WGA Awards: ‘Eighth Grade,’ ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ make history

Just when you thought this awards season couldn’t get any stranger, the Writer Guild of America did something that’s never happened in the WGA history (since it established the two categories in 1984); they gave their top feature film prizes, Adapted Screenplay and Original Screenplay to two films not in the Best Picture Oscar race.

While the Adapted Screenplay winner, Can You Ever Forgive Me? written by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, is an Oscar nominee in the same category, the WGA’s Original Screenplay winner, Eighth Grade, written by Bo Burnham is not. If fact, it’s not nominated for any Oscars. But, this isn’t the first time Burnham has upset this season. He shocked at the DGA, besting Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) for First Feature.

With the WGA the last major guild (the Sound Editors and Costume Designers are still coming), and last awards org featuring screenplay categories, until the Oscars we’re turned upside down. Both Adapted and Original Screenplay have gone to different films at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA, USC, BAFTA and now WGA. That makes both rather open races going into next Sunday with just two days left of Oscar voting.

The winners for television included Barry, which won both an episode nod and Best New Series (the first since Modern Family to win both), with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel winning the Comedy Series category and The Americans taking Drama Series win for its final season.

The 2019 WGA Awards were held in simultaneous ceremonies in Beverly Hills (hosted by Chelsea Peretti) and New York City (hosted by Roy Wood Jr.)

Here is the full list of nominees and winners.

FILM NOMINEES

Original Screenplay

Eighth Grade – WINNER
Green Book
A Quiet Place
Roma
Vice

Adapted Screenplay

Blackkklansman
Black Panther
Can You Ever Forgive Me? – WINNER
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born

Documentary Screenplay

Bathtubs Over Broadway – WINNER
Fahrenheit 11/9
Generation Wealth
In Search of Greatness

TELEVISION NOMINEES

Drama Series

The Americans – WINNER
Better Call Saul
The Crown
The Handmaid’s Tale
Succession

Comedy Series

Atlanta
Barry
GLOW
The Good Place
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – WINNER

New Series

Barry – WINNER
The Haunting of Hill House
Homecoming
Pose
Succession

Long Form Original

Castle Rock – WINNER
My Dinner with Hervé
Paterno

Long Form Adapted

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story – WINNER
The Looming Tower
Maniac
Sharp Objects

Short Form New Media Original

After Forever
Class of Lies – WINNER
Love Daily
West 40s

Short Form New Media Adapted

“The Walking Dead: Red Machete WINNER

Animation

“Bart’s Not Dead” (The Simpsons) WINNER
“Boywatch” (Bob’s Burgers)
“Just One of the Boyz 4 Now for Now” (Bob’s Burgers)
“Krusty the Clown” (The Simpsons)
“Mo Mommy Mo Problems” (Bob’s Burgers)
“Send in Stewie, Please” (Family Guy)

Episodic Drama

“Camelot” (Narcos: Mexico)
“The Car” (This Is Us)
“Episode 407” (The Affair)
“First Blood” (The Handmaid’s Tale)
“Paean To The People” (Homeland) WINNER
“The Precious Blood of Jesus” (Ozark)

Episodic Comedy

“Another Place” (Forever)
“Chapter One: Make Your Mark” (Barry) WINNER
“Halibut!” (Santa Clarita Diet)
“Kimmy and the Beest!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)
“Pilot” (The Kids Are Alright)
“Who Knows Better Than I” (Orange Is the New Black)

Comedy/Variety Talk Series

Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – WINNER
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Comedy/Variety Sketch Series

At Home with Amy Sedaris
I Love You, America
Nathan For You – WINNER
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live

Comedy/Variety Specials

2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish
Drew Michael
The Fake News with Ted Nelms – WINNER
The Oscars 2018

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

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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