Joel and Ethan Coen, who won the WGA Award for best adapted screenplay last year for "No Country for Old Men," were nominated in the original category for their CIA comedy "Burn After Reading" on Wednesday as the WGA announced its 2009 film nominees.
Their fellow nominees in the original category include Dustin Lance Black for "Milk," Woody Allen for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," Tom McCarthy for "The Visitor" and Robert Siegel for "The Wrestler."
In the adapted screenplay category, the nominees are "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," screenplay by Eric Roth, story by 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, created by Bob Kane, appearing in the DC Comics comic books; "Doubt," screenplay by John Patrick Shanley based on his play; "Frost/Nixon," screenplay by Peter Morgan based on his play; and "Slumdog Millionaire," screenplay by Simon Beaufoy based on the novel "Q&A" by Vikas Swarup.
For documentary screenplay, the nominees are "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; and "Waltz With Bashir," written by Ari Folman.
Feature films that were eligible were released in the year 2008 and produced under the jurisdiction of WGA East and WGA West or affiliate guilds in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland and New Zealand. There were 255 films eligible for nomination in the categories of original screenplay (155) and adapted screenplay (100).
The 2009 WGA Awards are set for Feb. 7 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.
Gregg Kilday writes for The Hollywood Reporter.
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