2014 Awards Season: WGA: Nominees Have Stories to Tell

January 5, 2014

WGAs announced their nominations this weekend and there were a couple of surprises to talk about. The top of that list is 12 Years a Slave, which was deemed ineligible because it wasn't written under WGA jurisdiction. This makes using the WGAs as an Oscar guide less reliable. On the other hand, several Oscar favorites showed up as well, including American Hustle, Nebraska, and others that have picked up major nominations this year.

The categories and nominations are...

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
• Craig Borten and Melissa Wallack for Dallas Buyers Club
• Spike Jonze for Her
• Bob Nelson for Nebraska
• David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer for American Hustle

• Peter Berg for Lone Survivor
• Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, and Richard Linklater for Before Midnight
• Tracy Letts for August: Osage County
• Billy Ray for Captain Phillips
• Terence Winter for The Wolf of Wall Street

• Alex Gibney for We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks
• Paul Laikin and Janet Tobias for No Place on Earth
• Sara Lukinson and Michael Stevens for Herblock: The Black & the White
• Sarah Polley for Stories We Tell
• David Riker and Jeremy Scahill for Dirty Wars

• When it comes to Original Screenplay, I have no idea who will win and I can think of reasons for and against every film. For instance, Woody Allen has won many times in the past. This means he has a history, which could help Blue Jasmine. Or it could mean the voters will want to give the award to someone else. Meanwhile, the exact opposite is true for Bob Nelson and Nebraska.
• Adapted Screenplay is a little easier, as I think it will be a two-way race between Before Midnight and The Wolf of Wall Street. On the other hand, 12 Years a Slave will win the Oscar.
• There were a couple of noticeable absentees from the Best Documentary category, including The Act of Killing, Blackfish, 20 Feet from Stardom. This leaves Stories We Tell as the likely favorite; however, I'm a little worried my well-known pro-Canada bias is interfering with my judgment here.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: Awards Season, Dallas Buyers Club, The Wolf of Wall Street, Lone Survivor, August: Osage County, Captain Phillips, Stories We Tell, No Place on Earth, 20 Feet From Stardom, Before Midnight, Blue Jasmine, We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks, American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, Dirty Wars, Nebraska, Blackfish, The Act of Killing, Her, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Woody Allen, Peter Berg, Spike Jonze, Tracy Letts, Richard Linklater, Sarah Polley, David O. Russell, Alex Gibney, Melissa Wallack, Billy Ray, Janet Tobias, David Riker, Terence Winter, Craig Borten, Jeremy Scahill, Bob Nelson, Eric Warren Singer