2015 Writers Guild Awards Winners Announced
Los Angeles and New York – The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) tonight announced the winners of the 2015 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation categories at simultaneous ceremonies at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles and the Edison Ballroom in New York City.
FILM WINNERS
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness; Fox Searchlight
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Imitation Game, Written by Graham Moore; Based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges; The Weinstein Company
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, Written by Brian Knappenberger; FilmBuff
TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS
DRAMA SERIES
True Detective, Written by Nic Pizzolatto; HBO
COMEDY SERIES
Louie, Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.; FX
NEW SERIES
True Detective, Written by Nic Pizzolatto; HBO
EPISODIC DRAMA
“The Last Call” (The Good Wife), Written by Robert King & Michelle King; CBS
EPISODIC COMEDY
“So Did the Fat Lady” (Louie), Written by Louis C.K.; FX
LONG FORM ORIGINAL
Deliverance Creek, Written by Melissa Carter; Lifetime
LONG FORM ADAPTED
Olive Kitteridge, Teleplay by Jane Anderson, Based on the novel by Elizabeth Strout; HBO
SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ORIGINAL
“Episode 113: Rachel” (High Maintenance), Written by Katja Blichfeld & Ben Sinclair; helpingyoumaintain.com
ANIMATION
“Brick Like Me” (The Simpsons), Written by Brian Kelley; Fox
COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner; HBO
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; NBC
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter; NBC
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; ABC
CHILDREN’S SCRIPT – EPISODIC & SPECIALS
“Haunted Heartthrob” (Haunted Hathaways), Written by Bob Smiley; Nickelodeon
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“United States of Secrets: The Program (Part One)” (Frontline); PBS; Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
TV NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Nelson Mandela: A Man Who Changed the World” (World News with Diane Sawyer), Written by Dave Bloch, Lisa Ferri, Diane Sawyer; ABC News
TV NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Nowhere to Go” (60 Minutes), Written by Oriana Zill de Granados, Scott Pelley, Michael Rey; CBS
RADIO WINNERS
RADIO DOCUMENTARY
“Three Shots Rang Out: The JFK Assassination 50 Years Later,” Written by Darren Reynolds; ABC News Radio
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“World News This Week,” Written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Civil Rights at 50,” Written by Jane Tillman Irving; WCBS Radio
PROMOTIONAL WRITING WINNER
ON-AIR PROMOTION (TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA OR RADIO)
“How I Met Your Mother,” Written by Dan Greenberger; CBS
VIDEOGAME WINNER
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING
The Last of Us: Left Behind, Written by Neil Druckmann; Sony Computer Entertainment
**Note: There were no nominees in Children’s Script – Long Form or Special or Television Graphic Art and Animation categories this year.
The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation categories. The awards were presented jointly in competitive categories during simultaneous ceremonies on Saturday, February 14, 2015, in Los Angeles at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza and in New York City at the Edison Ballroom.
Emmy-winning Friends actress and The Comeback star/Co-Creator Lisa Kudrow hosted the West Coast WGA ceremony, which was executive produced by Hugh Fink. Presenters who appeared at the WGAW’s L.A. awards ceremony included: Golden Globe-winning actor Steve Carell (The Office), an Oscar nominee this year for Best Actor in Foxcatcher, Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated actress Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Parks and Recreation co-star Adam Scott, Suburgatory co-star Cheryl Hines, actor Sir Patrick Stewart (X-Men: Days of Future Past), actor James Corden (Into the Woods), set to host CBS’ The Late, Late Show in March, Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-stars Chelsea Peretti and Terry Crews, Playing House co-stars Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham, actress Abigail Spencer (Rectify), actor Zachary Levi (Chuck), About A Boy co-star Benjamin Stockham, and comedian Bob Saget (Full House).
The Writers Guild of America, West presented several special honors during its ceremony: Scandal co-star Scott Foley presented the WGAW’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement to Scandal/Grey’s Anatomy Creator and How to Get Away with Murder Executive Producer Shonda Rhimes, WGAW President Chris Keyser presented the Guild’s Valentine Davies Award to Academy Award-winning filmmaker/advocate Ben Affleck (Argo) for his humanitarian efforts, Cougartown Co-Creator Bill Lawrence presented the WGAW’s Morgan Cox Award to TV writer-producer and WGAW Showrunner Training Program co-founder Jeff Melvoin (Army Wives) for Guild service, Rescue Me Co-Creator Peter Tolan presented the WGAW’s Screen Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement to late screenwriter-director Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day), which was accepted by the Ramis family on his behalf, and TV writer/playwright Winnie Holzman (Wicked) presented the WGAW’s Paul Selvin Award to screenwriter Margaret Nagle for her screenplay, The Good Lie. Iconic Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar accepted the WGAW’s Jean Renoir Award for Screenwriting Achievement via a special video presentation introduced by WGAW Vice President Howard A. Rodman.
Attendees at the WGAW’s awards ceremony included actresses Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game), and Rene Russo (Nightcrawler).
Comedy Central’s new late night star Larry Wilmore (The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore) hosted the WGA New York ceremony, which was executive produced by John Marshall. Presenters who appeared at the WGAE’s New York awards ceremony included: Golden Globe-winning comedian Sarah Silverman (We Are Miracles), Golden Globe-nominated actor Clive Owen (The Knick), SAG Award-winner Michael Kenneth Williams (Boardwalk Empire, The Wire), Emmy Award-winning actress Judith Light (Transparent, Ugly Betty), Emmy-nominated Executive Producer Frank Rich (Veep), Oscar-nominated documentarian Morgan Spurlock (CNN’S Inside Man), actor Mahershala Ali (House of Cards, Mockingjay – Part One), actor Andre Holland (The Knick, Selma), actress Julie Klausner (Mulaney, Ugly Americans), writer/producer/activist Lizz Winstead (The Daily Show) and actor/comedian Robert Klein (The Good Wife, Sharknado).
The Writers Guild of America, East presented several special honors during its ceremony: Edward Zwick (Thirtysomething, Shakespeare In Love) presented Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby) with the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement in Writing. Journalist Bill Moyers presented legendary television writer/producer Norman Lear (All In The Family, The Jeffersons) with the Evelyn F. Burkey Award for Bringing Honor and Dignity to Writers. WGAE Vice President Jeremy Pikser (Bulworth) was presented with the Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild by last year’s recipient Philip V. Pilato. WGAE Executive Director Lowell Peterson presented Megan Rico with the Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting, which is funded by the Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation. WGAE President Michael Winship presented Liz Essley Whyte with the John Merriman Memorial Award for the Study of Broadcast Journalism at American University in Washington, D.C.
Attendees at the WGAE’s awards ceremony included Golden Globe-nominated actor Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex), actor/writer Michael McKean (Better Call Saul), writer/producer Beau Willimon (House of Cards), writer Larry Kramer (The Normal Heart), writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girls), producer John Sloss (Boyhood), writer Hugo Guinness (Grand Budapest Hotel), author Elizabeth Strout (Olive Kitteridge), actress Annette O’Toole (Halt and Catch Fire), screenwriter Terry George (Hotel Rwanda), screenwriter Walter Bernstein (The Front), and actress Abby Elliott (Saturday Night Live).
Production credits for the WGAW’s West Coast show included: Executive Producer Hugh Fink, Producers Tara Power and Joselyn Allen, Co-Producer Kelly Brock, Director Nick Murray, Head Writer Joe O’Brien and Writers Hugh Fink and Danielle Koenig, Line Producer Tina Pavlides, and Production Designer Chris Giammalvo.
Production credits for the WGAE’s New York show included: Executive Producer/Head Writer John Marshall, Producer/Writer Bonnie Datt, Writers Bruce Cherry, Ann B. Cohen, David Steven Cohen, Frank Conniff, Nick Nadel, Leslie Schapira and Craig Shemin, Writing Assistant Graam Liu, Additional Material Timothy Cooper, Robin Thede and Larry Wilmore, and Line Producer LBI Audio, Video & Scenic Solutions.
For more information about the 2015 Writers Guild Awards, please visit www.wga.org or www.wgaeast.org.
For media inquiries about the 2015 Writers Guild Awards Los Angeles show, please contact Gregg Mitchell in the WGAW Communications Department at: (323) 782-4651 or email: gmitchell@wga.org.
For media inquiries about the 2015 Writers Guild Awards New York City show, please contact Jason Gordon in the WGAE Communications Department at (212) 767-7809 or email: jgordon@wgaeast.org.
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, West, visit www.wga.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org.
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