‘American Hustle,’ ‘Her,’ ‘Nebraska’ receive WGA nominations

The screenplays of “American Hustle,” “Her,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Blue Jasmine” are among the nominees for Writers Guild of America Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen in 2013.

Nominees announced Friday in the original screenplay category are Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell for “American Hustle,” Woody Allen for “Blue Jasmine,” Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack for “Dallas Buyers Club,” Spike Jonze for “Her” and Bob Nelson for “Nebraska.”

“Nebraska” was the first feature script written by Nelson, who penned the screenplay a decade ago. “It has certainly been worth the wait,” he said Friday morning after learning of his nomination.

“This is a big one because it is my peers,” he said. “There were so many great scripts written this year. I didn’t know this was going to happen for me. I am still in a bit of shock.”

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Notably missing from the original screenplay nominees were “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “Gravity.”

Adapted screenplay nominations went to “August: Osage County,” screenplay by Tracy Letts based on his play; “Before Midnight,” written by Richard Linklate, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, based on characters created by Linklater and Kim Krizan; “Captain Phillips,” screenplay by Billy Ray, based on the book “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days at Sea” by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; “Lone Survivor,” written by Peter Berg, based on the book by Marcus Lutrell with Patrick Robinson; and “The Wolf of Wall Street,” written by Terence Winter, based on the book by Jordan Belfort.

Nominees for documentary screenplay are Jeremy Scahill and David Riker for “Dirty Wars”; Sara Lukinson and Michael Stevens for “Herblock: The Black & the White”; Janet Tobias and Paul Laikin for “No Place on Earth”; Sarah Polley for “Stories We Tell”; and Alex Gibney for “We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks.”

The screenplays of several high-profile films -- most notably “12 Years a Slave,” “Rush,” “Philomena” and “Fruitvale Station” -- didn’t make the nomination list because of guild regulations. To be eligible, entries must have exhibited theatrically in the Los Angeles area for at least one week during 2013 and have been written under the guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement or under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement of the Writers Guild of Canada, Writers Guild of Great Britain, Irish Playwrights & Screenwriters guild or the New Zealand Writers Guild.

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Not being included in the WGA race doesn’t mean exclusion from Academy Award consideration. Last year Quentin Taraninto’s screenplay for “Django Unchained” didn’t qualify for the WGA, but went on to win the Oscar for original screenplay. And three years ago, David Seidler’s original screenplay for “The King’s Speech” wasn’t eligible for the WGA but received the Academy Award.

The winners will be announced at the 2014 Writers Guild Awards on Feb. 1 during simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. Besides the feature film awards, the WGA will also honor outstanding writing in television, new media, video games, news, radio, promotional and graphic animation. The L.A. ceremony takes place at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live.

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