WGA Announces Nominations

History as re-created by Lincoln, recent events as dramatized by Zero Dark Thirty, offbeat romance as captured in Silver Linings Playbook and Moonrise Kingdom and even sci-fi as imagined in Looper all are represented among the nominees for the 2013 Writers Guild Awards announced Friday.

In the original screenplay category, the nominees are John Gatins' Flight, Rian Johnson's Looper, Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola's Moonrise Kingdom and Mark Boal's Zero Dark Thirty.

In the category of adapted screenplay, the nominees are Chris Terrio's Argo, David Magee's Life of Pi, Tony Kushner's Lincoln, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower and David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook.

While the nominations will contribute to the awards momentum of their respective films, a number of other titles in this year's Oscar hunt -- including Django Unchained, Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Anna Karenina -- were not eligible for WGA noms because they were not filmed under guild contracts or a WGA-affiliated international guild.

The WGA also announced six nominees for its documentary screenplay award: The Central Park Five, written by Sarah Burns, David McMahon and Ken Burns; The Invisible War, Kirby Dick; Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Alex Gibney; Searching for Sugar Man, Malik Bendejelloui; We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Brian Knappenberger; and West of Memphis, Amy Berg & Billy McMillin. Of those titles, War, Mea Culpa and Sugar Man also are on the Academy shortlist of feature docs hoping to score an Oscar nomination.

Winners will be honored by the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) at the 2013 Writers Guild Awards on Feb. 17 during simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

The nominees are:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Flight, written by John Gatins; Paramount Pictures

Looper, written by Rian Johnson; TriStar Pictures

The Master, written by Paul Thomas Anderson; The Weinstein Co.

Moonrise Kingdom, written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola; Focus Features

Zero Dark Thirty, written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio; based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. Pictures

Life of Pi, screenplay by David Magee; based on the novel by Yann Martel; 20th Century Fox

Lincoln, screenplay by Tony Kushner; based in part on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin; DreamWorks Pictures

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, screenplay by Stephen Chbosky; based on his book; Summit Entertainment

Silver Linings Playbook, screenplay by David O. Russell; based on the novel by Matthew Quick; The Weinstein Co.

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

The Central Park Five, written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects

The Invisible War, written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films

Searching for Sugar Man, written by Malik Bendejelloul; Sony Pictures Classics

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media

West of Memphis, written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics