Steve Zaillian for 'Moneyball'

Odds for a nomination: Strong. Zaillian has three previous screenwriting nominations and one win (for 'Schindler's List'), so he's already an Oscar favorite. Plus, he and co-screenwriter Aaron Sorkin took a seemingly unadaptable book about an esoteric subject (baseball statistics!) and turned it into an easy-to-follow script that yielded a modest hit film. And being associated with Brad Pitt doesn't hurt.