LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8 -- The screenwriters behind 'Apollo 13,' 'The American President' and 'Get Shorty' were among the nominees announced Thursday for the 48th annual Writers Guild Awards. The 'Apollo 13' script, written by William Broyles Jr. and Al Reinert from the book 'Lost Moon' by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, was nominated for best screenplay based on material previously produced or published.
It is up against actress Emma Thompson's screenplay for 'Sense and Sensibility,' derived from the Jane Austen novel. Last month Thompson won the Golden Globe Award for her screenplay. The other nominees in the adapted screenplay category are: 'Babe,' by George Miller and Chris Noonan and based on Dick King-Smith's book 'The Sheep Pig,' Scott Frank's 'Get Shorty,' based on the Elmore Leonard novel of the same title, and Mike Figgis's 'Leaving Las Vegas,' derived from the John O'Brien novel. In the original screenplay category, Aaron Sorkin's 'The American President' will compete against Randall Wallace's 'Braveheart,' Amy Heckerling's 'Clueless,' Woody Allen's 'Mighty Aphrodite' and P.J. Hogan's 'Muriel's Wedding.' The guild said 206 films released in 1995 under the Writers Guild of America and its international affiliates were eligible for awards, 111 of them original screenplays and 95 adapted from another form. The screenplay winners as well as winners in television and radio categories will be announced March 17 in ceremonies in New York and Beverly Hills, Calif. The New York ceremonies at Tavern on the Green will be hosted by Conan O'Brien, while stand-up comedian and 'Seinfeld' writer Carol Leifer will host the West Coast ceremonies at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
