Ruben Santiago-Hudson Earns WGA Awards Nod from Writers Guild of America

Ruben Santiago-Hudson has the write stuff…

The Writers Guild of America has unveiled the film nominations for its 2021 WGA Awards, with the 64-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor, playwright, and director earning a nod.

Ruben Santiago-Hudson

Santiago-Hudson is nominated in the Adapted Screenplay catergory for penning the screenplay to Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which is based on the play written by August Wilson.

The WGA Awards honor outstanding achievement for original and adapted screenplays and documentary films. This year’s winners will be announced March 21 in a virtual ceremony.

The eligibility period is January 1, 2020-February 28, 2021.

The WGA is the only guild that requires a film to have been produced under its Minimum Basic Agreement in order to be eligible, and this COVID-19-racked year it seems there were more of those than ever.

Among the awards-season favorites on the outside looking in screenplay-wise are NomadlandMinari, Mank, The Father, Pieces of a Woman, Ammonite, Emma, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Let Them All Talk and animated films including Soul.

Also missing from contention for Original Screenplay are Herself, Supernova, The Climb, The Assistant, I Carry You with Me, Farewell Amor and Ordinary LoveAmong the films ineligible for Adapted Screenplay are Hope Gap, Penguin Bloom, Martin Eden, Radioactive and Blithe Spirit

Here’s the full list of nominations for the 73rd annual Writers Guild Awards:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Judas and the Black Messiah
Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King,
Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas
Warner Bros.

Palm Springs
Screenplay by Andy Siara
Story by Andy Siara & Max Barbakow
Hulu

Promising Young Woman
Written by Emerald Fennell
Focus Features

Sound of Metal
Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder
Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance
Amazon Studios

The Trial of the Chicago 7
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Netflix

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja & Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern
Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Nina Pedrad
Based on Characters Created by Sacha Baron Cohen
Amazon Studios

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Screenplay by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Based on the Play Written by August Wilson
Netflix

News of the World
Screenplay by Paul Greengrass and Luke Davies
Based upon the Novel by Paulette Jiles
Universal Pictures

One Night in Miami
Screenplay by Kemp Powers
Based on the Stage Play One Night in Miami by Kemp Powers
Amazon Studios

The White Tiger
Screenplay by Ramin Bahrani
Based on the Book The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Netflix

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

All In: The Fight for Democracy
Written by Jack Youngelson
Amazon Studios

The Dissident
Written by Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel
Briarcliff Entertainment

Herb Alpert Is…
Written by John Scheinfeld
Abramorama

Red Penguins
Written by Gabe Polsky
Universal Pictures

Totally Under Control
Written by Alex Gibney
Neon

Ruben Santiago-Hudson Earns USC Libraries Scripter Award Nomination for Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”

Ruben Santiago-Hudson is in the running for a special honor…

Nominations have been announced for the 33rd annual USC Libraries Scripter Award, with the 64-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor, playwright and director earning a nod.

Ruben Santiago-Hudson

The Scripter Award honors the writers of the year’s most accomplished film and episodic television series adaptations and the works on which they are based.

Santiago-Hudson is nominated in the film category for penning Netflix’s highly acclaimed film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which is based on the play by August Wilson.

Winners will be announced on Saturday, March 13 online, with the annual in-person awards ceremony not possible because of the pandemic.

The 2021 Scripter selection committee culled a field of 87 film and 65 episodic series adaptations.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

FILM

Bad Education (HBO Films)
Mike Makowsky
Based on the New York magazine article “The Bad Superintendent” by Robert Kolker

First Cow (A24)
Jon Raymond and Kelly Reichardt
Based on the novel The Half-Life by Jon Raymond

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Based on the play by August Wilson

Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
Chloé Zhao
Based on the nonfiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder

One Night in Miami (Amazon)
Kemp Powers
Based on the play by Powers

EPISODIC SERIES

The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)
Mark Richard and Ethan Hawke for the episode “Meet the Lord,” based on the novel by James McBride

Normal People (Hulu)
Sally Rooney and Alice Birch for the fifth episode, based on the novel by Rooney

The Plot Against America (HBO)
Ed Burns and David Simon for the sixth episode, based on the novel by Philip Roth

The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
Scott Frank for the episode “Openings,” based on the novel by Walter Tevis

Unorthodox (Netflix)
Anna Winger for the first episode, based on the autobiography “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots” by Deborah Feldman