Writers Guild Nominees

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Babel, Written by Guillermo Arriaga, Paramount Vantage

Little Miss Sunshine, Written by Michael Arndt, Fox Searchlight Pictures

The Queen, Written by Peter Morgan, Miramax Films

Stranger Than Fiction, Written by Zach Helm, Sony Pictures Entertainment

United 93, Written by Paul Greengrass, Universal Pictures

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer, Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips, Based on a Character Created by Sacha Baron Cohen, Twentieth Century Fox

The Departed, Screenplay by William Monahan, Based on the Motion Picture Internal Affairs, Written by Alan Mak and Felix Chong, Warner Bros. Pictures

The Devil Wears Prada, Screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna, Based on the Novel by Lauren Weisberger, Twentieth Century Fox

Little Children, Screenplay by Todd Field & Tom Perrotta, Based on the Novel by Tom Perrotta, New Line Cinema

Thank You for Smoking, Screenplay by Jason Reitman, Based on the Novel by Christopher Buckley, Fox Searchlight Pictures

I knew Borat's gonna be adapted.

I wonder what is the Oscar ruling for them.

I actually like this line-up... though of course one of each won't make it come Oscars.

I nailed the adapted screenplay, I think. (EDIT: nope, got Borat in the wrong category)

United 93 got one! Dreamgirls is the only one missing from the presumed top 5. And no show continues for either of Eastwood's movies.

Eastwood is done.

And no Notes on a Scandal or Children of Men. Devil Wears Prada is the only one to get nomination from both USC Scripter and WGA.

Yay, United 93 wasn't completely shut out!

Letters, on the other hand. . .

And the Dreamgirls doesn't really effect it, as it's a tight category and not really a screenplay-heavy flick. Borat though, interesting.

My new Oscar predictions:

Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
The Queen
United 93

The Departed
The Devil Wears Prada
The Illusionist (It appears to have major support elsewhere, could make it at the last minute)
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal

Woohoo! United 93 got a WGA nom! That's sweet.

So, Babel, The Departed, and Little Miss Sunshine are the films to have gotten nods from all of the big four: PGA, DGA, WGA, and SAG Ensemble.

Peace,
Mike.

The title asks "Which Film is DOA"?

The answer is: Clintwood (i.e. both of Clint Eastwood's films)

Even United 93 gets a nod from WGA, and Iwo Jima and Flags got nothing in anything thus far.

Peace,
Mike.

I don't think I have seen 5 BP nominees to be as locked as we're this year. At least there was a battle between WTL and Munich last year. Theoretically, being a comedy, LMS could miss like Almost Famous (which also grabbed the big four), but CDG nom indicates its support has permeated to the tech branches. Babel is showing up everywhere except for ASC. The Queen is the only one to miss SAG, but it missed to Bobby, so no worry there either, and it also showed up in CDG. This really is an impenetrable lineup.

If any film was still to make it into the BP line-up, it'd still be U93. I don't remember the last film that sweeped the critics awards as much as U93 did, but missed a BP nom at the Oscars. Can anyone remind me of one? The question is which film would it replace? Either LMS or Babel, I'd say...

The Devil Wears Prada is so getting a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination.

Almost Famous is the closest film I can think of, but that was a rare case as it also swept the guilds.

Don't underestimate Eastwood's appeal among the Academy, though. I think he's much stronger there than in the guilds.

A big sigh of relief for not seeing Dreamgirls there.

I, too, am kind of amused at this Eastwood snub. I did think Letters was the best of the year (haven't seen Children of Men yet) and I'd really prefer it getting in the BP category over Dreamgirls, but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far from the guilds.