The WGA is set to honor the best scripts of the year by leaving out some of the best scripts of year. Wha?
The organization has thrown down the gauntlet hard in anticipation of their awards ceremony, disqualifying a batch of high profile films from their annual awards show. Among those shut out for honors is “Another Year,” “Biutiful,” “Blue Valentine,” “The Ghost Writer,” “The King’s Speech,” “Made in Dagenham,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” “Toy Story 3” and “Winter’s Bone.” So yeah, just some of the very films that are likely to be strong contenders in the Oscar race. So why is the WGA being so persnickety?
Well, the organization has some very hard and fast rules about being eligible for their awards, among them, that scripts must be produced under WGA jurisdiction and that they also need to be formally submitted for consideration. This is usually the part where we bemoan byzantine rules making good films ineligible for awards season, but really, it’s not that surprising that the WGA would prefer to honor scripts made under the rules and guidelines of their organization. And formally submitting your work for consideration? Sounds like pretty standard operating procedure for any awards race. But on the the flipside, it ends up making the whole thing look like a big self-congratulatory exercise, which we suppose it is. That said, the WGA awards have been a pretty strong indicator of Oscar success, with the Best Original Screenplay matching 11 out of the last 16 years, most recently seeing Mark Boal for “The Hurt Locker” taking both awards.
Anyway, in case you care to see who the WGA ends up honoring, the awards will be handed out on February 5, 2011. [Variety]
