The Coen Brothers and Woody Allen have been recognised for their screenwriting as the nominations for the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) awards were unveiled.

The Coens received their fourth WGA nomination for Burn After Reading and will hope to follow their best adapted screenplay prize at last year's awards - for No Country For Old Men - with a best original screenplay prize in February.

However, they face stiff competition from Allen - receiving his 19th WGA nomination - as well as the screenwriters of Milk, The Visitor and The Wrestler.

In the best adapted screenplay category, The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan is nominated alongside his brother Jonathan for their script for the Warner Bros box office sensation.

Eric Roth's adaptation of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is also shortlisted, alongside the screenplays for Doubt, Frost/Nixon and Slumdog Millionaire.

Waltz with Bashir is named in the best documentary screenplay category though it faces stiff competition from Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S Thompson, penned by two-time WGA winner Alex Gibney.

The WGA awards for both film and television will be unveiled on February 7th.

The nominees for the 2009 Writers' Guild of America awards are:Original screenplay
Burn After Reading - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Milk - Dustin Lance Black
Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Woody Allen
The Visitor - Tom McCarthy
The Wrestler - Robert Siegel

Adapted screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Roth
The Dark Knight - Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Doubt - John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon - Peter Morgan
Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy

Documentary screenplay
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story - Stefan Forbes and Noland Walker
Chicago 10 - Brett Morgen
Fuel - Johnny O'Hara
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S Thompson - Alex Gibney
Waltz with Bashir - Ari Folman


08/01/2009 10:36:15