2020 Writers Guild Awards Nominees Include 'Parasite', '1917', 'Knives Out', 'Little Women', 'Joker', And More
The 2020 Writers Guild Awards will be given out just a few days before the Oscars this year, and the full list of nominees has been announced. Some of last year's best movies are in contention for the top prize: films like Parasite, 1917, Knives Out, Little Women, and Booksmart. Check out the full list of nominees below, and find out why Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is not on the list.
2020 Writers Guild Awards Nominees
Original Screenplay
1917, Written by Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns; Universal Pictures
Booksmart, Written by Emily Halpern & Sarah Haskins and Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman; United Artists Releasing
Knives Out, Written by Rian Johnson; Lionsgate
Marriage Story, Written by Noah Baumbach; Netflix
Parasite, Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, Story by Bong Joon Ho; Neon
Adapted Screenplay
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster, Inspired by the Article "Can You Say...Hero?" by Tom Junod; TriStar Pictures
The Irishman, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian, Based upon the Book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt; Netflix
Jojo Rabbit, Screenplay by Taika Waititi, Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens; Fox Searchlight
Joker, Written by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, Based on Characters from DC Comics; Warner Bros. Pictures
Little Women, Screenplay by Greta Gerwig, Based on the Novel by Louisa May Alcott; Sony Pictures
Documentary Screenplay
Citizen K, Written by Alex Gibney; Greenwich Entertainment
Foster, Written by Mark Jonathan Harris; HBO Documentary Films
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People, Written by Robert Seidman & Oren Rudavsky; First Run Features
The Kingmaker, Written by Lauren Greenfield; Showtime Documentary Films
****
I've only seen one of the nominated documentaries, The Inventor, so I can't comment too much about those titles. But the Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay categories are chock full of some absolutely amazing films...and then, there's Joker. I had a lot of problems with that movie, chief among them being that as far as I could tell, it didn't have a cohesive thematic point. Joaquin Phoenix deserves all the praise in the world for his transformative performance, and Todd Phillips also deserves some credit for plunging audiences into a gritty, grimy version of 1980s New York City that accurately reflects the influence of Martin Scorsese. But the script being nominated? I'm not so sure about that one.
So where are movies like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pain & Glory, The Farewell, and Midsommar? Well, Once Upon a Time isn't among the nominees because Quentin Tarantino never bothered joining the Writers Guild of America – none of his movies have ever been eligible for a WGA Award. As for the others, they failed to meet one or more of the following requirements:
A) Movies must be exhibited theatrically for one week in Los Angeles in 2019.
B) Scripts must be written under the WGA's Minimum Basic Agreement "or under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement of the select international writers guilds collectively known as affiliate guilds." (via Deadline)
C) Movies must be officially submitted for Writers Guild Awards consideration.
Mystery solved. Now we'll just wait and see if any of those movies can win an Oscar, or if one of these nominees will end up winning both the Writers Guild Award and an Oscar. The WGA Awards will be handed out on February 1, 2020, just over a week before the Academy Awards.