Comedies compete with sci-fi for screenwriting nods
Last Updated: Monday, January 11, 2010 | 4:52 PM ET
CBC News
Three comedies, a suspense drama and the sci-fi blockbuster Avatar have been nominated for best original screenplay awards from the Writers' Guild of America.
James Cameron, the Canadian-born filmmaker who earned a Directors' Guild nomination last week for Avatar, has been slammed by critics for the sci-fi's film wooden story line.
But Avatar was good enough for the Writers Guild, the union representing Hollywood scriptwriters, when it handed out award nominations Monday.
It will be competing in the original screenplay category with The Hurt Locker, the suspenseful story of a bomb squad in Iraq, and with three comedies:
- The Hangover, a raunchy romp by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore.
- (500) Days of Summer, a tender rom-com by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber.
- A Serious Man, an understated existential comedy by Joel and Ethan Coen.
The adapted screenplay award nominations include a nod for Montreal-born Jason Reitman, who wrote Up in the Air with Sheldon Turner. The film, which has earned Directors Guild and Golden Globe nominations, is based on a novel by Walter Kim.
Other adapted screenplay nominations are:
- Crazy Heart, screenplay by Scott Cooper, based on the novel by Thomas Cobb.
- Julie & Julia, screenplay by Nora Ephron, based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child.
- Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher.
The Writers Guild nominations often mirror Academy Award nominations. However, this year several high-profile films are not on the WGA Awards list.
Among them are Inglourious Basterds, A Single Man and The Road, whose writers — Quentin Tarantino, Tom Ford and Joe Penhall, respectively — are not eligible because they are not members of the WGA.
In the documentary category, Michael Moore has a nomination for Capitalism: A Love Story and Mark Monroe for The Cove.
Other documentary nominees are:
- Against the Tide, written by Richard Trank.
- Earth Days, by Robert Stone.
- Good Hair, by Chris Rock, Jeff Stilson, Lance Crouther and Chuck Sklar.
- Soundtrack for a Revolution, by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman.
The awards ceremony is Feb. 20 in Los Angeles and New York.