2005 Writers Guild of America Nominees

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

THE AVIATOR, Written by John Logan, Miramax Films

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, Story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth, Focus Features

GARDEN STATE, Written by Zach Braff, Fox Searchlight Pictures

HOTEL RWANDA, Written by Keir Pearson & Terry George, United Artists

KINSEY, Written by Bill Condon, Fox Searchlight Pictures


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

BEFORE SUNSET, Screenplay by Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke, Story by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan, Based on Characters Created by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan, Warner Independent Pictures

MEAN GIRLS, Screenplay by Tina Fey, Based on the Book "Queen Bees and Wannabes) by Rosalind Wiseman, Paramount Pictures

MILLION DOLLAR BABY, Screenplay by Paul Haggis, Based upon Stories from "Rope Burns" by F.X. Toole, Warner Bros.

THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, Screenplay by Jose Rivera, Based on the Books "Notas de Viaje" by Ernesto Guevara and "Con el Che por America Latina" by Alberto Granado, Focus Features

SIDEWAYS, Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor, Based on the Novel by Rex Pickett, Fox Searchlight Pictures

I expect Eternal Sunshine and Sideways to win.

My Picks

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, Story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth, Focus Features

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
SIDEWAYS, Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor, Based on the Novel by Rex Pickett, Fox Searchlight Pictures

I would be disappointed if either The Aviator or Million Dollar Baby won. Those films have many things that work. Their scripts however don't.

Haven't seen Million Dollar Baby, but the script was The Aviator's weakest aspect.

Sideways will be a lock to win Adapted Screenplay at WGA since it's essentially a movie about a writer.

The Oscars, however, will vote for Million Dollar Baby since it's being voted on for all the branches, and the writers' vote will be split because the lead actors in Before Sunset, The Motorcycle Diaries, and Closer are also all writers.

Since there will be the usual WGA/Oscar split in one category already, I'm hoping Eternal Sunshine wins both here and the Oscar (and the WofKJ Awards).

What tonight means.

The last film to win the WGA and Globe yet lose the Oscar was in 1951 (Bright Victory wasn't even nominated).

What it could mean for the BP race and M$B.

The last film to win Best Picture without leading all films in nominations and without a Screenplay nomination was in 1948 (Hamlet).

But, the last film to win Best Picture without leading all films in nominations with a lost in the Screenplay category was in 1937 (The Great Ziegfeld).

The show starts around 5 PST.

I guess we can expect to know the winners within 2 hours of the start time.

I want Garden State to win

Ahh dreams

Sideways (which I just saw!) and Eternal Sunshine take it!

Check out the OscarWatch frontpage for more.

Beat me to it.

Here's the full story

The Writers Guild of America has awarded its top screenwriting awards to a pair of quirky contemporary looks at romance, tapping Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor for "Sideways" and Charlie Kaufman, Michele Gondry and Pierre Bismuth for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
In ceremonies Saturday, Payne and Taylor won the adapted screenplay trophy for Fox SearchlightFox Searchlight's "Sideways," based on Rex Pickett's darkly comic tale of two friends meeting two women on a wine-fueled road trip.

The original screenplay award went to Focus Features' "Eternal Sunshine," which Kaufman scripted based on a story by Kaufman, Gondry and Bismuth of a man's chaotic attempts to erase the memory of a painful love.

The wins for "Sideways" and "Eternal Sunshine" capped the 57th Annual WGA, presented simultaneously at the Hollywood Palladium and the Pierre Hotel. The victories -- based on voting by the 12,000 WGA members -- were not surprising given the wide support both scripts have received during awards season including trophies from BAFTA and the National Board of Review. The "Sideways" screenplay also picked up a Golden Globe last month.

"Sidways" and "Eternal Sunshine" have been nominated in their respective categories for Academy Awards, which will be presented Feb. 27.

"Sideways," which has grossed about $58 million domestically since its October release," topped "Before Sunset," "Mean Girls," "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Motorcycle Diaries." "Eternal Sunshine," which grossed $34.4 mil-lion domestically after its March release, beat out "The Aviator," "Garden State," "Hotel Rwanda" and "Kinsey."

WGA winners have matched Oscar winners six times in the last 10 years in the adapted category, diverging last year when Robert PulciniRobert Pulcini and Shari Springer BermanShari Springer Berman won the WGA trophy for "American Splendor" and the Oscar went to Fran Walsh, Phillippa Boyens and Peter Jackson for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." The WGA has matched the Oscar choices in the original category five times in the past 10 years, including last year when Sofia CoppolaSofia Coppola won both awards for "Lost in Translation."

It was the second WGA win for "Sideways" writers Payne and Taylor, who also won the trophy in 2000 for "elec-tion." Payne directed both films.

It was the first WGA win for Kaufman, who had been nominated previously for "Adaptation" and "Being John Malkovich."

Well..that was expected. I actually don't see a split with the Oscars happening this time around, I see these two getting the Academy awards as well.

Yeah, with the exception of Before Sunset all the other scripts are just so weak this year.

Those wins seemed fitting. Good to see them get it so now whatever happens at oscars the writers have something.

I thought Closer was snubbed