When talking about films that should seriously be considered for Best Screenplay Oscar nominations, the conversation will most definitely include films like “The Favourite,” “Sorry to Bother You,” “The Sisters Brothers,” and “Hereditary.” And yes, those will be in the Oscar conversation, but they’ll have to do so without any love from the Writers Guild of America. Those four films, along with several others are officially being left out of consideration by the WGA for its annual awards.
According to Variety, the aforementioned films, along with many of 2018’s most critically-acclaimed films, are officially out of luck when it comes to the WGA Awards, which supposedly is going to nominate the year’s best film work in the field of writing. The report states the the films mentioned violate the Guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA).
So, what is the MBA? According to the WGA website, the MBA “determines and secures compensation, benefits, working conditions, creative rights, and more for screen, television, and new media writers.” Simply put, the MBA is the agreement that the WGA holds all its approved work up against. If it doesn’t mean the minimum requirements of the MBA, it’s not an officially recognized WGA screenplay, therefore, not eligible for awards consideration by the Guild.
READ MORE: ‘The Favourite’ Wins A Massive 10 British Independent Film Awards
As far as more screenplays that don’t qualify for this year’s WGA award consideration are “Incredibles 2,” “Isle of Dogs,” “At Eternity’s Gate,” “Blindspotting,” “The Other Side of the Wind,” “All Is True,” “The Rider,” “Stan & Ollie,” “Capernaum,” “Cold War” and “Shoplifters.” That’s a pretty incredible list of films that won’t be eligible.
On the adapted screenplay side of things, films like “Leave No Trace,” “Disobedience,” and “McQueen.”
Now, even though these films are some of the year’s best, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty for the WGA to choose from, including contenders like “Eighth Grade,” “First Reformed,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Roma,” and “Vice.”
Nominations for the WGA Awards will be revealed on January 7, 2019.
