The Writers Guild of America announced its nominations Wednesday for original and adapted screenplay, again affirming its abiding belief that comic book movies deserve awards-season love too.

The five nominees for original screenplay are “Hell or High Water,” “La La Land,” “Loving,” “Manchester by the Sea” and “Moonlight.”

For adapted screenplay, the nominees are “Arrival,” Deadpool,” “Fences,” “Hidden Figures” and “Nocturnal Animals.”

The “Deadpool” nod might raise some eyebrows, but writers guild voters have nominated such superhero movies as “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Dark Knight” in past years. More than a few critics praised “Deadpool” for its wit, attitude and the clever way it subverted the conventional rules of comic book movies.


As is always the case, a handful of prominent screenplays were not eligible for WGA consideration, either because the writer doesn’t belong to the group or the production wasn’t a signatory with the guild. (Foreign films and animated movies typically aren’t.)

This year, “Lion,” “Zootopia” and “The Lobster” were among the movies ineligible.

Also worth noting: While the WGA classified both “Moonlight” and “Loving” as original screenplays, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences designated both movies as adapted, where they will compete for the Oscar.

This kind of category confusion has happened to other screenplays over the years, most recently to Damien Chazelle’s 2014 film “Whiplash.” The motion picture academy ruled that Chazelle’s screenplay had been adapted from a short film he made to secure financing for the “Whiplash” feature. The WGA had classified the movie as an original screenplay.


The 2017 WGA Awards will be held Feb. 19 in simultaneous ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles.

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glenn.whipp@latimes.com

Twitter: @glennwhipp


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