AWARDS 2011: WGA Nominations Skew Disaffected

The WGA has had a notorious penchant for nominating inaccurate films for screenwriting, as they cancel out so many films on strict rules. Therefore, the little interest I usually muster for awards isn't even available now. It's a slow crawl to nomination morning, when all the silliness finally fades from the world and we can start talking not-really-that-seriously.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• "The Descendants"
  
• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
  
• "The Help"
  
• "Hugo"
  
• "Moneyball"

Best Original Screenplay:

• "Bridesmaids"
  
• "50/50"
  
• "Midnight in Paris"
  
• "Win Win"
  
• "Young Adult"

Best Documentary Screenplay:

• "Better This World"
  
• "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
  
• "Nostalgia for the Light"
  
• "Pina"
  
• "Position Among the Stars"
• "Senna"

AWARDS 2011: Annual WGA No-Want List

It's that time of year again, when the Writers Guild of America decides to be prissy little bitches and kick out any film that doesn't abide by their numerous and illogical rules. As such, they aren't a truly reliable precursor in the Oscar fray, and they actually serve just to alienate themselves from the rest of the awards season. But it's still worth some interesting conversation on who didn't make the cut this year. The most high profile film is probably "The Artist", which makes sense on the grounds that that might've been a slim screenplay based on the lack of dialogue. But there's also no sense in the numerous other films to be kept out the competition.

In the original screenplay field, "The Artist", "Beginners", "The Iron Lady", "The Lady", "Margin Call", "Martha Marcy May Marlene", "Melancholia", "Rango", and "Take Shelter" were shelved. In the counterpart adapted field, "Albert Nobbs", "Carnage", "Jane Eyre", "My Week with Marilyn", "Sarah's Key", "The Skin I Live In", and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" got the shaft. While it doesn't much shake the latter race, it does make us wonder what's left for the former. The Best Picture contender most likely to make it in for Original Screenplay here would probably just be "Midnight in Paris". Hell, I'd count on that for the win. Adapted Screenplay, it's pretty much the same game as it was before.

Awards 2010: Writer's Guild of America Winners

This week, I did something that I haven't done since late 2009. I sat down and watched Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight from start to finish. I'd seen fragments of it on television, usually during the ambitious gotham city car chase that takes place in the middle of the film. I can honestly say that I've never fully realize the full scale of Nolan's accomplishment until just now. At face value, it's a dark crime thriller with some breathtaking action set-pieces propelling it, but what always shook me to my core was that final 25 minutes. The Joker had already made it abundantly clear of his intention to show the citizens of Gotham as the murderous fiends they truly are. Ultimately what that final showdown, and what the entire film actually boils down to is the struggle to keep hope alive at whatever the cost. The stakes are made so personal by the face-off between Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon, and that menace shows how painful it is to live in a world with absolutely no hope. That was what made the film so unforgettable.

With that said, Inception is never going to come close to what that film meant and what that film did. To even suggest that is crazy, because Nolan creates a softer film with less emotional stakes. It's dazzlingly well crafted with a powerful and under-appreciated supporting turn from Marion Cotillard, but it won't be what Nolan is remembered for. Recently I have been twisting and turning at how unbearably predictable the Oscar race has become, and it's so unbearable because it's currently in favor of The King's Speech, which is quickly becoming my least favorite film of the bunch, aside from The Fighter. It's amazing how unanimous praise can expose your despise for a film.

Yet this evening we got a glimmer of hope that maybe everything isn't set in stone. Inception took home the WGA award for Best Original Screenplay, making it Nolan's first win at the prestigious awards. For the past seven years the WGA has been spot on in predicting the outcome of the race, despite the strict rules of qualification. This year, The King's Speech was cut out of the race because of such technicalities, so this could break the WGA's streak of voting so correctly. However, I manage to believe that Nolan still has a shot at the win. The message of outcry amongst the fans at Nolan's omission from Best Director has been heard, so voting for Inception could also work as a bit of damage control.

Of course Aaron Sorkin also took the obvious win for his precise screenplay for The Social Network, which has a much greater struggle for the win in Best Picture. It'll be a struggle for David Fincher to recieve his deserved Best Director win against the undeserving Tom Hooper. I feel a greater stream of optimism this evening than I have in a long time. I've adjusted my Oscar Predictions page, so check it out. The winners are listed below.

Best Original Screenplay: Inception
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Documentary Writing: Inside Job
Miniseries/TV Movie Adapted Screenplay: The Pacific
Miniseries/TV Movie Original Screenplay: The Special Relationship
Episodic Comedy: Modern Family
Episodic Drama: Mad Men
New Series: Boardwalk Empire

Awards 2010: Writer's Guild of America Nominations

Well, the annual list of films snubbed from the WGA didn't seem to stop a consistent stream of quality coming in, although there are two rather interesting horses in this race. Please Give and I Love You Phillip Morris were nominated for their Original and Adapted Screenplays respectively. The winners ought to be rather obvious, with Inception and The Social Network coming out on top in their respective categories. It's not a great glimpse at what to expect from the Oscar nominations, but it's something different to say the least.

Awards 2010: WGA Rejects List

Once again, the Writer's Guild of America has composed their list of films that qualify for their screenplay categories. More often than not, the list is better defined by what it doesn't have than what it does. So what poor souls didn't make the cut this year? Well, the most notable omissions are Toy Story 3, Winter's Bone, The King's Speech, Blue Valentine, and Another Year. In other words, most of the films that'll dominate the Academy Award nominations for the two categories. Based on this, I'd say it's a pretty good guess to say that Inception and The Social Network will win Original and Adapted Screenplay respectively. The WGA has a very strict set of guidelines that a film has to be produced under in order to qualify. Other films that didn't make the cut are How to Train Your Dragon, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Never Let Me Go, Biutiful, The Way Back, Tangled, and Made in Dagenham. Although, if it is any consolation, Killers didn't make the cut either. For a look at the full list of eligible films, follow this link.