WGA nominations don't tell the whole story
Monday, January 6, 2020 at 8:27PM 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...