The road to the Oscars is landmarked by many other awards nominations and ceremonies, and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Producer’s Guild of America (PGA) are among some of the more prominent along the way. In fact, no picture has gone on to win an Oscar without being recognized in the nominations by at least one of the two organizations, so the nominations announced earlier this week by the WGA and PGA are rather important.

The films recognized for both excellence in writing and production are almost as interesting for what is listed as what is not. Both organizations named Brokeback Mountain, Crash, Capote, and Good Night and Good Luck giving those films a bit of an advantage, at least mentally, come Academy nomination team.

So what’s missing? Spielberg’s Munich may be suffering from its “less is more” Oscar campaign as one of the more prominent films missing. Jackson’s epic remake King Kong is a bit of a surprise, as is Memoirs of a Geisha, who many critics have panned but for some reason still expected to show up in nominations. Walk the Line is a personal surprise, only nominated by the PGA, although it may still have a shot at acting nominations for the Academy Awards. Nominations by the WGA and the PGA are not a guaranteed victory either; there’s always a first time for a film to upset the precedence and win Best Picture despite being overlooked by other organizations.

If anything, the inclusion of Crash is a bit of a surprise considering its early 2005 release. Although I am among those who are giddy to see it has not been forgotten, the film’s recognition is sure to be an upset for those movies that were released poised specifically for awards season.

The complete list of nominees:

Writers Guild of America
Best Adapted Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardener
A History of Violence
Syriana

Best Original Screenplay
Cinderella Man
Crash
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Good Night, and Good Luck
The Squid and the Whale

Producer’s Guild of America
Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Walk the Line