Oscar favorites “Spotlight,” “The Big Short” and “The Martian” were nominated by the Writers Guild of America on Wednesday morning, along with “Steve Jobs,” “Trainwreck” and “Straight Outta Compton,” among others.
In the Original Screenplay category, “Spotlight,” “Straight Outta Compton” and “Trainwreck” were joined by “Sicario” and “Bridge of Spies.”
In Adapted Screenplay, nominees were “The Big Short,” “The Martian,” “Steve Jobs,” “Carol” and “Trumbo.”
There were no big surprises in the slate of nominees, though it reinforced that “Straight Outta Compton” and “Sicario,” once thought to be Oscar longshots, are well-liked and are definitely in the awards picture.
The WGA’s documentary category only consisted of four nominees: “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” the only one to also make the Oscar doc shortlist, along with “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” “Prophet’s Prey” and “Being Canadian.”
Because of rules that limit eligibility to screenplays written by WGA members or produced under the guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement, the Writers Guild is the least reliable of the major guilds when it comes to predicting Oscar nominations.
This year, Oscar contenders that are ineligible for Writers Guild nominations include “The Hateful Eight,” “Inside Out,” “Ex Machina,” “99 Homes” and “Son of Saul” in the original screenplay category, and “Room,” “Brooklyn,” “Anomalisa” and “The Danish Girl” in adapted screenplay. The WGA field consisted of 61 original screenplays to the Academy’s 169, and 51 adapted screenplays to the Academy’s 121.
In the past five years, about 60 percent of the WGA nominees have gone on to receive Oscar nods, including seven out of 10 last year. Since 2000, 22 of the 32 WGA winners in the original and adapted categories also won Academy Awards.
The Writers Guild previously announced its television, radio, new media and promotional writing nominees.
The WGA Awards will take place on Saturday, Feb. 13, at simultaneous ceremonies conducted in Los Angeles by the WGA, West and in New York by the WGA, East.
The nominees:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Bridge of Spies,” Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen; DreamWorks Pictures
“Sicario,” Written by Taylor Sheridan; Lionsgate
“Spotlight,” Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy; Open Road Films
“Straight Outta Compton,” Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff; Universal Pictures
“Trainwreck,” Written by Amy Schumer; Universal Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Big Short,” Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay; Based on the Book by Michael Lewis; Paramount Pictures
“Carol,” Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy; Based on the Novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith; The Weinstein Company
“The Martian,” Screenplay by Drew Goddard; Based on the Novel by Andy Weir; Twentieth Century Fox
“Steve Jobs,” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the Book by Walter Isaacson; Universal Pictures
“Trumbo,” Written by John McNamara; Based on the Biography by Bruce Cook; Bleecker Street Media
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
“Being Canadian,” Written by Robert Cohen; Candy Factory Films
“Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
“Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” Written by Brett Morgen; HBO Documentary Films
“Prophet’s Prey,” Written by Amy J. Berg; Showtime Documentary Films