Award Central News

"Deliver Us From Evil," which centers on a former priest and convicted pedophile, is the only entry on the short list of 15 docus eligible for an Oscar.

The WGA, which made its announcement Friday, said the nominees were chosen from 35 submissions. The credited writers of these docs are required to join the WGA West Nonfiction Writers Caucus or WGA East Nonfiction Writers Committee in order to be considered, but the scripts do not have to be written under WGA jurisdiction.

Winner will be announced Feb. 11 at the WGA Awards ceremonies at the Century Plaza in Los Angeles and the Broadway Millennium in New York.

Nominated writers are Amy Berg for Lionsgate's "Deliver Us From Evil"; Ward Serrill for Miramax's "Heart of the Game"; Mark Monroe for Miramax's "Once in a Lifetime," based on a story by Monroe and John Dower; Chris Paine for Sony Classics' "Who Killed the Electric Car?"; and Eugene Jarecki for Sony Classics' "Why We Fight."

Award was established two years ago. Morgan Spurlock's "Super Size Me" won in 2005, and Alex Gibney took the trophy last year for "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room."

Guild said since the creation of the award, the number of U.S. documentaries containing a writing credit has jumped more than 50%. It also said the 35 films submitted for consideration repped a 40% increase from the previous year.