UPDATE: Yep, done deal. Carr reports once again:
The final award of the night, for motion picture original screenplay, went to “Milk.” Thomas Krever, executive director of the Harvey Milk High School in New York, along with two of his students accepted the award on behalf of “Milk”” screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.
EARLIER: That’s what it says at Variety, in any case (though not in the body of the piece it links to). But if it’s a done deal, then that, as they say, is that. No big surprises, not twisted turns of fate. Just the usual.
I still think “WALL-E” can win the Oscar over Dustin Lance Black, but I’d have been more convinced if, say, “The Wrestler” had won tonight instead. But there we have it.
Comments
9 responses to “‘Milk’ wins WGA’s original screenplay award…”
This was pretty much in the bag, but I’m still hoping for a big “Milk” upset on the 22nd…
And since WALL-E wasn’t eligible for the WGA due to guild affiliation rules again, it doesn’t really tell us anything about its chances come Oscar night.
That’s kind of my point, yeah. If something else had won, it might be good news for “WALL-E.” But “Milk” is on a roll, so…
Snooze. “Milk” is my favourite of the big Oscar movies and even I didn’t want it to win WGA.
Anyone know why Black wasn’t there to accept himself? Just curious.
I still say Wall-E is going to win on the 22nd. I mean it wasn’t eligible for the WGA so last night didn’t tell us much at all. Is anything going to stop Slumdog Millionaire?
Danimal – I guess he probably left for London to attend the BAFTAs. It would be almost impossible to attend both award shows.
Adam, that’s makes sense. Where was my brain?
I think there’s something to be said about the method Black used to write his screenplay. Instead of relying solely on already-published work, he spent years researching Milk’s life, interviewing friends and former co-workers himself. It kinda reminds me of last year’s Emmys when Matthew Weiner won for writing the pilot of “Mad Men.” Weiner wrote the script years ago and tweaked it every now and then until a network finally expressed interest (his experience on “The Sopranos” surely helped as well). It’s as if to say that Black and Weiner somehow “earned” their awards more because they worked on their screenplays over a long period of time.
Just a theory, of course, one that I’m not sure I necessarily believe, but thought it was worth mentioning…
[…] The “Slumdog” streak inevitably continued at the WGA Awards, where “Milk” picked up some hardware […]