Writers Guild of America of Nominations

If one day wasn't enough, how about two? The Writers Guild of America have announced their nominees for Best Adapted and Original Screenplay nominations, which are:

Best Original Screenplay
50/50: Will Reiser
Bridesmaids: Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen
Win Win: Tom McCarthy & Joe Tibioni
Young Adult: Diablo Cody

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants: Alexander Payne, Nate Faxon & Jim Rash
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Steven Zaillian
The Help: Tate Taylor
Hugo: John Logan
Moneyball: Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian & Stan Chervin

Now, this guild isn't entirely accurate as they only nominate American screenplays that are guild eligible. It does help show which films are in a stronger stature (though last year, they failed to include last year's big Oscar winner The King's Speech because of the writer's ineligibility). That being said, they usually get at the very least three nominees right per category.

With Original Screenplay being a very barren category this year, this could go any way. Now, at least one nominee has to be knocked out for the momentum building The Artist and my money's on Win Win (as Tom McCarthy is a beloved WGA nominee that has yet to earn a single Oscar nomination). Other than that, I think Bridesmaids has been building some pretty good momentum and might earn a couple nods. This one could be a lock, too, so I'd say the safest bets from this lot are 50/50, Bridesmaids and Midnight in Paris with The Artist getting in, leaving Young Adult being a fighting contender, but could potentially lose out to A Separation or Margin Call, depending on how strongly those two are being pushed and embraced.

As for Adapted Screenplay, these are pretty set with The Descendants, Moneyball and The Help now all but assuring their locks for Oscar nominations. That just leaves the last two. While Hugo is being praised for its stunning visual work, could the Academy overlook the screenplay? My guess is going to be no, but my sentimentality for that movie may be taking over, so anything could happen. (Please, Academy, please nominate Hugo for every category. It deserves all of them.) That leaves the weakest contender being The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which is a shame because it was adapted so well for the big screen. Not once did it feel labored or dragging like most loyal novel to film adaptations can feel, but it also failed to live up to financial expectations, so they may drop it in favor of War Horse or The Ides of March.

So, my predictions for the Oscar categories for screenplay are:

Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
Moneyball
War Horse

Original Screenplay
The Artist
Bridesmaids
50/50
Midnight in Paris
A Separation

This year would be so much easier if the Coen Brothers had a movie out this year.