Her, Captain Phillips Win Top Prizes from WGA

WGA 2014
Michael Barker, Sony Pictures Classic co-president, Richard Linklater, and Ethan Hawke; “Before Midnight” nominated for adapted screenplay | Paula Schwartz Photo

The Writers Guild of America  gave top honors to “Her,” for Spike Jonze’s original screenplay, and to “Captain Phillips,” for Billy Ray’s adapted screenplay, which was based on the book, “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days at Sea.”

The WGA awards usually dovetail with the Oscars’ choices for best screenplays, but “Gravity” and “12 Years a Slave” were ineligible under WGA guidelines, which include the requirement that the writers be guild members, so it’s still an open race for the little gold man.

WGA 2014
Colin Quinn | WGA Photo

The WGA awards take place simultaneously in New York and Los Angeles, but are not simulcast or telecast. This means that each venue has a separate awards presentation. Of course, there’s also a time difference, and New York announces the winners one hour or so earlier than in L.A. And for some reason, the biggest prizes, for adapted and original screenplay, are announced in the middle of the awards ceremony in New York instead of at the end.

Even though guests at the ceremony in New York, which took place at the Edison Ballroom on West 47th Street, are asked not to Tweet or e-mail the names of the winners, they do anyway. In addition, Variety and Deadline Hollywood send out their own updates. This means Spike Jonze and Billy Ray must have known they won because someone would have told them!

This year the ceremony was laid back, with less blue material, but still lots of laughs. Every time someone won and picked up the award in LA, the N.Y. crowd would jokingly hiss or boo.

Although most of the movie star celebrity wattage was in L.A., there were still many nominees in New York, including Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater (“After Midnight) and Terence Winter (“The Wolf of Wall Street”). Presenters in New York included Archie Panjabi, Terry George, Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell (co-stars of “The Americans” who are said to be dating), Raul Esparza, and screenwriters Danny Strong (“The Butler) and Beau Willimon (“House of Cards”).

Near the end of the long evening, I also saw married couple Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola cuddle and take selfies. Nivola was there in case David O. Russell won for “American Hustle.”

In his opening monologue, Colin Quinn got in some zingers, especially on how he was a last-minute replacement for W. Kamau Bell, who bailed only a month ago. Quinn said sarcastically, “What an honor it is to be chosen to replace Kamau Bell.” He also joked about the irony of the DVD of “Captain Phillips” having a warning against piracy, and that the film’s title  “really knows how to get the blood pulsing.”

“Hotel Rwanda” director Terry George took a swipe at Anne Coulter that brought down the house. He joked that she was nominated in the news, analysis, feature or commentary category for “Anne Coulter for the Shit I Write Every Day.”

“The Wire” and “Treme” creator David Simon, who is 53, picked up his trophy and cracked, “This is a lifetime achievement award, which means you mother…ers think I’m gonna die. Or you saw the ‘Treme’ numbers and you think, ‘That’s it!’”

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Earlier in the evening, “The Wolf of Wall Street” screenwriter Terence Winter explained what the nomination from the WGA meant to him.

“I know it sounds cliché but it really does take on a bigger meaning. These are the people who do exactly what I do when I go to work in the morning, so the fact that those same people say, ‘Hey, we think that you did a good job,’ ’cause I know what it’s like. I sit down and I’m in those shoes too, so it does have a bigger meaning that getting a nomination from a broader group of people,” he explained. “These are the people who know exactly what it’s like to go into a writer’s room or stare at a blank computer screen and start with nothing and create something.”

Here’s a complete list of the winners:

SCREEN WINNERS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea” by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Stories We Tell, Written by Sarah Polley; Roadside Attractions

TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS

DRAMA SERIES

Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC

COMEDY SERIES

Veep, Written by Simon Blackwell, Roger Drew, Sean Gray, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, Georgia Pritchett, David Quantick, Tony Roche, Will Smith; HBO

NEW SERIES

House of Cards, Written by Kate Barnow, Rick Cleveland, Sam Forman, Gina Gionfriddo, Keith Huff, Sarah Treem, Beau Willimon; Netflix

EPISODIC DRAMA

“Confessions” (Breaking Bad), Written by Gennifer Hutchison; AMC

EPISODIC COMEDY

“Hogcock!” (30 Rock), Written by Jack Burditt & Robert Carlock; NBC

LONG FORM – ADAPTED

Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, Written by Shawn Slovo, Based on the book by Howard Bingham and Max Wallace; HBO

SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ORIGINAL

“Episode 4: The Collected Sylvia” (Sylvia Plath: Girl Detective), Written by Mike Simses; 

ANIMATION

“A Test Before Trying” (The Simpsons), Written by Joel H. Cohen; Fox

COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES

The Colbert Report, Writers: Stephen Colbert, Tom Purcell, Michael Brumm, Nate Charny, Rich Dahm, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, Rob Dubbin, Glenn Eichler, Gabe Gronli, Dan Guterman, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Frank Lesser, Opus Moreschi, Bobby Mort, Meredith Scardino, Max Werner; Comedy Central

COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS

Blake Shelton’s Not So Family Christmas, Head Writers: Jay Martel, Ian Roberts Writers: Alex Rubens, Charlie Sanders; NBC

QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Jeopardy!, Written by John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Debbie Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse; ABC

DAYTIME DRAMA

Days of Our Lives, Written by Lorraine Broderick, David Cherrill, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, Christopher Dunn, Janet Iacobuzio, David A. Levinson, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Melissa Salmons, Christopher J. Whitesell; NBC

CHILDREN’S – EPISODIC & SPECIALS

“influANTces” (A.N.T. Farm), Written by Vincent Brown; Disney Channel

DOCUMENTARY – CURRENT EVENTS

“Egypt in Crisis” (Frontline), Written by Marcela Gaviria & Martin Smith; PBS

DOCUMENTARY – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS

“The Choice 2012” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk; PBS

TIED WITH:

“Silicon Valley” (American Experience), Telescript by Randall MacLowry and Michelle Ferrari; Story by Randall MacLowry; PBS

NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“Tragedy at Newtown” Special Edition (ABC World News with Diane Sawyer), Written by Lisa Ferri and Matt Negrin; ABC

NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“Lethal Medicine” (60 Minutes), Written by Michael Rey, Oriana Zill de Granados, Michael Radutzky; CBS

RADIO WINNERS

DOCUMENTARY

“2012 Year in Review,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio News

NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“Afternoon Drive,” Written by Bill Spadaro; CBS Radio/1010 WINS

NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“Remembering C. Everett Koop,” Written by Scott Saloway; CBS Radio News

PROMOTIONAL WRITING AND GRAPHIC ANIMATION WINNERS

ON-AIR PROMOTION (TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA OR RADIO)

The Crazy Ones, “Building a Better Comedy,” Written by Erial Tompkins; CBS

TELEVISION GRAPHIC ART AND ANIMATION

CBS News Animations: “Brain Injury,” “Pills,” “Bionic Leg,” “Midland Parade,” “Concordia Salvage;” Animation by David Rosen; CBS News

VIDEOGAME WINNER

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING

The Last of Us, Written by Neil Druckmann; Sony Computer Entertainment

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3 responses to “Her, Captain Phillips Win Top Prizes from WGA”

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  2. […] Her, Captain Phillips Win Top Prizes from WGA […]

  3. […] – the same day as the Writers Guild Awards at which Woody Allen’s movie “Blue Jasmine” was nominated for best original screenplay – a […]

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