AwardsWatch

The Writers Guild of America, the most prestigious membership organization for television and film writers, announced its nominations this week for top scribes of the year. The nominees, an indicator of the Oscar nods due later this month, are not without controversy. Several of the year's most celebrated films have had their scripts disqualified due to the WGA's convoluted "minimum basic agreement" rules. The injunctions are rather hard to explain but disqualify film scripts that don't follow the strict ruling contained in the "minimum basic agreement" or the agreement of relevant international guilds.

Therefore, the scripts of some of the year's biggest films, including "The King’s Speech,” “Biutiful,” “The Ghost Writer,” “Winter’s Bone,” “Toy Story 3,” “The Way Back,” “Blue Valentine” and “Another Year” have all been disqualified (the WGA ruling does not prevent the films from competing in the all-important Oscar race). By leaving out some of the big films of the season, some nice surprises were registered including Nicole Holofcener’s witty script for the urban comedy “Please Give”; and co-directors John Requan and Glenn Ficarra’s screenplay for the long-delayed Jim Carrey/Ewan McGregor gay love story “I Love You Phillip Morris”. The two other WGA nominated screenplays that also have the greatest shot at Oscar gold include Aaron Sorkin’s zeitgeist tale of technology and greed “The Social Network”; and director Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg’s smart script for the we-are-family comedy drama “The Kids Are All Right.” Winners will be honored at the 2011 Writers Guild Awards held on Saturday, February 5, 2011, at simultaneous ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles.

Sandy Mandelberger, Awards Watch Editor

WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA NOMINATIONS

Original Screenplay

Black Swan
Screenplay by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin; Story by Andres Heinz; Fox Searchlight

The Fighter
Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Paramount Pictures

Inception
Written by Christopher Nolan; Warner Bros.

The Kids Are All Right
Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg; Focus Features

Please Give
Written by Nicole Holofcener; Sony Pictures Classics

Adapted Screenplay

127 Hours
Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy; Based on the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston; Fox Searchlight

I Love You, Phillip Morris
Written by John Requa & Glenn Ficarra; Based on the book by Steven McVicker; Roadside Attractions

The Social Network
Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich; Sony Pictures

The Town
Screenplay by Peter Craig and Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard; Based on the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan; Warner Bros.

True Grit
Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Based on the novel by Charles Portis; Paramount Pictures

Documentary Screenplay

Enemies of the People
Written, Directed, Filmed and Produced by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath; International Film Circuit

Freedom Riders
Written, Produced and Directed by Stanley Nelson; International Film Circuit

Gasland
Written and Directed by Josh Fox; HBO Documentary Films and International WOW Company

Inside Job
Produced, Written and Directed by Charles Ferguson; Co-written by Chad Beck, Adam Bolt; Sony Pictures Classics

The Two Escobars
Written by Michael Zimbalist, Jeff Zimbalist; ESPN Films

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?
Written and Directed by John Scheinfeld; Lorber Films