Yes, awards season continues as The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced their nominations for the best screenplays of 2011 today. All the usual suspects were there, including The Descendants, Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris and the other Oscar season flygirls. The biggest surprise, however, was the inclusion of the independent drama Win Win, a slight, barely released drama written by Thomas McCarthy (The Station Agent), who shares a story credit with Joe Tiboni. We reviewed the film back in August and found it to be a strongly acted story about complex, daily moral compromises, but didn't quite feel it stuck the ending. But it's now a serious Oscar contender, at least for a nomination (a win, or even a win-win, seems unlikely), and will probably warrant a second look from audiences and Academy voters alike.
The biggest snubs appear to be War Horse (a prime contender for Best Picture this year), The Ides of March (which seems to be getting a lot of nominations but doesn't seem to have much actual traction), and The Artist (which is gearing up to be an acting awards juggernaut but probably not the best Best Picture bet).
The rest of the mostly predictable film nominations are below.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
50/50, written by Will Reiser
BRIDESMAIDS, written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, written by Woody Allen
WIN WIN, screenplay by Thomas McCarthy, story by Thomas McCarthy and Joe Tiboni
YOUNG ADULT, written by Diablo Cody
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE DESCENDANTS, written by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, written by Steven Zaillian, based on the novel by Stieg Larsson
THE HELP, screenplay by Tate Taylor, based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett
HUGO, screenplay by John Logan, based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
MONEYBALL, screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, story by Stan Chervin, based on the book by Michael Lewis
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
BETTER THIS WORLD, written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega
IF A TREE FALLS: THE STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT, written by Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamachek
NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT, written by Patricio Guzmán
PINA, screenplay by Wim Wenders
POSITION AMONG THE STARS, script by Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich, Leonard Retel Helmrich
SENNA, written by Manish Pandey
