After the writers’ strike made for a low-key Writers Guild Awards in 2008, the WGA has announced its nominees for the year’s best scripts with rather more fanfare, delivering Woody Allen with a remarkable 19th screenplay nod.
Allen, nominated for his Iberian romance Vicky Cristina Barcelona, is joined on the list by the Coen Brothers who picked up their fourth for Burn After Reading. Eric Roth also picked up a fourth nomination, receiving the nod in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, his adaption of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story.
The WGA have also brought some richly deserved recognition for Ari Folman’s Waltz With Bashir, although in the slightly surprising category of Best Documentary Screenplay.
Like this week’s Producer’s Guild Awards nominations, history shows that WGA winners stand a strong chance of going on to Oscar glory. In the Original Screenplay category, WGA winners have gone on to pick up the Academy Award nine of the last 14 years, including Diablo Cody for **Juno **last year.
The nominees in full:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Burn After Reading – Joel & Ethan Coen
**Milk **– Dustin Lance Black
Vicky Cristina Barcelona – Woody Allen
The Visitor – Tom McCarthy
The Wrestler – Robert Siegel
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button – Eric Roth
**The Dark Knight **– Jonathan & Justin Nolan
**Doubt **– John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon – Peter Morgan
Slumdog Millionaire – Simon Beaufoy
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story – Stefan Forbes and Noland Walker
**Chicago 10 **– Brett Morgen
**Fuel **– Johnny O’Hara
Gonzo: The Life And Work Of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson – Alex Gibney
**Waltz With Bashir **– Ari Folman