Lord of the Rings to Battle American Splendor in WGA Race

Robert Pulicini and Shari Springer Berman’s inspired screenplay for Fine Line’s American Splendor is up against Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson’s script for New Line’s Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in the Adapted Category of the WGA Screenplay Awards, it was announced today. Other contenders in the category are Anthony Minghella’s script for Miramax’s Cold Mountain, Gary Ross for Universal’s Seabiscuit and Brian Helgeland for Warner Bros.’ Mystic River.

Nominees in the original category are Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges and Guljit Bindra (Fox Searchlight’s Bend It Like Beckham), Steven Knight (Miramax’s Dirty Pretty Things, Jim Sheridan & Naomi Sheridan & Kirsten Sheridan (Fox Searchlight’s In America) Sofia Coppola (Focus’s Lost in Translation) and Tom McCarthy (Miramax’s The Station Agent).

The 56^th Annual Writers Guild Awards will take place on February 21 in Los Angeles. For more info., visit www.wga.org.