Spotlight, Big Short Triumph at WGA

Congratulations to this year's WGA winners!

Best Original Screenplay

Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay

Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short

Andrew's 2015 BAFTA predictions

This year's BAFTA Awards are a bit tough to forecast, beyond the inevitable win for DiCaprio in Best Lead Actor and Oscar front-runners The Big Short and Spotlight winning the screenwriting prizes. Could Mad Max grab technical prizes here, even without George Miller having garnered a nom? Is this where Saoirse Ronan and Mark Rylance finally score wins? Can Alicia Vikander emerge triumphant for the film she wasn't Oscar-nominated for? Here is my hunch:

Best Film
The Revenant

Best British Film
Brooklyn

Best Director
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant

Best Lead Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Best Lead Actress
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Best Supporting Actress
Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina

Best Original Screenplay
Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay
Adam McKay and Charles Randolph, The Big Short

Best Foreign Language Film
Theeb

Best Documentary
Amy

Best Animated Film
Inside Out

Best Film Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Cinematography
The Revenant

Best Production Design
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Costume Design
The Danish Girl

Best Makeup and Hair
The Danish Girl

Best Original Score
The Hateful Eight

Best Sound
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Visual Effects
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Andrew's 2015 WGA Awards predictions

Best Original Screenplay

1. Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
2. Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff., S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus, Straight Outta Compton
3. Matt Charman and Ethan & Joel Coen, Bridge of Spies
4. Amy Schumer, Trainwreck
5. Taylor Sheridan, Sicario

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short
2. Drew Goddard, The Martian
3. Phyllis Nagy, Carol
4. Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs
5. John McNamara, Trumbo

Any result besides Spotlight and The Big Short emerging triumphant here would be a remarkable surprise. They are, after all, alongside The Revenant, the Best Picture Oscar front-runners. Spotlight in particular seems a safe bet, with Straight Outta Compton perhaps a dark horse there (though its chances of an upset at SAG were better). The Martian and Carol cannot be entirely counted out, but following The Big Short's PGA win, it seems a pretty safe bet too to prevail.

Iñárritu Triumphs at DGA

Congratulations to Alejandro G. Iñárritu on his big victory at this year's DGA Awards!

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott, The Martian

Andrew's 2015 DGA Award predictions

1. George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant
3. Adam McKay, The Big Short
4. Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
5. Ridley Scott, The Martian

Not unlike PGA and SAG before it, this is an extremely tough race to forecast. You can, however, (sadly) count on non-Oscar nominee Scott not taking home the prize here. It's entirely plausible any of Inarritu, McKay or McCarthy will triumph here - Inarritu picked up the Globe, McKay's picture triumphed at PGA and McCarthy's film scored at SAG. There's buzz and momentum all-around. In an awards season where several films, as opposed to just to just one, are picking up the big prizes, however, I anticipate this trend may well continue and finally give Mad Max its due with victory here. Miller is a legend in the directing community who has never picked up a DGA prize (or even nomination for that matter) and I suspect that status will carry the day here. But don't be surprised one bit if someone else prevails.