniature gem Two Cars One Night (2004).
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
- Citizen K - Alex Gibney
- Foster - Mark Jonathan Harris
- The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley - Alex Gibney
- Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People - Robert Seidman & Oren Rudavsky
- The Kingmaker - Lauren Greenfield
A double nomination for Alex Gibney! Interestingly NONE of these films are in the finals for the Academy's Best Documentary Feature nominations.