Hornby and "An Education" Joins List of Ineligible WGA Scripts (UPDATED)

“An Education” screenwriter Nick Hornby (center) celebrates with the film’s producers Amanda Posey (left) and Finola Dwyer (right) at a dinner thrown by Sony Pictures Classics in Toronto his weekend. [Photo by Brian Brooks]

Nick Hornby's work on major awards contender "An Education" joins a surprising list of screenwriters that have been deemed ineligible by the Writers Guild of America's annual awards. Hornby has been a member of WGA for 10 years, a representative for Hornby told indieWIRE today. But after production of "An Education" was completed, a new rule was instituted that Hornby also had to be a member of his local WGA Great Britain, which he was not.

Hornby joins a surprising list of other screenwriters ineligible for the awards, which will be announced next Monday, January 11th: Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," Tom Ford and David Scearce's "A Single Man," and Joe Penhall's "The Road."

"Quentin Tarantino is not a member of the WGA or the DGA, and his films are not made under those guilds’ agreements," explained The Wrap's Steve Pond. "'A Single Man' and 'The Road,' written by Tom Ford and Joe Penhall, were likewise not the work of WGA members and not covered by applicable agreements."

"Inglourious" had been looking like the frontrunner in the original screenplay category, while the other three scripts would have been in contention for the adapted screenplay category, leaving "Precious" and "Up In The Air" sitting quite pretty for a nomination come Monday.

UPDATE: Kris Tapley at InContention has discovered that "Up," "District 9," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," and "In The Loop" are all ineligible as well.