Wednesday, January 7, 2009

"I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING AND WELCOME YOU, EVEN THOUGH I HAVEN'T SEEN MOST OF YOU SINCE MY LATEST STRETCH IN THE BIG HOUSE, BUT Y'ALL LOOK FABULOUS," A/K/A HOW JENNY LUMET GOT SCREWED: The Writers Guild of America has announced its nominees for the best of 2008:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
"Burn After Reading," written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"Milk," written by Dustin Lance Black
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona," written by Woody Allen
"The Visitor," written by Tom McCarthy
"The Wrestler," written by Robert Siegel

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen Story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord; Based on the Short Story by F. Scott Fitzgerald
"The Dark Knight," Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan; Story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer; Based on Characters Appearing in Comic Books Published by DC Comics; Batman Created by Bob Kane
"Doubt," Screenplay by John Patrick Shanley, Based on his Stage Play
"Frost/Nixon, "Screenplay by Peter Morgan, Based on his Stage Play
"Slumdog Millionaire," Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, Based on the Novel "Q and A" by Vikas Swarup

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
"Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story," written by Stefan Forbes and Noland Walker
"Chicago 10", written by Brett Morgen
"Fuel", written by Johnny O'Hara
"Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson", Screenplay by Alex Gibney, From the Words of Hunter S. Thompson
"Waltz with Bashir," written by Ari Folman

I simply cannot comprehend how Vicky Cristina Barcelona gets nominated for anything, except perhaps Penelope Cruz's performance, but especially for its writing of all things. The use of voiceover narration was just brutal and should be an automatic disqualifier. Did anyone actually like that movie? At some point, however, I will talk about The Visitor, which Jen and I watched earlier this week -- it's quite good.

There are also nominations for tv and radio, including a Best Episode - Animation category with four Simpsons episodes (including the crosswords one) competing against two from King of the Hill.

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