The Writers Guild of America (WGA) handed out their annual awards tonight and it was Spike Jonze winning for his original screenplay, Her, while Billy Ray took the adaptation top prize for Captain Phillips, based on the book “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea“.
Both screenplays are nominated for Oscars this year and, in fact, the Original Screenplay nominations match up exactly, but in the Adapted category John Ridley‘s screenplay for 12 Years a Slave was one of many deemed ineligible due to WGA qualifying rules. So if you think this makes for an “open and shut” case at the Oscars, that’s definitely something to consider.
That said, the win for Jonze I see as a very big deal in a tough field of competitors. I have Her at the top of my predictions in the Original Screenplay category and this only solidifies my opinion further, though the Oscar nominees in the category are all quite strong.
I should also mention Sarah Polley‘s screenplay for Stories We Tell topped the Documentary category, the film, ironically enough, was not nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar.
I’ve included the winners and nominees directly below and I’ve updated the Oscar Overture to reflect tonight’s wins.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- American Hustle – Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell; Columbia Pictures
- Blue Jasmine – Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
- Dallas Buyers Club – Written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack; Focus Features
- Her – Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.
- Nebraska – Written by Bob Nelson; Paramount Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- August: Osage County – Screenplay by Tracy Letts; Based on his play; The Weinstein Company
- Before Midnight – Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke; Based on characters created by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan; Sony Classics
- Captain Phillips – Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures
- Lone Survivor – Written by Peter Berg; Based on the book by Marcus Lutrell with Patrick Robinson; Universal Pictures
- The Wolf of Wall Street – Screenplay by Terence Winter; Based on the book by Jordan Belfort; Paramount Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
- Dirty Wars – Written by Jeremy Scahill and David Riker; Sundance Selects
- Herblock – The Black and the White – Written by Sara Lukinson and Michael Stevens; The Stevens Company
- No Place on Earth – Written by Janet Tobias and Paul Laikin; Magnolia Pictures
- Stories We Tell – Written by Sarah Polley; Roadside Attractions
- We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks – Written by Alex Gibney; Focus Features
