Precursor: 73rd Writers Guild Nominations (2020)

The Writers Guild of America is the only guild that refuses to nominate any film that doesn’t work under a WGA contract. As such, animated films, certain independents, many foreign language films, and all Quentin Tarantino films are ineligible for consideration. That said, their choices are pretty solid precursors for Oscar consideration. The most surprising titles missing: In Original Screenplay, both Jack Fincher (Mank) and Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods) are missing as are Minari and Soul. The latter two are most likely excluded due lack of WGA purview. As for the other two, they are a bit more surprising. Palm Springs, Sound of Metal, and Judas and the Black Messiah are the clear winners here as both Promising Young Woman and The Trial of the Chicago 7 were expected.

In Adapted Screenplay, The Father, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, First Cow, and especially Nomadland are the big losers here whereas Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and The White Tiger are the biggest surprises. Neither were expected to compete, but could be in the thick of things now that they’ve got this mention. The Academy doesn’t have a category for documentary writing, so none of these are surprising or expected. The most notable thing about this list is that All In: The Fight for Democracy is the only documentary that made the Academy’s shortlist.