2020 Writers Guild (WGA) Awards: ‘Parasite,’ ‘Jojo Rabbit,’ ‘Succession,’ ‘Watchmen’ lead wins
Taika Waititi and Bong Joon Ho with their Writers Guild of America “baby humpback whale tails,” as Waititi said on Twitter
The 73rd Writers Guild of America awards have anointed Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit and Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite as the best Adapted and Original Screenplays of 2019.
The party started right from the top as the two first awards announced were those two ‘big’ film awards: Adapted and Original Screenplay, which went to Taika Waititi for Jojo Rabbit and Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Wan for Parasite, respectively. The pair (along with a few other nominees) needed to jump on a plane to London for tomorrow’s BAFTAs.
Neither of last year’s WGA winners (Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Eighth Grade) went on to turn their WGA success into Oscar gold. Eighth Grade wasn’t nominated and the Oscar winners ended up being BlacKkKlansman and Green Book.
Actress-comedian-singer Ana Gasteyer (Saturday Night Live) is set to host 2020 Writers Guild Awards L.A. show on Saturday, February 1, at The Beverly Hilton beginning at 5pm PST, with a companion New York ceremony happening simultaneously.
Barry won Comedy Series for the second year in a row, Watchmen won New Series and Succession scooped both of its categories: Drama Series and Episodic Drama for the episode “Tern Haven.” The pilot of Dead to Me beat out The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for Episodic Comedy but the biggest surprise may have been I Think You Should Leave with Tim Morrison besting Saturday Night Live for Sketch Comedy Series.
Charles Randolph will receive the 2020 Paul Selvin Award in recognition of his script for Bombshell.
Brad Falchuk (American Horror Story, American Crime Story, Glee) will receive 2020 Valentine Davies Award in recognition of his positive impact on young writers.
Trailblazing screenwriter-director-producer Nancy Meyers (the Oscar-nominated Private Benjamin, It’s Complicated) will be the recipient of the 2020 Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement.
TV comedy writer Merrill Markoe (Late Night with David Letterman) will receive the 2020 Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement.
Follow below for the complete list of nominees and winners in bold.
SCREENPLAY NOMINEES
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1917, Written by Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns; Universal Pictures
Booksmart, Written by Emily Halpern & Sarah Haskins and Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman; United Artists Releasing
Knives Out, Written by Rian Johnson; Lionsgate
Marriage Story, Written by Noah Baumbach; Netflix
WINNER – Parasite, Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, Story by Bong Joon Ho; Neon
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster, Inspired by the Article “Can You Say…Hero?” by Tom Junod; TriStar Pictures
The Irishman, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian, Based upon the Book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt; Netflix
WINNER – Jojo Rabbit, Screenplay by Taika Waititi, Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens; Fox Searchlight
Joker, Written by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, Based on Characters from DC Comics; Warner Bros. Pictures
Little Women, Screenplay by Greta Gerwig, Based on the Novel by Louisa May Alcott; Sony Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Citizen K, Written by Alex Gibney; Greenwich Entertainment
Foster, Written by Mark Jonathan Harris; HBO Documentary Films
WINNER – The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People, Written by Robert Seidman & Oren Rudavsky; First Run Features
The Kingmaker, Written by Lauren Greenfield; Showtime Documentary Films
TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA, AND NEWS NOMINEES
DRAMA SERIES
The Crown, Written by James Graham, David Hancock, Peter Morgan; Netflix
The Handmaid’s Tale, Written by Marissa Jo Cerar, Yahlin Chang, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Jacey Heldrich, John Herrera, Lynn Renee Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Eric Tuchman; Hulu
Mindhunter, Written by Pamela Cederquist, Joshua Donen, Marcus Gardley, Shaun Grant, Liz Hannah, Phillip Howze, Jason Johnson, Doug Jung, Colin J. Louro, Alex Metcalf, Courtenay Miles, Dominic Orlando, Joe Penhall, Ruby Rae Spiegel; Netflix
WINNER – Succession, Written by Jesse Armstrong, Alice Birch, Jon Brown, Jonathan Glatzer, Cord Jefferson, Mary Laws, Lucy Prebble, Georgia Pritchett, Tony Roche, Gary Shteyngart, Susan Soon He Stanton, Will Tracy; HBO
Watchmen, Written by Lila Byock, Nick Cuse, Christal Henry, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Cord Jefferson, Jeff Jensen, Claire Kiechel, Damon Lindelof, Janine Nabers, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Tom Spezialy, Carly Wray; HBO
COMEDY SERIES
WINNER – Barry, Written by Alec Berg, Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Emily Heller, Jason Kim, Taofik Kolade, Elizabeth Sarnoff; HBO
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Written by Kate Fodor, Noah Gardenswartz, Daniel Goldfarb, Alison Leiby, Daniel Palladino, Sono Patel, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Jordan Temple; Prime Video
PEN15, Written by Jeff Chan, Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Gabe Liedman, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Andrew Rhymer, Jessica Watson, Sam Zvibleman; Hulu
Russian Doll, Written by Jocelyn Bioh, Flora Birnbaum, Cirocco Dunlap, Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler, Tami Sagher, Allison Silverman; Netflix
Veep, Written by Gabrielle Allan-Greenberg, Rachel Axler, Emilia Barrosse, Ted Cohen, Jennifer Crittenden, Alex Gregory, Steve Hely, Peter Huyck, Erik Kenward, Billy Kimball, David Mandel, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Dan Mintz, Lew Morton, Dan O’Keefe, Georgia Pritchett, Leila Strachan; HBO
NEW SERIES
Dead To Me, Written by Rebecca Addelman, Njeri Brown, Liz Feldman, Kelly Hutchinson, Anthony King, Emma Rathbone, Kate Robin, Abe Sylvia; Netflix
PEN15, Written by Jeff Chan, Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Gabe Liedman, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Andrew Rhymer, Jessica Watson, Sam Zvibleman; Hulu
Russian Doll, Written by Jocelyn Bioh, Flora Birnbaum, Cirocco Dunlap, Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler, Tami Sagher, Allison Silverman; Netflix
WINNER – Watchmen, Written by Lila Byock, Nick Cuse, Christal Henry, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Cord Jefferson, Jeff Jensen, Claire Kiechel, Damon Lindelof, Janine Nabers, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Tom Spezialy, Carly Wray; HBO
What We Do in the Shadows, Written by Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Jemaine Clement, Josh Lieb, Iain Morris, Stefani Robinson, Duncan Sarkies, Marika Sawyer, Tom Scharpling, Paul Simms,Taika Waititi; FX Networks
ORIGINAL LONG FORM
WINNER – Chernobyl, Written by Craig Mazin; HBO
The Terror: Infamy, Written by Max Borenstein, Alessandra DiMona, Shannon Goss, Steven Hanna, Naomi Iizuka, Benjamin Klein, Danielle Roderick, Tony Tost, Alexander Woo; AMC
Togo, Written by Tom Flynn; Disney+
True Detective, Written by Alessandra DiMona, Graham Gordy, Gabriel Hobson, David Milch, Nic Pizzolatto; HBO
ADAPTED LONG FORM
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Written by Vince Gilligan; Netflix
WINNER – Fosse/Verdon, Written by Debora Cahn, Joel Fields, Ike Holter, Thomas Kail, Steven Levenson, Charlotte Stoudt, Tracey Scott Wilson, Based on the book Fosse by Sam Wasson; FX Networks
The Loudest Voice, Written by John Harrington Bland, Laura Eason, Tom McCarthy, Alex Metcalf, Gabriel Sherman, Jennifer Stahl, Based on the Book The Loudest Voice in the Room and the New York Magazine Articles by Gabriel Sherman; Showtime
Unbelievable, Written by Michael Chabon, Susannah Grant, Becky Mode, Jennifer Schuur, Ayelet Waldman, Based on the Pro Publica & The Marshall Project article “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” and This American Life radio episode “Anatomy of Doubt;” Netflix
ORIGINAL SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
After Forever, Written by Michael Slade & Kevin Spirtas; Prime Video
WINNER – Special, Written by Ryan O’Connell; Netflix
ANIMATION
“Bed, Bob & Beyond” (Bob’s Burgers), Written by Kelvin Yu; Fox
“The Gene Mile” (Bob’s Burgers), Written by Steven Davis; Fox
“Go Big or Go Homer” (The Simpsons), Written by John Frink; Fox
“A Horse Walks Into A Rehab” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Elijah Aron; Netflix
“Livin’ La Pura Vida” (The Simpsons), Written by Brian Kelley; Fox
WINNER – “Thanksgiving of Horror” (The Simpsons), Written by Dan Vebber; Fox
EPISODIC DRAMA
“407 Proxy Authentication Required” (Mr. Robot), Written by Sam Esmail; USA Network
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” (Ray Donovan), Written by Joshua Marston; Showtime
“Mirror Mirror” (The OA), Written by Dominic Orlando & Claire Kiechel; Netflix
“Moondust” (The Crown), Written by Peter Morgan; Netflix
“Our Little Island Girl” (This Is Us), Written by Eboni Freeman; NBC
WINNER – “Tern Haven” (Succession), Written by Will Tracy; HBO
EPISODIC COMEDY
“Here’s Where We Get Off” (Orange Is the New Black), Written by Jenji Kohan; Netflix
“It’s Comedy or Cabbage” (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Written by Amy Sherman-Palladino; Prime Video
“Nice Knowing You” (Living With Yourself), Written by Timothy Greenberg; Netflix
WINNER – “Pilot” (Dead to Me), Written by Liz Feldman; Netflix
“The Stinker Thinker” (On Becoming a God in Central Florida), Written by Robert F. Funke & Matt Lutsky; Showtime
“Veep” (Veep), Written by David Mandel; HBO
COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES
Conan, Head Writer: Matt O’Brien Writers: Jose Arroyo, Glenn Boozan, Daniel Cronin, Andres du Bouchet, Jessie Gaskell, Brian Kiley, Laurie Kilmartin, Todd Levin, Levi MacDougall, Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, Frank Smiley, Mike Sweeney; TBS
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Head Writer: Melinda Taub Writing Supervised by: Joe Grossman, Nicole Silverberg Writers: Samantha Bee, Kristen Bartlett, Pat Cassels, Sean Crespo, Mike Drucker, Mathan Erhardt, Miles Kahn, Sahar Rizvi, Special Material by: Allison Silverman; TBS
WINNER – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Senior Writers: Dan Gurewitch, Jeff Maurer, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner Writers: Tim Carvell, Daniel O’Brien, John Oliver, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO
Late Night with Seth Meyers, Head writer: Alex Baze Supervising Writers: Sal Gentile, Seth Reiss, Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Karen Chee, Bryan Donaldson, Matt Goldich, Dina Gusovsky, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, John Lutz, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit; NBC Universal
The Late Late Show with James Corden, Head Writers: Lauren Greenberg, Ian Karmel Writers: Demi Adejuyigbe, James Corden, Rob Crabbe, Lawrence Dai, Nate Fernald, Caroline Goldfarb, Olivia Harewood, David Javerbaum, John Kennedy, Kayleigh Lamb, James Longman, Jared Moskowitz, CeCe Pleasants, Tim Siedell, Benjamin Stout, Tom Thriveni, Louis Waymouth, Ben Winston; CBS
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Head Writers: Jay Katsir, Opus Moreschi Writers: Michael Brumm, River Clegg, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Django Gold, Gabe Gronli, Greg Iwinski, Barry Julien, Daniel Kibblesmith, Eliana Kwartler, Matt Lappin, Asher Perlman, Tom Purcell, Kate Sidley, Jen Spyra, Brian Stack, John Thibodeaux; CBS
COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
Desi Lydic: Abroad, Written by Devin Delliquanti, Lauren Sarver Means; Comedy Central
WINNER – Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents: Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Part 2, Head Writer Melinda Taub, Writing Supervised by Joe Grossman, Nicole Silverberg, Writers Samantha Bee, Kristen Bartlett, Pat Cassels, Sean Crespo, Mike Drucker, Mathan Erhardt, Lewis Friedman, Miles Kahn, Sahar Rizvi, Special Material by Allison Silverman; TBS
The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special 2019, Head Writers Lauren Greenberg, Ian Karmel, Writers Demi Adejuyigbe, James Corden, Rob Crabbe, Lawrence Dai, Nate Fernald, Caroline Goldfarb, John Kennedy, James Longman, Jared Moskowitz, CeCe Pleasants, Tim Siedell, Benjamin D. Stout, Tom Thriveni, Louis Waymouth, Ben Winston; CBS
Ramy Youssef: Feelings, Written by Ramy Youssef; HBO
COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
At Home with Amy Sedaris, Writers: Cole Escola, Amy Sedaris, Allison Silverman; truTV
WINNER – I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Writers: Jeremy Beiler, Zach Kanin, Tim Robinson, John Solomon; Netflix
Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Michael Che, Colin Jost, Kent Sublette Supervising Writers: Anna Drezen, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Streeter Seidell Senior Writer: Bryan Tucker Weekend Update Head Writer: Pete Schultz Writers: James Anderson, Neal Brennan, Andrew Briedis, Dan Bulla, Megan Callahan, Steven Castillo, Emma Clark, Andrew Dismukes, Alison Gates, Tim Herlihy, Steve Higgins, Sam Jay, Erik Kenward, Steve Koren, Rob Klein, Michael Koman, Dan Licata, Alan Linic, Eli Coyote Mandel, Dave McCary, Dennis McNicholas, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney, Josh Patten, Jasmine Pierce, Katie Rich, Simon Rich, Gary Richardson, Marika Sawyer, Robert Smigel, Mark Steinbach, Will Stephen, Julio Torres, Bowen Yang; NBC Universal
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, Head Writer Bret Calvert, Writers Seth Harrington, Rosemarie DiSalvo; Nickelodeon
Hollywood Game Night, Head Writers Ann Slichter, Grant Taylor, Writers Michael Agbabian, Marshall Davis, Allie Kokesh, Dwight D. Smith; NBC
Jeopardy!, Writers Matthew Caruso, John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Debbie Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse; ABC
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Head Writer Stephen Melcher, Writers Kyle Beakley, Patricia A. Cotter, Ryan Hopak, Gary Lucy, James Rowley, Ann Slichter; Disney/ABC Syndication
DAYTIME DRAMA
Days of Our Lives, Writers: Lorraine Broderick, Ron Carlivati, Joanna Cohen, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, Dave Kreizman, Rebecca McCarty, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Katie Schock, Betsy Snyder; NBC Universal
General Hospital, Head Writers: Shelly Altman, Christopher Van Etten, Dan O’Connor Associate Head Writer: Anna T. Cascio Writers: Barbara Bloom, Suzanne Flynn, Charlotte Gibson, Lucky Gold, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Donny Sheldon, Scott Sickles; ABC
WINNER – The Young and the Restless, Writers: Amanda L. Beall, Jeff Beldner, Sara Bibel, Matt Clifford, Annie Compton, Christopher Dunn, Sara Endsley, Janice Ferri Esser, Mellinda Hensley, Lynn Martin, Anne Schoettle, Natalie Minardi Slater, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
“It’s Just… Weird” (Alexa & Katie), Written by Romi Barta; Netflix
WINNER – “Remember Black Elvis?” (Family Reunion), Written by Howard Jordan, Jr.; Netflix
“Remember How This All Started?” (Family Reunion), Written by Meg DeLoatch; Netflix
“Stupid Binder” (Alexa & Katie), Written by Nancy Cohen; Netflix
“Time to Make… My Move” (Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance), Written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach; Netflix
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Coal’s Deadly Dust” (Frontline), Written by Elaine McMillion Sheldon; PBS
“The Mueller Investigation” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
WINNER – “Trump’s Trade War” (Frontline), Written by Rick Young; PBS
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Chasing The Moon Part One: A Place Beyond The Sky” (American Experience), Written by Robert Stone; PBS
WINNER – “Right To Fail” (Frontline), Written by Tom Jennings; PBS
“Supreme Revenge” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
WINNER – “Terror in America: The Massacres in El Paso and Dayton” (Special Edition of the CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell), Written by Jerry Cipriano, Joe Clines, Bob Meyer; CBS News
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Atlanta, EP. 3” (A King’s Place), Written by Jessica Moulite, Ashley Velez; TheRoot.com
WINNER – “Fly Like An Eagle” (60 Minutes), Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News
“’Tis the Season: Here’s How Jesus Became So Widely Accepted as White,” Written by Joon Chung, Felice León, Ashley Velez; TheRoot.com
“Toxic Water Crisis Still This Haunts New York Town”, Written by Lena Jackson; HuffPost.com
DIGITAL NEWS
“A Gridiron of Their Own,” Written by Kelsey McKinney; Deadspin.com
WINNER – “Stories About My Brother,” Written by Prachi Gupta, Jezebel.com
RADIO/AUDIO NOMINEES
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“CBS News on the Hour with Norah O’Donnell – El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio – Communities in Mourning,” Written by James Hutton; CBS News Radio
WINNER – “Hail and Farewell: Remembering Some Headline Makers,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
“World News This Week, August 9, 2019,” Written by Stephanie Pawlowski and Jim Ryan; ABC News Radio
“World News This Week, September 13, 2019,” Written by Joan B. Harris; ABC News Radio
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
WINNER – “The Enduring Legacy of Jackie Kennedy Onassis,” Written by Dianne E. James, Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
“Woodstock: Back to the Garden,” Written by Gail Lee, CBS News Radio
PROMOTIONAL WRITING NOMINEES
ON AIR PROMOTION
“CBS Promos”, Written by Molly Neylan; CBS
“Star. Kill. Evil. FBI.,” Written by Ralph Buado; CBS
WINNER – “Star Trek: Picard” and “All Rise Promos,” Written by Jessica Katzenstein; CBS
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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