The Writers Guild of America announced their nominees for the 2017 WGA Awards this morning, and there were some interesting selections, to say the least.
The industry clearly adores “La La Land” as Damien Chazelle‘s screenplay, arguably the weakest aspect of the film, made it into the Original category over Mike Mills‘ “20th Century Women,” Noah Oppenheim‘s “Jackie” and Matt Ross‘ “Captain Fantastic.” The other nominees in this category include Taylor Sheridan‘s “Hell or High Water,” Kenneth Lonergan‘s “Manchester By The Sea,” Barry Jenkins‘ “Moonlight” and Jeff Nichols‘ “Loving.” These five will not repeat in the Academy Award nominations announced later this month as both “Moonlight” and “Loving” have been deemed adapted screenplays by the Academy’s writers branch.
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“Deadpool,” written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick, was a somewhat shocking Adapted nominee by the WGA as the organization overlooked Whit Stillman‘s “Love & Friendship,” David Burke‘s “Elle” and Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan‘s “Hacksaw Ridge.” Eric Heisserer‘s “Arrival,” August Wilson‘s “Fences,” Tom Ford‘s “Nocturnal Animals” and Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi‘s “Hidden Figures” rounded out the field.
Additionally, potential Oscar nominees such as “The Lobster,” “Florence Foster Jenkins” and “Lion” were not eligible as those screenwriters are not members of the WGA. Moreover, animated films are not considered, so “Zootopia” and “Kubo And The Two Strings” had no shot at a nomination here.
The WGA Awards will be handed out on Sunday, Feb. 19th. A complete list of all the nominees, including the documentary branch, is as follows.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Hell or High Water,” Written by Taylor Sheridan; CBS Films
“La La Land,” Written by Damien Chazelle; Lionsgate
“Loving,” Written by Jeff Nichols; Focus Features
“Manchester By The Sea,” Written by Kenneth Lonergan; Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions
“Moonlight,” Written by Barry Jenkins, Story by Tarell McCraney; A24
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Arrival,” Screenplay by Eric Heisserer; Based on the Story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang; Paramount Pictures
“Deadpool,” Written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick; Based on the X-Men Comic Books; Twentieth Century Fox Film
“Fences,” Screenplay by August Wilson; Based on his play; Paramount Pictures
“Hidden Figures,” Screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi; Based on the Book by Margot Lee Shetterly; Twentieth Century Fox Film
“Nocturnal Animals,” Screenplay by Tom Ford; Based on the Novel “Tony and Susan” by Austin Wright; Focus Features
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
“Author: The JT LeRoy Story,” Written by Jeff Feuerzeig; Amazon Studios
“Command and Control,” Telescript by Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser, Story by Brian Pearle and Kim Roberts; Based on the book “Command and Control” by Eric Schlosser; American Experience Films
“Zero Days,” Written by Alex Gibney; Magnolia Pictures
