It’s that time of awards season when the various guilds begin weighing in with their nominations, and on the heels of the Screen Actors Guild nods, the Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for its screenwriting awards. Most surprising of the bunch is the fact thatRhett ReeseandPaul Wernickscored a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination forDeadpool. This was a script that they worked on tirelessly for years trying to convince 20th Century Fox to make the movie, and when it was finally realized onscreen last spring, the finished film apparently bore an extremely close resemblance to their initial screenplay.
The WGA isn’t exactly averse to genre films—Looper,Guardians of the Galaxy, andThe Martianall previously scored nods—butDeadpoolis a surprising entry to the Best Adapted Screenplay race that few saw coming.
Elsewhere in the Adapted Screenplay category,Eric Heisserer’s script forArrivallanded notice, and it’s now the presumed frontrunner when it comes Oscar time. Meanwhile, Original Screenplay is straight upcompetitive, withBarry Jenkins’Moonlight,Kenneth Lonergan’sManchester by the Sea, andDamien Chazelle’sLa La Land—the three biggest Best Picture contenders of the year—all scoring nods. ButTaylor Sheridan’s well-received script forHell or High Waterposes a serious threat, and it’s excellent to seeJeff Nicholsreceiving notice forLoving.
The full list of nominees is as follows:
Original Screenplay
Adapted Screenplay
Documentary Screenplay
This is actually a really swell lineup, with the scripts forLion,The Lobster,Zootopia,Florence Foster Jenkinsand others deemed ineligible by WGA rules. But what does this mean for Oscar? The biggest snub here isMartin ScorseseandJay Cocks’ script forSilence, which could be bad news for the Paramount film when it comes to gaining widespread support needed for a Best Picture nod. AndMike Millsnot landing notice for20th Century Womenis another hit for that movie after being given the cold shoulder by the Screen Actors Guild.
It’s also worth noting that the Academy has ruled thatMoonlightandLovingwill be competing in Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars, not Original, so that takes away two of the Adapted slots and opens up more possibilities in Original. But theDeadpoolinclusion is interesting andcouldget Academy members thinking about recognizing it at the ceremony.
What do you think folks? Sound off in the comments below, and for more Oscar updates check out my Oscar Beat columns.
