WGA Takes a Shine to Dark Knight

• Jan 7, 2009 04:20 PM ET
• by Joyce Eng

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight's Oscar campaign just got another big boost.

Two days after scoring a Producers Guild of America nomination, the Batman sequel earned a screenwriting equivalent one from the Writers Guild of America.

Dark Knight scribes Christopher Nolan — who could earn a Directors Guild of America nomination Thursday — and Jonathan Nolan will duke it out against Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), John Patrick Shanley (Doubt), Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon) and Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) for Best Adapted Screenplay honors.

The original screenplay race features Burn After Reading (Ethan and Joel Coen), Milk (Dustin Lance Black), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen), The Visitor (Thomas McCarthy) and The Wrestler (Robert D. Siegel).

Last year, three of WGA's five adapted screenplay nominees went on to earn Academy Award nominations, while four out of five matched in the original screenplay category.

Winners will be announced Feb. 7.