MUMBAI: The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) has announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen during the 2008 season.
Winners will be honored at the 2009 Writers Guild Awards held on Saturday, 7 February, 2009, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.
Original Screenplay
Burn After Reading, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Focus Features
Milk, Written by Dustin Lance Black, Focus Features
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Written by Woody Allen, The Weinstein Company
The Visitor, Written by Tom McCarthy, Overture Films
The Wrestler, Written by Robert Siegel, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen Story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord; Based on the Short Story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures
The Dark Knight, Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan; Story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer; Based on Characters Appearing in Comic Books Published by DC Comics; Batman Created by Bob Kane, Warner Bros. Pictures
Doubt, Screenplay by John Patrick Shanley, Based on his Stage Play, Miramax Films
Frost/Nixon, Screenplay by Peter Morgan, Based on his Stage Play, Universal Pictures
Slumdog Millionaire, Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, Based on the Novel Q and A by Vikas Swarup, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Documentary Screenplay
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, Written by Stefan Forbes and Noland Walker, InterPositive Media
Chicago 10, Written by Brett Morgen, Roadside Attractions
Fuel, Written by Johnny O’Hara, Greenlight Theatrical / Intention Media
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Screenplay by Alex Gibney, From the Words of Hunter S. Thompson, Magnolia Pictures
Waltz with Bashir, Written by Ari Folman, Sony Pictures Classics
Feature films eligible for a Writers Guild Award were released in the year 2008 and produced under the jurisdiction of Writers Guilds of America, East and West or affiliate guilds in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and New Zealand. There were 255 films eligible for nomination in the categories of Original Screenplay (155) and Adapted Screenplay (100).
Documentaries eligible for a Writers Guild Award featured an on-screen writing credit and were exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles or New York for one week in 2008. While the credited writers of these documentaries were required to join the WGAW’s Nonfiction Writers Caucus or WGAE Nonfiction Writers Caucus in order to be considered, scripts need not have been written under WGA jurisdiction to be considered.
The 2009 Writers Guild Awards will be held on 7 February, 2009.
