The Writers Guild of America (WGA) handed out top film honors to the screenplays of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “The Imitation Game” Saturday night. On the television side, “Louie” and “True Detective” were favorites, winning two prizes each.
Damien Chazelle's “Whiplash” competed in the original category at the WGA Awards, while the Academy's Writers Branch, in a rare move outside of guild designation, deemed it adapted due to the fact that a scene from the feature script was the basis of a short film that screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. So if “The Imitation Game” is to go on to Oscar glory, it will have to compete with Chazelle's popular film for the first time this season at the Feb. 22 Academy Awards ceremony.
Additionally, presumed Best Picture frontrunner “Birdman” was not eligible for WGA (making it still significant competition with “Grand Budapest” in the original category), nor was “The Theory of Everything,” which won the BAFTA prize. The BFCA awards went to “Birdman” and “Gone Girl” (which was not nominated for an Oscar), while the USC Scripter prize went to “The Imitation Game.” Clearly, these races aren't settled yet.
Check out the full list of WGA winners below, nominees here and the rest of the season's offerings at The Circuit.
Original Screenplay
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
Adapted Screenplay
“The Imitation Game”
Written by Graham Moore; Based on the book “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges
Documentary Screenplay
“The Internet”s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz”
Written by Brian Knappenberger
(TV winners and more on the next page.)
TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA
Drama Series
“True Detective”
Written by Nic Pizzolatto
Comedy Series
“Louie”
Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.
New Series
“True Detective”
Written by Nic Pizzolatto
Long Form Original
“Deliverance Creek”
Written by Melissa Carter
Long Form Adapted
“Olive Kitteridge”
Teleplay by Jane Anderson, Based on the novel by Elizabeth Strout
Short Form New Media – Original
“Episode 113: Rachel” (“High Maintenance”)
Written by Katja Blichfeld & Ben Sinclair
Animation
“Brick Like Me” (“The Simpsons”)
Written by Brian Kelley
Episodic Drama
“The Last Call” (“The Good Wife”)
Written by Robert King & Michelle King
Episodic Comedy
“So Did the Fat Lady” (“Louie”)
Written by Louis C.K.
Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”
Writers: Rory Albanese, Dan Amira, Steve Bodow, Tim Carvell, Travon Free, Hallie Haglund, JR Havlan, Elliott Kalan, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Jo Miller, John Oliver, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parsons, Daniel Radosh, Lauren Sarver, Jon Stewart, Delaney Yeager
Comedy/Variety – Music, Awards, Tributes – Specials
“71st Annual Golden Globe Awards”
Written by Barry Adelman; Special Material by Alex Baze, Dave Boone, Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Jon Macks, Sam Means, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Mike Shoemaker
Quiz and Audience Participation
“Hollywood Game Night”
Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter
Daytime Drama
“General Hospital”
Written by Ron Carlivati, Anna Theresa Cascio, Suzanne Flynn, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O”Connor, Elizabeth Page, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Chris Van Etten
Children's Script – Episode and Specials
“Haunted Heartthrob” (“Haunted Hathaways”)
Written by Bob Smiley
Documentary Script – Current Events
“Losing Iraq” (“Frontline”)
“United States of Secrets: Privacy Lost (Part Two)” (“Frontline”)
“United States of Secrets: The Program (Part One)” (“Frontline”)
Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events
“League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis” (“Frontline”)
Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser
TV News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin or Breaking Report
“50th Anniversary of JFK's Assassination” (“CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley”)
“CBS This Morning”
“Nelson Mandela: A Man Who Changed the World”
TV News Script – Analysis, Feature or Commentary
“Nowhere to Go” (“60 Minutes”)
RADIO
Radio Documentary
“Three Shots Rang Out: The JFK Assassination 50 Years Later”
Written by Darren Reynolds
Radio News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report
“World News This Week,” (ABC News Radio)
Written by Andrew Evans
Radio News Script – Analysis, Feature or Commentary
“Civil Rights at 50”
Written by Jane Tillman Irving
PROMOTIONAL WRITING
On-Air Promotion (Television, New Media, or Radio)
“How I Met Your Mother”
Written by Dan Greenberger
VIDEO GAME NOMINEES
Outstanding Achievement in Video Game Writing
The Last of Us: Left Behind
Written by Neil Druckmann
SPECIAL AWARDS
Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award For TV
Shonda Rhimes
Valentine Davies Award
Ben Affleck
Morgan Cox Award
Jeff Melvoin
Laurel Award
Harold Ramis
Evelyn F. Burkey Award
Norman Lear
Paul Selvin Award
Margaret Nagle
Jean Renoir Award
Pedro Almodóvar