As we forge onward to the road to the Oscars, awards were handed out tonight by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) honoring the best achievements in writing for 2015. In heavily contentious Best Picture race were three films seem to be ducking it out for supremacy (The Big Short, The Revenant, Spotlight), any clues or tea leaves the various guild prizes may provide a teaser of what to to expect at the Academy Awards. While by itself, the WGA may not have too much predictive power over the Best Picture race at the Oscars, but will likely match for the winners of the two writing awards. Unsurprisingly, frontrunners Spotlight and The Big Short won prizes.
The WGA nominated Bridge of Spies, Sicario, Spotlight, Straight Outta Compton and Trainwreck in the Best Original Screenplay category; the Academy subbed Sicario and Trainwreck in favor of Ex Machina and Inside Out (both of which weren’t eligbile for WGA consideration due to guild guidelines). On the Adapted Screenplay side, WGA selected The Big Short, Carol, The Martian, Steve Jobs and Trumbo; the Oscars snubbed Steve Jobs and Trumbo for Brooklyn and Room (both films were ineligible as well). Check out the full list of film winners below:
- ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Spotlight – written by John Singer, Tom McCarthy
- ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Big Short – written by Charles Randolph, Adam McKay
- DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY: Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief – written by Alex Gibney
- PAUL SELVIN AWARD: John McNamara, Trumbo
- SCREEN LAUREL AWARD: Elaine May
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