Precursor: 74th Writers Guild Nominations (2021)

Before we dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly, we must remember that WGA has very strict rules that no other guild has, regarding eligibility. Only guild members writing scripts under guild contracts are eligible for nomination. This means that some prominent contenders we explicably absent: Belfast, A Hero, Mass, Parallel Mothers, and Pig were ineligible for Original while Cyrano, Drive My Car, Passing, The Lost Daughter, and The Power of the Dog were ineligible in Adapted. So what does that leave? A rather lackluster list of films.

Which ones benefited from the other films’ absences? The French Dispatch and King Richard in original and CODA and Nightmare Alley in adapted. Were there any films that weren’t excluded, but needed this nomination to boost its profile? Yes. In original, C’mon C’mon, The Card Counter, The Harder They Fall, and Spencer would have benefited greatly from recognition. In adapted? The Tragedy of Macbeth took the biggest hit, but The Green Knight also could have used the nomination to improve its chances. Essentially, this list doesn’t tell us much, especially with so many main contenders absent the list.