My Favorite Guild Announced

Original
Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Ethan Coen/Joel Coen, Burn After Reading
Thomas McCarthy, The Visitor
Robert Siegel, The Wrestler
REACTION: A rant, if I may.

Fair enough, I have yet to read the screenplays to Milk (though I did see the movie), The Visitor, and The Wrestler. I confess, this is true, so perhaps this opinion just isn't right. And, you know, I love Woody Allen. If the Cinema is a church, than he and Altman are the saints I pray to. A WGA nomination after thirteen years without is INCREDIBLE.

But that does not excuse the lack of a nomination for Rachel Getting Married or Synecdoche, NY.

I mean, am I crazy? Do I just like some really sub-par movies? Because last I checked, Rachel and Synecdoche were two of the best films I'd seen all year. Maybe I should read the screenplay to the former, maybe it was not as beautifully done as the film was. But i read Vicky Cristina, and I have a copy of one of the earlier drafts of Annie Hall, so a comparison of the two shows me that (a) Woody's writing has gotten a little sparse, and (b) the acting is what makes VCB, fan though I be of the Woodster.

Synecdoche, meanwhile, is just beautifully written, not to mention completely original in style, concept, execution, etc. And that's no disrespect to VCB, Milk, etc. Two of these films made it to my Top Ten, so I obviously love them. It's just...I don't know. Even when I win, I lose.

That said, I do congratulate all on their noms, and I hope to read/see their films soon.

Adapted
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan/Jonathan Nolan (Story by Christopher Nolan/David S. Goyer), The Dark Knight
Eric Roth (Story by Roth/FSU Alum Robin Swicord), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt

REACTION: No surprises here. In fact, when Ben read the noms , I was able to tell him the adapted nominees without looking. Well, except The Dark Knight, which we are very excited about. Tres excited, even.