Scripts Ineligible for WGA Nomination

rain Bard
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Post by rain Bard »

It might be amusing, but it's not necessarily narrow-minded, and it's arguably justified. There's no way Monahan could have written his script without the work of Mak & Chong having come before him, but the scripts are substantially different enough that it would be reasonable for WGA members to consider the adaptation award-worthy, and the original not, for reasons other than the guild status of the writers.

The situation may be similar to that of this WGA award-winner:

Airplane!

screenplay by Jim Abrahams, David and Jerry Zucker

based on the teleplay by Arthur Hailer

I prefer the honesty of a group like the WGA which limits its field of view to what its members know, than to groups that, behind a show of inclusiveness, end up picking mostly the same kinds of films anyway (out of ignorance and inertia, not malice), implying that they judge the best of all bests from a position of all-knowing wisdom. (though I won't go so far as Uri and root against foreign films in these stacked "competitions.")

Monahan won the Oscar as well, and Mak & Chong were not nominated for Infernal Affairs. (side note: they did win a few Asian awards for their script, but they lost the Golden Horse award to the script for PTU, a decision I agree with.)
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Post by Big Magilla »

What I find amusing about the WGA is that their designations include original source material, to whit:

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE DEPARTED, Screenplay by William Monahan, Based on the Motion Picture Infernal Affairs, Written by Alan Mak and Felix Chong, Warner Bros. Pictures

If the writers of Infernal Affairs are good enough to be singled out because their screenplay was later adapted, why wasn't the original good enough to be considered? Answer: because they didn't pay dues to the Guild. It's that kind of narrow minded thinking that forced teh DGA and SAG to modify their rules years ago.
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Post by MovieWes »

Anything that crushes The King's Speech is okay in my book. :p
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Post by Sabin »

Oh, sorry. Yeah, those are my predictions.

It's not their job to predict the Oscars. It's their job to honor people within the guild. Just as it's the job of the American Society of Cinematographers and the American Cinema Editors. We always complain about the Oscars being too predictable. I'm sure they do want to influence the Oscars, but let's not forget that the Oscars began as a way to honor people within their constituency. Mike Leigh isn't part of the WGA's constituency, so why would they change what they're doing?
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Post by rain Bard »

Of course they're trying to influence the Oscars, but what's the point of influencing them if you're not doing so from a particular point of view? Any other approach is really more like playing predictor than puppeteer.

The SAG and DGA may feel that their more inclusive rules give them more credibility as influencers, but there's no way to know for sure whether it's the dog or the tail doing the wagging.
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Post by Big Magilla »

If they didn't want to have an influence on the Oscars, they wouldn't rush their nominations.
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Post by FilmFan720 »

Big Magilla wrote:It's time the WGA revised their rules. The DGA and SAG long ago amended theirs to allow non-guild members to be recognized. They should be thoroughly embarrassed.
I think they should be commended. They haven't amended their rules in order to be merely a precursor, but instead continue their tradition of honoring the best achievement in their guild.
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Post by OscarGuy »

They haven't nominated anything yet. Those are Sabin's predictions, I believe. The WGA announce nominees on January 4.
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Post by Reza »

So Another Year and The King's Speech missed out and they nominated Get Low and Shutter Island instead.
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Post by Big Magilla »

It's time the WGA revised their rules. The DGA and SAG long ago amended theirs to allow non-guild members to be recognized. They should be thoroughly embarrassed.
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Post by Sabin »

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Black Swan
The Fighter
Get Low
Inception
The Kids Are All Right

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 Hours
Shutter Island
The Social Network
The Town
True Grit
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Post by The Original BJ »

Good god! What ARE they going to nominate?
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Post by Mister Tee »

Via Awards Daily, quoting Steve Pond:


“The King’s Speech,” “Winter’s Bone,” “Toy Story 3,” “Blue Valentine” and “Another Year” may be among the most acclaimed film scripts of the year, and they may well become contenders in the writing categories at the Oscars, but you won’t hear any of their names called when the WGA Awards nominations are announced on January 4.

Also missing from the WGA ballot: “The Ghost Writer,” “Nowhere Boy,” “The Way Back,” “Never Let Me Go,” “Love & Other Drugs,” “Made in Dagenham,” “Green Zone,” “Biutiful” and “Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.”
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