As long as the Academy gives separate screenwriting Oscars for original screenplay and adapted screenplay, they should also consider honoring non-fiction screenplays. Not all documentaries have writers, but many do -- according to the Writers Guild of America the number of docs with writing credit has increased by 50% in recent years. That is why the WGA began awarding non-fiction screenwriters two years ago; Super-Size Me was the first to be honored.

I'm not sure why the WGA announced the doc noms separately from the rest, but in doing so the guild is allowing for the category to be given less attention. Of course, with the news that Borat is nominated for the adaptation prize, everything else about the WGA Awards is being overshadowed (I paid more notice to the Borat news, too). But I think it is important for documentary fans to know that the WGA does honor non-fiction writers. Maybe one day they'll even go and split up the category to distinguish between the original and adapted non-fiction scripts (there may not be enough of the latter, though).

The nominees for the 2007 Documentary Screenplay Award are: Deliver Us From Evil (written by Amy Berg); The Heart of the Game (written by Ward Serrill); Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (story by John Dower and Mark Monroe; screenplay by Mark Monroe); Who Killed the Electric Car? (written by Chris Paine); Why We Fight (written by Eugene Jarecki).

I love when celebrities speak their minds, because 1) it is interesting to hear what they have to say, and 2) their minds are often filled with controversial statements. Actors especially are given crap for giving their opinions, but really how is it different for them to advertise a cause or point of view than to sell fashion or goods? Is it different because they aren't getting paid for their thoughts? Is it okay for them to support charities and causes through events but not through interviews? And shouldn't Susan Sarandon, who is well known for being one of the more outspoken celebrities in the world today, find another way to attempt communication with more conservative-minded people than by way of her own voice? Here are the latest in celebrity causes and criticisms:

• According to the Daily News, Sarandon is one of a few celebrities trying to get The Ground Truth seen by members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and subsequently one of a few now slamming the military for lack of interest. On Veteran's Day, the actress joined Cher, Paul Haggis, Olivia Wilde and others for a special AOL event, during which they spoke with war veterans and promoted the documentary. Now, apparently Cher has made 5,000 copies of the film's DVD for American soldiers to view, but Army, Navy and Marine Corps bases are not showing any thanks. An Army spokeswoman responded via the newspaper, saying that the film is an activist piece, not a documentary, and says that it, "has a definite point of view," adding that the military isn't encouraging soldiers to boycott the film, but it isn't interested in promoting it to them (what does she find more suitable for the troops? Sahara). While it is obvious that The Ground Truth has a bit of a slant -- it would be impossible for it not to -- I found it mostly unbiased, actually. You can read my review of the film here.
  

There are certain documentaries appropriate for many occasions and I could easily write a Cinematical Seven for any holiday doc-watching. But this Veteran's Day, I think the best doc to watch is The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends, a film by Patricia Foulkrod about soldiers who've returned after serving in Iraq. The best thing about The Ground Truth is that in addition to giving the vets an outlet with which to tell their stories of difficult homecoming, it also examines a broader history and psychology of veterans in the last century. I recommend buying the DVD, which came out in September, because 10% of the proceeds made on each disc goes to Operation Helmet, an organization created to send helmets to troops without proper headgear.

In addition to picking up the DVD, I also recommend checking out a special event this Saturday. Focus Features, which distributed The Ground Truth, and AOL are co-hosting a live online event to support the troops and the veterans at 1pm EST. Users will be linked to a live chat with returned Iraq War soldiers, vets from previous wars, and a number of participating celebrities, including Cher, Paul Haggis, Susan Sarandon, Diane Lane, Vondie Curtis Hall and Amy Brenneman.


For more on the film itself, check out my review of The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends.

If Vietnam was the first televised war and the Gulf War could be considered the first 24-hour coverage war (thanks to CNN), then the Iraq War might be called the most-first-hand-documented. Thanks to the more-immediate technologies of digital filmmaking, documentaries have been in abundance since the beginning of the conflict, giving us everything from ground-troop-shot films to quickly released looks at its aftermath. At this year's Tribeca Film Festival, films took us into battle alongside American soldiers (The War Tapes) and Iraqi insurgents (The Blood of My Brother) and brought us back home with the vets (When I Came Home; Home Front). Despite an overload of these documentaries, there still can't be enough of them, as they provide us with countless points of view and an immeasurable acquaintance with the reality of the ins and outs of the war.

Patricia Foulkrod's The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends, which screened at this year's Sundance Film Festival, could be considered just another film about the homecoming of U.S. troops and their difficult return to civilian life, but despite its sharing two faces with When I Came Home (featured interviewees Paul Reickhoff and Herold Noel), the differences between the two films mark an apparent allowance for numerous looks into the subject matter. While covering Tribeca, I actually decided to skip the Iraqi vet pic Home Front, thinking it would be hard to handle too many similar films (it screened the same day as When I Came Home and The Blood of My Brother). Now I feel that there is no such thing as too many when it comes to understanding this or any war. It is the same reason that movies about WWII and Vietnam will continue to be made; the difference is that with documentaries, the immediacy of the truth seems to hit a little harder.

Yeah, what about the children? I hear this line spoken over and over again -- by comedians, politicians and parents -- but no one ever seems to have an answer. How can we prevent our kids from growing up to be as screwed up as we are? And, are we really that screwed up?

The films this week all involve kids ... though not all of these flicks are geared toward the little ones. (Oh, and before you ask -- yes, I feel most of the soldiers fighting in Iraq are kids too. And if you don't know what I mean by saying that, keep reading.) Welcome to another edition of Cinematical's Trailer Park ...

Bits and pieces for a lovely Tuesday:

• Another Sundance success, Patricia Foulkrod's The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends, has scored a theatrical run, this one thanks to Focus Features. Foulkrod's film examines the lives of six soldiers fighting in Iraq, from "recruitment and training" through "their experiences in combat, coming home and struggling to reintegrate into society." It sounds profoundly depressing, and is expected to hit theaters this fall.

• If Jessica Simpson really is in the running for all the roles we've been hearing about lately, she's got an awfully busy couple of years ahead of her. And today, there's another one -- according to an interview Simpson recently gave MTV, she's had meetings with Sony personnel about playing Lucy Ewing in the Dallas movie. If that idea frightens you, consider this: Lindsay Lohan is also interested in the part, so it's really a question choosing the lesser of two evils.

• Thanks to New Line, yet another magician movie -- that's three, if you're counting -- is now in the works: the studio has picked up the rights to a spec script called Burt Dickenson: The Most Powerful Magician on Planet Earth. Taking a page from The Prestige, this one is also about rival magicians, only they're in modern-day Vegas rather than Victorian England, and one of their partners dies early-on, leaving his ex to "find a way to rediscover his love for magic." And it's a hilarious comedy. Actually, apart from the magicians, it's not like The Prestige at all.
  

• The Weinstein Company has acquired the English-speaking-territories distribution rights (whew) for Wilson Yip's Chinese-language martial arts thriller, Dragon Tiger Gate. Based on a comic book, the movie "follows three young Chinese martial arts masters who emerge from the back streets of Hong Kong to help the powerless fight injustice" and stars the outrageously pretty Nicholas Tse, among others. While this chance to see the film on a big screen normally would be great news for American lovers of Asian film, given the TWC Promise debacle, God only knows what's going to happen with this one.