WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA PREDICTIONS

The WGA, as far as the guilds go, are a funny bunch. They can only nominate scripts written by their own members, which, this being the Writers' Guild of America, rules out most British or other European scripts. As a result, and for other reasons too, means that every year there are loads of scripts which are deemed ineligible. This probably won't matter when it comes to the Oscars - the Academy generally nominates whom it wants to nominate; the guilds are only good indicators because their tastes are similar, as their memberships also are too. But the writers' branch of the Academy includes a great many foreign writers, making its membership rather different from the WGA's. This means that those scripts which never even stood a chance with the WGA are often not forgotten about when the Academy makes their choices.

After the jump, some predictions


Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
Thomas McCarthy and Joe Tiboni (Win Win)
Mike Mills (Beginners)
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids)
Will Reiser (50/50)
Lots of similar films here - all are 'dramedies', if you will. I was tempted to include The Tree of Life, but what with its PGA snub, I'm wondering how well it'll fare with the guilds overall. It has also missed out on an ADG nod too. Young Adult is also a potential nominee, which I wouldn't mind, but the above screenplays all have more buzz. This, however, is a category which I'm finding very hard to call currently. The Artist, The Iron Lady, Margin Call, Martha Marcy May Marlene and Shame are all ineligible.


Best Adapted Screenplay
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon (The Ides of March)
Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne and Jim Rash (The Descendants)
John Logan (Hugo)
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian (Moneyball)
Tate Taylor (The Help)
The Ides of March could be on a roll now, with its PGA nomination, and considering that the HFPA nominated its screenplay, it has the potential to head straight for that Oscar nod. The Help hasn't missed a guild yet, and I don't see it stuttering now, not with its screenplay. War Horse would be my alternative, but Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close probably stands a better chance here than at any of the other major guilds (two of which have announced already anyway) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo would be an excellent choice. Unfortunately, Drive and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy are ineligible.