Writers Guild of America Award

The Writers Guild of America Awards for outstanding achievements in film, television, radio, and video games (added in 2008) writing, including both fiction and non-fiction categories, have been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949. In 2004, the awards show was broadcast on television for the first time.

Eligibility

The screen awards are for films that were exhibited theatrically in the Los Angeles area during the preceding calendar year. The television awards are for series that were produced and aired between December 1 and November 30, regardless of how many episodes aired during this time period.

Additionally, scripts must be produced under the jurisdiction of the WGA or under a collective bargaining agreement in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand or the U.K.^[1]

Lifetime Achievement Awards

Each year at the awards, two lifetime achievement awards are presented. One is for screenwriting and the other is for TV writing:

• Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement
• Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement

Award Categories

Note: This is an incomplete list and certain categories have been added or changed over the years.

A * denotes a film that also went on to win an Academy Award for Writing.

1940s

Best Written Film Concerning Problems with the American Scene

• 1949: The Snake Pit – Frank Partos and Millen Brand

Best Written Western

• 1949: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre * – John Huston

Best Written Musical

• 1949: Easter Parade – Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, and Sidney Sheldon

Best Written Drama

• 1949: The Snake Pit – Frank Partos and Millen Brand

Best Written Comedy

• 1949: Sitting Pretty – F. Hugh Herbert

1950s

Best Written Film Concerning Problems with the American Scene

• 1950: All the King's Men – Robert Rossen
• 1951: The Men – Carl Foreman
• 1952: Bright Victory – Robert Henry Buckner

Best Written Western

• 1950: Yellow Sky – W.R. Burnett and Lamar Trotti
• 1951: Broken Arrow – Albert Maltz

Best Written Musical

• 1950: On the Town – Adolph Green and Betty Comden
• 1951: Annie Get Your Gun (film) – Sidney Sheldon
• 1952: An American in Paris * – Alan Jay Lerner
• 1953: Singin' in the Rain – Betty Comden and Adolph Green
• 1954: Lili – Helen Deutsch and Paul Gallico
• 1955: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers – Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dorothy Kingsley
• 1956: Love Me or Leave Me * – Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart
• 1957: The King and I – Ernest Lehman
• 1958: Les Girls – Vera Caspary and John Partrick
• 1959: Gigi * – Alan Jay Lerner

Best Written Drama

• 1950: All the King's Men – Robert Rossen
• 1951: Sunset Boulevard * – Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D.M. Marshman Jr.
• 1952: A Place in the Sun * – Michael Wilson and Harry Brown
• 1953: High Noon – Carl Foreman
• 1954: From Here to Eternity * – Daniel Taradash
• 1955: On the Waterfront * – Budd Schulberg
• 1956: Marty * – Paddy Chayefsky
• 1957: Friendly Persuasion – Michael Wilson
• 1958: 12 Angry Men – Reginald Rose
• 1959: The Defiant Ones * – Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith

Best Written Comedy

• 1950: A Letter to Three Wives * – Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• 1951: All About Eve * – Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• 1952: Father's Little Dividend – Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich
• 1953: The Quiet Man – Frank Nugent
• 1954: Roman Holiday * – Ian McLellan Hunter, Dalton Trumbo, and John Dighton
• 1955: Sabrina – Billy Wilder, Samuel Taylor, and Ernest Lehman
• 1956: Mister Roberts – Joshua Logan and Frank Nugent
• 1957: Around the World in 80 Days * – James Poe, John Farrow, and S. J. Perelman
• 1958: Love in the Afternoon – Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond
• 1959: Me and the Colonel – S. N. Behrman and George Froeschel

Best Written Low-Budget Film

• 1952: The Steel Helmet – Samuel Fuller

1960s

Best Written Musical

• 1960: The Five Pennies – Robert Smith, Jack Rose, and Melville Shavelson
• 1961: Bells Are Ringing – Betty Comden and Adolph Green
• 1962: West Side Story – Ernest Lehman
• 1963: The Music Man – Meredith Willson, Franklin Lacey, and Marion Hargrove
• 1964: Not awarded
• 1965: Mary Poppins – Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi
• 1966: The Sound of Music – Maria Augusta Trapp, Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse, and Ernest Lehman
• 1967: Not awarded
• 1968: Thoroughly Modern Millie – Richard Morris
• 1969: Funny Girl – Isobel Lennart

Best Written Drama

• 1960: The Diary of Anne Frank – Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
• 1961: Elmer Gantry * – Richard Brooks
• 1962: The Hustler – Sydney Carroll and Robert Rossen
• 1963: To Kill a Mockingbird * – Horton Foote
• 1964: Hud – Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch
• 1965: Becket * – Edward Anhalt
• 1966: The Pawnbroker – Edward Lewis Wallant, Morton S. Fine, and David Friedkin
• 1967: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – Ernest Lehman
• 1968: Bonnie and Clyde – David Newman and Robert Benton
• 1969: The Lion in Winter * – James Goldman

Best Written Comedy

• 1960: Some Like It Hot – Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond
• 1961: The Apartment * – Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond
• 1962: Breakfast at Tiffany's – George Axelrod
• 1963: That Touch of Mink – Stanley Shapiro and Nate Monastar
• 1964: Lilies of the Field – James Poe
• 1965: Dr. Strangelove – Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, and Peter George
• 1966: A Thousand Clowns – Herb Gardner
• 1967: The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming – William Rose
• 1968: The Graduate – Calder Willingham and Buck Henry
• 1969: The Odd Couple – Neil Simon

Best Original Screenplay

• 1968: Bonnie and Clyde – David Newman and Robert Benton
• 1969: The Producers – Mel Brooks

1970s

Best Original Drama

• 1970: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid * – William Goldman
• 1971: Patton * – Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North
• 1972: Sunday Bloody Sunday – Penelope Gilliatt
• 1973: The Candidate * – Jeremy Larner
• 1974: Save the Tiger – Steve Shagan
• 1975: Chinatown * – Robert Towne
• 1976: Dog Day Afternoon * – Frank Pierson
• 1977: Network * – Paddy Chayefsky
• 1978: The Turning Point – Arthur Laurents
• 1979: Coming Home * – Nancy Dowd, Robert C. Jones, and Waldo Salt

Best Adapted Drama

• 1970: Midnight Cowboy * – Waldo Salt
• 1971: I Never Sang for My Father – Robert Anderson
• 1972: The French Connection * – Ernest Tidyman
• 1973: The Godfather * – Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola
• 1974: Serpico – Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler
• 1975: The Godfather Part II * – Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo
• 1976: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest * – Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben
• 1977: All the President’s Men * – William Goldman
• 1978: Islands in the Stream – Denne Bart Petitclerc
• 1979: Midnight Express * – Oliver Stone

Best Original Comedy

• 1970: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice – Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker
• 1971: The Out-of-Towners – Neil Simon
• 1972: The Hospital * – Paddy Chayefsky
• 1973: What’s Up, Doc? – Peter Bogdanovich, Buck Henry, David Newman, and Robert Benton
• 1974: A Touch of Class – Melvin Frank and Jack Rose
• 1975: Blazing Saddles – Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, and Alan Uger
• 1976: Shampoo – Robert Towne and Warren Beatty
• 1977: The Bad News Bears – Bill Lancaster
• 1978: Annie Hall * – Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
• 1979: Movie Movie – Larry Gelbart and Sheldon Keller

Best Adapted Comedy

• 1970: Goodbye, Columbus – Arnold Schulman
• 1971: MASH * – Ring Lardner
• 1972: Kotch – John Paxton
• 1973: Cabaret – Jay Presson Allen
• 1974: Paper Moon – Alvin Sargent
• 1975: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz – Lionel Chetwynd and Mordechai Richler
• 1976: The Sunshine Boys – Neil Simon
• 1977: The Pink Panther Strikes Again – Blake Edwards and Frank Waldman
• 1978: Oh, God! – Larry Gelbart
• 1979: Heaven Can Wait – Elaine May and Warren Beatty and Same Time, Next Year – Bernard Slade

1980s

Best Original Drama

• 1980: The China Syndrome – Mike Gray, T. S. Cook and James Bridges
• 1981: Melvin and Howard * – Bo Goldman
• 1982: Reds – Warren Beatty and Trevor Griffiths
• 1983: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – Melissa Mathison
• 1984: Tender Mercies * – Horton Foote

Best Adapted Drama

• 1980: Kramer vs. Kramer * – Robert Benton
• 1981: Ordinary People * – Alvin Sargent
• 1982: On Golden Pond * – Ernest Thompson
• 1983: Missing * – Costa-Gavras and Donald E. Stewart
• 1984: Reuben, Reuben – Julius J. Epstein

Best Original Comedy

• 1980: Breaking Away * – Steve Tesich
• 1981: Private Benjamin – Nancy Meyers, Harvey Miller and Charles Shyer
• 1982: Arthur – Steve Gordon
• 1983: Tootsie – Don McGuire, Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal
• 1984: The Big Chill – Lawrence Kasdan and Barbara Benedek

Best Adapted Comedy

• 1980: Being There – Jerry Kosinski
• 1981: Airplane! – Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker
• 1982: Rich and Famous – Gerard Ayres
• 1983: Victor/Victoria – Blake Edwards
• 1984: Terms of Endearment * – James L. Brooks

The following categories are recognized annually:

Best Original Screenplay

• 1985: Broadway Danny Rose – Woody Allen
• 1986: Witness * – Pamela Wallace, William Kelley and Earl W. Wallace
• 1987: Hannah and Her Sisters * – Woody Allen
• 1988: Moonstruck * – John Patrick Shanley
• 1989: Bull Durham – Ron Shelton

Best Adapted Screenplay

• 1985: The Killing Fields – Bruce Robinson
• 1986: Prizzi's Honor – Richard Condon and Janet Roach
• 1987: A Room with a View * – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
• 1988: Roxanne – Steve Martin
• 1989: Dangerous Liaisons * – Christopher Hampton

1990s

Best Original Screenplay

• 1990: Crimes and Misdemeanors – Woody Allen
• 1991: Avalon – Barry Levinson
• 1992: Thelma & Louise * – Callie Khouri
• 1993: The Crying Game * – Neil Jordan
• 1994: The Piano * – Jane Campion
• 1995: Four Weddings and a Funeral – Richard Curtis

Best Adapted Screenplay

• 1990: Driving Miss Daisy * – Alfred Uhry
• 1991: Dances with Wolves * – Michael Blake
• 1992: The Silence of the Lambs * – Ted Tally
• 1993: The Player – Michael Tolkin
• 1994: Schindler's List * – Steven Zaillian
• 1995: Forrest Gump * – Eric Roth

Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

• 1996: Braveheart – Randall Wallace
• 1997: Fargo * – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
• 1998: As Good as It Gets – Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks
• 1999: Shakespeare in Love * – Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard

Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

• 1996: Sense and Sensibility * – Emma Thompson
• 1997: Sling Blade * – Billy Bob Thornton
• 1998: L.A. Confidential * – Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson
• 1999: Out of Sight – Scott Frank

2000s

Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

• 2000: American Beauty * – Alan Ball
• 2001: You Can Count On Me – Kenneth Lonergan
• 2002: Gosford Park * – Julian Fellowes

Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

• 2000: Election – Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
• 2001: Traffic * – Stephen Gaghan
• 2002: A Beautiful Mind * – Akiva Goldsman

Best Original Screenplay

• 2003: Bowling for Columbine – Michael Moore
• 2004: Lost in Translation * – Sofia Coppola
• 2005: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind * – Charlie Kaufman, Michael Gondry, and Pierre Bismuth
• 2006: Crash * – Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco
• 2007: Little Miss Sunshine * – Michael Arndt
• 2008: Juno * – Diablo Cody
• 2009: Milk * – Dustin Lance Black

Best Adapted Screenplay

• 2003: The Hours – David Hare
• 2004: American Splendor – Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman
• 2005: Sideways * – Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
• 2006: Brokeback Mountain * – Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana
• 2007: The Departed * – William Monahan
• 2008: No Country for Old Men * – Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
• 2009: Slumdog Millionaire * – Simon Beaufoy

Outstanding Achievement In Videogame Writing

• 2009: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – Haden Blackman, Shawn Pitman, John Stafford and Cameron Suey

2010s

Best Original Screenplay

• 2010: The Hurt Locker * – Mark Boal
• 2011: Inception – Christopher Nolan
• 2012: Midnight in Paris * – Woody Allen
• 2013: Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal
• 2014: Her * – Spike Jonze
• 2015: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness
• 2016: Spotlight * – Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer

Best Adapted Screenplay

• 2010: Up in the Air – Jason Reitman
• 2011: The Social Network * – Aaron Sorkin
• 2012: The Descendants * – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash
• 2013: Argo * – Chris Terrio
• 2014: Captain Phillips – Billy Ray
• 2015: The Imitation Game * – Graham Moore
• 2016: The Big Short * – Adam McKay and Charles Randolph

Outstanding Achievement In Videogame Writing

• 2010: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Amy Hennig
• 2011: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – Patrice Desliets, Jeffrey Yohalem, Corey May
• 2012: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception – Amy Hennig
• 2013: Assassin's Creed III: Liberation – Richard Farrese, Jill Murray
• 2014: The Last of Us – Neil Druckmann
• 2015: The Last of Us: Left Behind – Neil Druckmann
• 2016: Rise of the Tomb Raider – John Stafford, Cameron Suey, Rhianna Pratchett, Philip Gelatt

See also

• WGA script registration service
• WGA screenwriting credit system
• 1960 Writers Guild of America strike
• 1988 Writers Guild of America strike
• International Affiliation of Writers Guilds
• 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

References

Unannotated references

External links

• Writers Guild of America Award at the Internet Movie Database
• Writers Guild of America, West website
• Writers Guild of America, East website
• Writers Guild of America awards list