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Writers Guild of America Announces 2010 Awards Nominees; How Did Avatar Make the Cut?

Posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 by Russ Fischer

wga-awards-2010

We’re just about done with the guild nominations now that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has dropped its list of nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen. While the list mostly conforms to expectations, there are a couple of surprises. Not least among them is that James Cameron has been given a nod for his Avatar screenplay, widely considered to be the weakest aspect of the film.

In the original screenplay category, three expected films (The Hurt Locker, (500) Days of Summer and A Serious Man) are side by side with two surprises. The Hangover is the first surprise, but I like seeing a straight-up comedy get a nod. That’s not a total break from pattern for the WGA. But seeing Avatar in Best Original Screenplay is an irritating shock, as even the most ardent James Cameron fan will often acknowledge that his scripts are the man’s weakest creative outlet. Even with the list of films that aren’t qualified for WGA awards, you’d think the guild could have recognized something other than Avatar in this category. Bright Star, anyone?

(A significant batch of great films are ineligible for WGA awards for various reasons: An Education, District 9, Inglourious Basterds, In the Loop, Up, Fantastic Mr. Fox, A Single Man, and a few more. The reasons included that the writers aren’t WGA members, aren’t covered by the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement to sidestep membership, or that the films are animated and made by non-signatory companies. Exemption hell, basically.)

On the adapted screenplay side, there are also some expected nominees, like Precious, Julie & Julia and Up in the Air. Crazy Heart isn’t a total left-field surprise, but Star Trek’s presence is wild. That’s another situation where I’d say the casting and editing had a lot more to do with the film’s success than the script. It doesn’t raise quite the ire Avatar does, because even with Trek’s weak points, there’s something to be said for how it managed (and in many cases sidestepped) years of previous Trek continuity. Still, why not The Informant!?

I’m glad to see The Cove and (oddly) Good Hair getting documentary nods; so long as anything but the pandering, irritating and plain terrible Capitalism takes the award I’ll be happy.

The WGA Awards will be handed out in simultaneous ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles on Saturday, February 20, 2010.

Here’s the full list of nominations:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer, Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; Fox Searchlight

Avatar, Written by James Cameron; 20th Century Fox

The Hangover, Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; Warner Bros.

The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal; Summit Entertainment

A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Focus Features

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper; Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb; Fox Searchlight

Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron; Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme; Sony Pictures

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher; Based on the novel Push by Sapphire; Lionsgate

Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry; Paramount Pictures

Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Against the Tide, Screenplay by Richard Trank; Moriah Films

Capitalism: A Love Story, Written by Michael Moore; Overture Films

The Cove, Written by Mark Monroe; Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

Earth Days, Written by Robert Stone; Zeitgeist Films

Good Hair, Written by Chris Rock & Jeff Stilson and Lance Crouther and Chuck Sklar; Roadside Attractions

Soundtrack for a Revolution, Written by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman; Freedom Song Productions and Louverture Films

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  • guydavis
    Was Moon ineligible as well?
  • ChigurhFrosted
    It frickin' better have been.
  • concretelogic
    And here is the first in the wave of bullshit awards Avatar will win. Avatar has become the most irritating trend since Twilight became popular. I can't wait until the next big thing comes along so I don't have to hear about it anymore.
  • Propadanda
    I'm gunning for 500 Days, the best movie I saw last year. It's quite funny that Cameron was nominated, is an Oscar nom for best orig. screenplay next? Haha.

    Oh, and I disagree with Star Trek being nominated, simply because I found some of the scene and action description not up to the level you'd expect for an award of this calibre. Good job writing and exciting action movie and linking it all together, but this? Nahhh.
  • Matt
    You want to know how it made the cut? Because it was a good movie with a good plot. A plot that has been done before doesn't mean it's a *bad* plot. This is the thing idiots who don't know any better have failed to realized. Now they get to realize it (only instead of realizing it, they'll make stupid blogs like this about it not deserving it).
  • chris
    "even the most ardent James Cameron fan will often acknowledge that his scripts are the man's weakest creative outlet"

    I'm wondering how you can back up such a statement? Have you read any of his scripts? If you have, then I guess you disagree with many professional writers who have cited Cameron as one of the best writers of action in a script ever. It would behold you to do some sort of journalist fact-checking before making such a vehement statement.
  • starscream9289
    The script was alright.

    The delivery by some of the actors was weak.
  • ScanCase
    And this is why everyone needs to stop praising Avatar so much. The movie is popular and try and get into audiences good gracies every award the filmmaking community has they will try and give it to Avatar. This is sad.
  • waqman
    I wish there was a dis-like button around here.
  • GreatBigLion
    Wait, so Inglourious Basterds, In the Loop, and Up aren't going to be in Oscar nominations? WOOOOOOOOOOOOW.
  • PizpotGargravarr
    This has nothing to do with Oscar nominations. Of course those films will be eligible.
  • cib3k
    Umm, if the crappy Star Trek script is nominated, I don't see why they couldn't nominate Avatar too.
  • Not everyone thinks Avatar has a weak screenplay.
  • They should.
  • Yeah. Because leland222 tells them.
  • Tiwa
    How in bleeding hell does a film being animated automatically exempt it from consideration for -anything-?? I think if an animated film won any kind of award over a live action one, it would be too big of a blow to Hollywood's ego. I'm through reading or caring about anything related to movie awards for the rest of my life, because this bullshit is too ridiculous for me to take it seriously.

    Also, am I mistaken that motion capture films have been regarded in animated categories before? I personally consider it as far from animation as is humanly possible, but if motion capture is generally regarded as a sub category of "animated films," wouldn't Avatar also be disqualified?
  • Hmm
    Avatar has also been nominated for best cinematography too. I suppose the dop sat with the di colorist and said dial in 3 points of blue here. One red here...
    Some green over here... Is this the future for ASC?
  • quintushalls
    NO DISTRICT 9?!!! No Where the Wild Things Are? No Inglourious Basterds?

    ...also also pissed 'Moon' didn't get anything as usual.

    The fact these films got excluded because of membership hell is really stupid. I hope it doesn't hurt their chances for Globes and Oscars.
  • lylebot
    Why is it stupid? It's an award given by the WGA to members of the WGA. Lots and lots and lots of professional societies give awards to their members. What's really stupid is the fact that anyone outside the WGA cares about this particular one. How come nobody outside my little professional society of 900 people cares about the awards I won?
  • quintushalls
    Voting for the best vs. voting for your peers. It is about who you think deserves recognition for their work. And if you deserve recognition for your work in your professional society, and other people think so, then those people will care.
  • Doug Barrish
    I'm so sick of hearing about Avatar. /film would post an article on someone accidentally farting at a showing of the film if it ever got released publically. You guys need to finally wash off your blue paint and move on to something better to talk about. The WGA is just as crazy by even discussing this movie among so many other great scripts that were written this year. If you'd all get James Cameron's dick out of our mouth, you'd realize the movie was nothing more than a flaming turd.
  • PizpotGargravarr
    "seeing Avatar in Best Original Screenplay is an irritating shock"
    Doesn't really sound like fellatio to me. Honestly, people constantly complaining about the coverage of Avatar on this site is more irritating than the coverage itself. It's quite possibly going to be the highest grossing movie of all time- people must actually be interested in the film. If you don't want to read about it then don't read about it. Or are post titles with the word Avatar in them too hard for you to bear?
  • give us some minty mouth-wash first
  • Mark Kawakami
    I'm annoyed that Where the Wild Things Are is getting basically no love during awards season at all, and that hurts because I thought it was one of the best movies of the year. I get that it's a very divisive movie, but I'm firmly on Team Wild Thing.
  • evilninjax
    One thing that gets glossed over so often is that Screenplay doesn't just mean "the words the people say." The screenplay is the actual story, the structure, scene order, scene locale (place, not actual visual composition thereof), etc. There are "script doctors" that specialize in just fixing dialogue, provided the rest of the screenplay is good.

    The screenplay is the skeleton upon which the director builds. Kurosawa said that with a great screenplay, any director could make a good film, but with a poor screenplay, even a great director could not make a great film. (paraphrase).
  • evilninjax
    "Documentary Screenplay" sounds very funny to me. I understand it, but it still sounds like an oxymoron.
  • I agree... I don't understand how a "documentary screenplay" is even possible, but it probably pertains to a narrator's V.O. you gotta make sure the V.O has something COMPELLING to say to the audience.
  • Uh. You don't just go out and shoot a documentary. You have to write a whole, not script but outline of what you have to shoot and what your movie is about and who the characters are and um, the fucking story.

    Then you shoot it. And it will invariably come out different than you planned to various degrees depending on the director and the documentary. As can any fiction film.

    Then, with the barrels of footage that you have (can be up to 100+ hours), you have to take it and write a whole new story based on it then edit it all down to a manageable length. THEN you do V.O. if it needs it.
  • evilninjax
    I want to know how STAR TREK gets in ADAPTED SCREENPLAY. I mean, i understand that it is based on the universe and the characters, but it's a totally original story, as in it's not a screen version of an existing story. "Based on Books," "Based on Novel," "Based on novel," "Based on novel," and then "Based on Star Trek"? Doesn't seem right.
  • Avatar
    Fox has released the Avatar screenplay for free if you want to read it has many cut scenes that would be awesome in a extended/directors cut
  • Kensei
    Avatar was so good because the 3D element, the visual effects, actually making you feel like you're watching this world, but this is all in the movie and not the screenplay.
    I like Avatar but I am beginning to get tired of hearing about it everyday. I guess that's why WGA gave Avatar a nod, it's so awesome we hear about it everyday and is the only movie since The Dark Knight to rule the box office for so long.
    So it must have a good screenplay right? >>
  • Wow, this is just insulting to writers everywhere.
  • son_of_el_topo
    Really, Bright Star? Have those of you championing the film actually seen it? It takes a lot for me to be legitimately bored in a movie, but Bright Star managed to make it happen. I would have rather sat in the theater reading Keats' poetry for two hours. Much of the cinematography was gorgeous, but the movie was so, so slow. It's sad when you just want Keats to hurry up and die already.
  • Wray
    Yes, but the fact that Bright Star was out of the running for original screenplay due to the use of existing letters between the two main characters and historical facts about the characters' lives. That doesn't seem right to me.
  • While I'm a huge fan of "The Hangover," I have to root for "500 Days of Summer" -- there were some true moments of human insight in that one. If you haven't listened to Elvis Mitchell's interview with the writer on "The Treatment" you should check it out - it's very funny.
  • Star Trek gets a WGA nomination AND PGA nomination? Wow that's pretty impressive. Sci Fi continues to own in 2009.
  • dizzongster
    Now, while the dialog in Avatar may not have been too great. I personally enjoyed the dialog, but I can see why some may not have liked it. But this isn't best dialog, it's best screenplay, and the screenplay for Avatar is amazing. The descriptions of Pandora in the script completely enable you to imagine the lush jungles of Pandora with ease. I was blown away reading the descritions of the Hallelujah mountains back when I came across it and gave it a read. You can just imagine how beautiful this world must be when you're reading Camerons descriptions. I can definitely see why the screenplay is up for this award.
  • Black_x_Star
    Avatar continues to rule the world.

    A bit disappointed that UP wasn't eligible.
  • cbd
    I'd argue that the writer's guild is showing appreciation for the realization of Pandora, which was all written by Cameron beforehand ... based on Pandorapedia, we can't deny the "writing" for Avatar goes far beyond the dialogue and characters (thank god.)
  • Good on them. The Hangover is a really great script, and Avatar is really tight. Too many people forget that it's a craft, not an originality contest.
  • jason b
    hangover absolutely deserves the accolades, but a formulaic rehashed story like avatar has noooooo business being nominated.
  • waqman
    LOL@ "Hangover deserves the accolades". You must have drank way too many jagerbombs with your brahs if you truly think that.
  • J.D.
    Now if Mike Tyson did a cameo in Avatar would you support the nomination?
  • jason b
    ummm, except that its the 'ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY' category...not the 'CRAFT OF WRITING' category.
  • usually these types of things have movies i never heard of. surprising to see some i actually have some knowledge about. too bad something like District 9 didn't make it in there but i'm really surprised by a nomination for The Hangover. you don't get much comedy movies in these awards
  • Black_x_Star
    The solid craft put into AVATAR, and how Cameron made sure the script resonated emotionally with its audience, definitely makes it one of the year's best. Plus, I really trust the Writers' Guild opinion more than the trolls who elevate and adore TDK as "original" (really? A film based on a comic book? Original?) but condemn Avatar...
  • jason b
    if you think avatar is an original script/story idea, then you really gotta check out more films. not being snarky at all, its just that there is a core story there that has been used and reused -literally dozens of times.

    someone much smarter than me will be able to quote exact films, but the premise of a white guy arriving, deceiving, then joining and leading a rebellion is about as far as you can get from 'original.

    if you honestly think about this, its the absolute truth.
  • ARMAGGADAM
    Avatar = Star Wars + Dances with Wolves + Amazing 3D. Not too bad
  • Wray
    + Fern Gully. And I thoroughly enjoyed the film, but original screenplay it is not!
  • J.D.
    Mel Gibson TOTALLY stole that Jesus story from the Bible!
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