The already highly decorated “Sinners” were among the top winners at the 78th Writers Guild Awards on Sunday in New York City.
The horror film, directed and written by Ryan Coogler, won the original screenplay award, and its biggest competitor for the best picture Oscar, Paul Thomas Anderson's “One Battle After Another,” took the adapted screenplay award. “Sinners” star Miles Caton accepted the award for the former, and “One Battle” cast member Shayna McHayle accepted the award for the latter.
“Sinners” star Miles Caton and “One Battle After Another” actress Shayna McHale accepted the awards for original and adapted screenplay, respectively.
(Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Writers Guild of America East)
In the television field, “The Pitt” caused a sensation with awards for drama series, new series and episodic dramas.
In terms of lifetime achievement honors, Robert Smigel presented Stephen Colbert with the Walter Bernstein Award for criticizing the power elite on his late-night show, the final episode of which will air in May. Terry George received the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Professional Achievement from Don Cheadle, and Diana Son received the Richard B. Jablow Award for dedicated service to the Guild from last year's winner, Kathy McGee.
Most years, the Writers Guild holds simultaneous ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles. But the East Coast edition became a solo affair after WGA West canceled its ceremony amid an ongoing strike by its own staff union, who claimed that guild management had “monitored workers for union activity, fired union supporters, and engaged in bad-faith superficial negotiations.”
The ceremony in Los Angeles was scheduled to honor James Cameron with the Laurel Award for achievement in screenwriting, Don Reo with the Laurel Paddy Chayefsky Award for achievement in television writing and Mstyslav Chernov with the Paul Selvin Award for “2,000 Meters to Andriivka,” which won the documentary screenwriting award Sunday night.
While the WGA West board of directors said the ceremony was postponed to give members “a hassle-free celebration of their accomplishments,” the Writers Guild Staff Union characterized the cancellation as an attempt to sow division between management and unionized staff, which is ill-timed given upcoming contraction negotiations between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood studios and broadcasters. In 2023, the WGA began the longest strike in its history, lasting 148 days.
Emmy-nominated comedian and producer Roy Wood Jr., who this year hosted the WGA's East Coast ceremony for the third time, during his opening monologue offered (jokingly) his predictions for the negotiations, which begin later this month.
“First, I predict someone will lose their s—,” the host said. “Cooler heads will prevail, and then someone else will lose their s–t.”
Here is the full list of Writers Guild Award winners:
Original script: “Sinners,” written by Ryan Coogler; Warner brother. Photos
Adapted script: “One Battle After Another”, screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson, film story by Paul Thomas Anderson, inspired by the novel “Vineland” by Thomas Pynchon; Warner Bros. Photos
Documentary script: “2,000 meters to Andriivka”, written by Mstyslav Chernov; Top of the line features
drama series: “The Pitt,” written by Cynthia Adarkwa, Simran Baidwan, Valerie Chu, R. Scott Gemmill, Elyssa Gershman, Joe Sachs, Noah Wyle; maximum HBO
comedy series: “The Studio”, written by Evan Goldberg, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Frida Perez, Seth Rogen; AppleTV
New series: “The Pitt,” written by Cynthia Adarkwa, Simran Baidwan, Valerie Chu, R. Scott Gemmill, Elyssa Gershman, Joe Sachs, Noah Wyle; maximum HBO
Limited series: “Dying for Sex,” written by Sheila Callaghan, Harris Danow, Madeleine George, Elizabeth Meriwether, Amelia Roper, Kim Rosenstock, Sasha Stewart, Sabrina Wu, Keisha Zollar; FX/Hulu
TV and movie streaming: “Deep Cover,” written by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow; main video
Animation: “Shira Can't Cook” (“Long Story Short”), written by Mehar Sethi; netflix
episodic drama: “7:00 AM” (“The Pitt”), written by R. Scott Gemmill; maximum HBO
episodic comedy: “Prelude” (“The Righteous Gemstones”), written by John Carcieri, Jeff Fradley, Danny R. McBride; maximum HBO
Comedy/Variety Series: Talk or Sketch: “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” lead writers: Daniel O'Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali; writers: Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Ryan Ken, Sofia Manfredi, John Oliver, Taylor Kay Phillips, Chrissy Shackelford; maximum HBO
Comedy/Variety Specials: “Marc Maron: In Panic”, written by Marc Maron; maximum HBO
Contest and public participation.: “Celebrity Jeopardy!”, head writer: Bobby Patton; writers: Kyle Beakley, Michael Davies, Terence Gray, Amy Ozols, Tim Siedell, David Levinson-Wilk; alphabet
daytime drama: “The Young and the Restless,” Associate Lead Writers: Jeff Beldner, Marla Kanelos, Dave Ryan; writers: Susan Banks, Amanda L. Beall, Marin Gazzaniga, Rebecca McCarty, Madeleine Phillips; CBS/Paramount+
Children's episodes, long format and specials.: “When we lose someone” (“Tab Time”), written by Sean Presant; YouTube
Short Form Streaming: “The Rabbit Hole with Jimmy Kimmel”, writers: Jimmy Kimmel and Jesse Joyce; YouTube
Documentary script: current events: “Trump's Power and the Rule of Law” (“Frontline”), written by Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser; PBS
Documentary script (except current events): “Unsung Hero: Walter White and the NAACP” (“American Experience”), written by Rob Rapley; PBS
News script: periodic programming, newsletter or breaking report: “Devastating Texas Floods” (“World News Tonight with David Muir”), written by David Muir, Karen Mooney and Dave Bloch; ABC News
News script: analysis, report or commentary: “Remembering the Palestinian journalists murdered by Israeli forces” (“Ayman”), written by Lisa Salinas; MSNBC
digital news: “Isolated boarding school promised to help troubled girls. Former students say they were abused,” written by Sebastian Murdock and Taiyler Mitchell; HuffPost
Radio/Audio Documentary: “Jerry Lewis' Lost Holocaust Clown Movie” (“Decoder Ring”), written by Max Freedman; Board
Radio/Audio News Script – Regular programming, newsletter or breaking report: “Breaking News from ABC News Radio,” written by Robert Hawley; Radio ABC News
Radio/audio news script: analysis, report or commentary: “The Life and Legacy of Jimmy Carter,” written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
On-air promotion: “CBS Comedy,” written by Dan Greenberger; C.B.S.
Times staff writers Stacy Perman and Cerys Davies contributed to this report.
