The WGA has announced the nominees for its 2019 Writers Guild Awards (via Deadline), and oh boy, there’s some good stuff in here to argue about. Writers are typically overwhelmingly brilliant people who rarely—if ever—get something wrong, but recent surprise Golden Globes winner Green Book has received a nomination and there’s just something concerning about a movie that isn’t very good getting so much awards buzz this early in the season. Also, Red Dead Redemption II has been left out of the nominations for video game writing, which can only mean that the Writers Guild members who made these nominations didn’t get to the part where Arthur gets drunk with Lemmy (Lemny? Yennl?) or Red Dead Redemption II simply wasn’t eligible for some reason. Either way, God Of War is going to win so it doesn’t really matter.
Going back to the movies, which are the bigger part of the Writers Guild Awards anyway, Roma, Vice, Eighth Grade, and A Quiet Place are joining inexplicable awards favorite Green Book in the Best Original Screenplay category, and BlackKklansman, Black Panther, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, If Beale Street Could Talk, and A Star Is Born make up the extremely competitive Best Adapted Screenplay category.
The winners will be announced on February 17, and you can see a list of all the nominees below.
Best Original Screenplay
Eighth Grade, written by Bo Burnham
Green Book, written by Nick Vallelonga & Brian Currie & Peter Farrelly
A Quiet Place, screenplay by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck and John Krasinski, Story by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck
Roma, written by Alfonso Cuarón
Vice, written by Adam McKay
Best Adapted Screenplay
BlackKklansman, written by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee, based on the book by Ron Stallworth
Black Panther, written by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole, based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Can You Ever Forgive Me?, screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, based on the book by Lee Israel
If Beale Street Could Talk, screenplay by Barry Jenkins, based on the novel by James Baldwin
A Star Is Born, screenplay by Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters, based on the 1954 screenplay by Moss Hart and the 1976 screenplay by John Gregory Dunne & Joan Didion and Frank Pierson, based on a story by William Wellman and Robert Carson
Best Documentary Screenplay
Bathtubs Over Broadway, written by Ozzy Inguanzo & Dava Whisenant
Fahrenheit 11/9, written by Michael Moore
Generation Wealth, written by Lauren Greenfield
In Search Of Greatness, written by Gabe Polsky
Best Video Game Writing
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Batman: The Enemy Within, “Episode 5: Same Stitch”
God Of War
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Pillars Of Eternity II: Deadfire