Tis the Season: Writers Guild of America

Ah, the infamous Writers Guild. These are the wonderful people whose strike last year is responsible for the cancellation of "Pushing Daisies", the reason QUANTUM OF SOLACE was rushed into production way too soon and they almost even had to cancel the Oscars. This of course meant I almost had to cancel my Oscar party. They're back though and so are their nominations for the best original and adapted screenplays of 2008. Let's get to the nominees

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Joel & Ethan Coen, BURN AFTER READING
Dustin Lance Black, MILK
Woody Allen, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Tom McCarthy, THE VISITOR
Robert Siegel, THE WRESTLER

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Eric Roth, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, THE DARK KNIGHT
John Patrick Shanley, DOUBT
Peter Morgan, FROST/NIXON
Simon Beaufoy, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

My biggest surprise? BURN AFTER READING for Original Screenplay. The Coen Brothers won the Adapted Screenplay award last year for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN but BURN AFTER READING was widely considered too light to be a serious contender. A vote from the writers now could now mean another Oscar later. Mind you, I would imagine that even if it does get the Oscar nod, it will be no match for Black's MILK, Siegel's THE WRESTLER or even dark horse, McCarthy's THE VISITOR. The fifth slot went to Allen's VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA. Allen has won four previous WGA original screenplay awards - ANNIE HALL, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, BROADWAY DANNY ROSE and CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. Allen's momentum for the Oscar has been building and this is definitely a big push for his chances. As much as I have a soft spot for Woody, I am not certain he deserves the oscar more than shut-outs, Andrew Stanton's WALL-E or Jenny Lumet's RACHEL GETTING MARRIED.

The only glaring omissions for Adapted Screenplay, from what I can tell, are Justin Haythe's REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and David Hare's THE READER. I am naturally pleased to see the Nolan Brothers up for THE DARK KNIGHT and expected that Shanley's DOUBT and Morgan's FROST/NIXON were sure things. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE are also now sure things in this category come Oscar time but they are certainly my least favorite possibilities considering I feel their screenplays are the worst things about them. Here's a crazy alternative for your consideration, Francois Begaudeau's sharp, naturalistic screenplay adaptation of his own book, ENTRE LES MURS (THE CLASS).

Next up, the last of the guilds ... the almighty Director's Guild.