From Variety:

"500 Days of Summer," "Avatar," "The Hangover," "The Hurt Locker" and "A Serious Man" have scored WGA nominations for original screenplay while "Crazy Heart," "Julie & JUlia," "Precious," "Star Trek" and ""Up in the Air" took nods in the adapted category.The Writers Guild of America made the announcement Monday. It will name the winners on Feb. 20 in ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York, based on voting by its 12,000 members.

Mark Boal, who's already won numerous awards for "The Hurt Locker," and James Cameron, who also directed and produced "Avatar," scored the noms for original script along with three writing teams -- Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber for "500 Days of Summer," Jon Lucas & Scott Moore for "The Hangover" and Joel Coen & Ethan Coen for "A Serious Man."

Scott Cooper's script for "Crazy Heart" landed an adapted screenplay nod along with Nora Ephron for "Jule & Julia," Geoffrey Fletcher for "Precious" and two writing teams -- Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman for "Star Trek" and Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner for "Up in the Air."

Only 79 screenplays -- 43 in the original category, 36 in adapted -- were deemed eligible by the guild this year as the WGA changed its subsmissions process. That's less than half the number in recent years.

The eligible scripts also have to written under WGA jurisdiction or "under the jurisdiction" of one of five affiliate guilds. Among the screenplays ineligible for WGA awards are "District 9," "An Education," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "In the Loop," "Inglourious Basterds," "The Road," "A Single Man" and "Up."

Documentary nods went to Richard Trank for "Against the Tide," Michael Moore for "Captialism: A Love Story," Mark Monroe for "The Cove," Chris Rock & Jeff Stilson, Robert Stone for "Earth Days," Lance Crouther and Chuck Sklar for "Godo Hair" and Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman for "Soundtrack for a Revolution."

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

"(500) Days of Summer," Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; Fox Searchlight

"Avatar," Written by James Cameron; 20th Century Fox

"The Hangover," Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; Warner Bros.

"The Hurt Locker," Written by Mark Boal; Summit Entertainment

"A Serious Man," Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Focus Features

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

"Crazy Heart," Screenplay by Scott Cooper; Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb; Fox Searchlight

"Julie & Julia," Screenplay by Nora Ephron; Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme; Sony Pictures

"Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire," Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher; Based on the novel Push by Sapphire; Lionsgate

"Star Trek," Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry; Paramount Pictures

"Up in the Air," Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

"Against the Tide," Screenplay by Richard Trank; Moriah Films

"Capitalism: A Love Story," Written by Michael Moore; Overture Films

"The Cove," Written by Mark Monroe; Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

"Earth Days," Written by Robert Stone; Zeitgeist Films

"Good Hair," Written by Chris Rock & Jeff Stilson and Lance Crouther and Chuck Sklar; Roadside Attractions

"Soundtrack for a Revolution," Written by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman; Freedom Song Productions and Louverture Films

Original screenplay nomination for Avatar..... oh dear lord. Inglourious Basterds along with a few other films were disqualified from the process

Original screenplay nomination for Avatar..... oh dear lord. Inglourious Basterds along with a few other films were disqualified from the process

Yeah. No comment really...

The WGA Awards went right into the rubbish bin...

News has surfaced over the past few days about a series of screenwriters, who, despite plaudits for their films which have been steadily forthcoming in the form of nominations and prizes from various groups, are not eligible for contention in the Writers Guild Awards.

Among them: Nick Hornby (An Education), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) Tom Ford and David Scearce (A Single Man), Joe Penhall (The Road), Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell (District 9) and the team behind In the Loop. The Wrap, IndieWIRE and InContention have spelled out the reasons for the rather unfortunate omissions.

Hornby has been a member of the WGA for 10 years, a representative for Hornby told IW, but after production of An Education was completed, a new rule was instituted that Hornby also had to be a member of his local WGA in the UK, which he was not.

The Wrap's Steve Pond (responding to a story from MovieLine the other day that suggested Harvey Weinstein had perhaps dropped the ball by electing not to send screeners to WGA members for four of his films) counters that Tarantino is not a member of the WGA or the DGA, and his films (Weinstein Co.'s Basterds in this case) are not made under those guilds' agreements.

(IC notes the only WGA nod Tarantino has ever received was as part of the writing team on a CSI episode in 2006.)

Further, Weinstein Co.'s A Single Man and The Road were likewise not the work of WGA members and not covered by applicable agreements, Pond adds.

Nine, written by WGA member Michael Tolkin and the late Anthony Minghella -- a member of the WGA East during his lifetime -- is the only Weinstein film that is eligible, a spokesperson for the guild told Pond.

Under WGA rules, one does not have to be a member to receive a nomination, but the film must have been written under the guild's Minimum Basic Agreement, or under a collective bargaining agreement of one of several international guilds, Pond notes.

Meanwhile, IC says District 9 was not written under the guild's guidelines and the writers are not WGA signatories.

Fantastic Mr. Fox and Up are also ineligible, IC explains, because animation companies do not sign agreements with the guild and are not signatories, even if sometimes the writers of animated films are signatories.

The WGA announces its nominees Monday, January 11.

Source:

Hollywood.com

Original screenplay nomination for Avatar..... oh dear lord. Inglourious Basterds along with a few other films were disqualified from the process

Why was IB DQ'd?

Why was IB DQ'd?

Tarantino is not a member of the WGA. He isn't a member of the DGA either, but they still nominated him.

I don't really put much stock in the guilds beyond the SAG and this just gives me even more reason too.

There are alot of people saying today that the WGA nod to Avatar "legitimizes" the so called weak script it had. Yeah, sorry no.

Why was IB DQ'd?

Hollywood.com article I posted explains it.

Damn, that's too bad about QT. Some parts of IB were brilliant (the beginning with COL. Hans Landa, the pub scene, the ending which had the coolest scene - "the giant face" LOL).

As far Avatar, I guess we non-writers are in the minority.

Happy for my boys, Orci & Kurtzman!

Damn, that's too bad about QT. Some parts of IB were brilliant (the beginning with COL. Hans Landa, the pub scene, the ending which had the coolest scene - "the giant face" LOL).

As far Avatar, I guess we non-writers are in the minority.

Happy for my boys, Orci & Kurtzman!

But they won't win. I think the Coen's will take the Original Screenplay.

And Quentin is a very good writer, but he needs to be reigned in: IB was a bloated and needed to be trimmed down. I wonder why he doesn't do guilds.