2012 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 2012 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing at simultaneous ceremonies at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City.

DRAMA SERIES

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

COMEDY SERIES

Modern Family, Written by Cindy Chupack, Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Carol Leifer, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Brad Walsh, Ilana Wernick, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker; ABC

NEW SERIES

Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Gideon Raff, Meredith Stiehm; Showtime

EPISODIC DRAMA *TIE*

“Box Cutter” (Breaking Bad), Written by Vince Gilligan; AMC

“The Good Soldier” (Homeland), Written by Henry Bromell; Showtime

EPISODIC COMEDY

“Caught in the Act” (Modern Family), Written by Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman; ABC

LONG FORM – ORIGINAL

Cinema Verite, Written by David Seltzer; HBO

LONG FORM – ADAPTED

Too Big to Fail, Written by Peter Gould, Based on the book written by Andrew Ross Sorkin; HBO

ANIMATION

“Homer the Father” (The Simpsons), Written by Joel H. Cohen; Fox

COMEDY / VARIETY – (INCLUDING TALK) SERIES

The Colbert Report, Writers: Michael Brumm, Stephen Colbert, Rich Dahm, Paul Dinello,  Eric Drysdale, Rob Dubbin, Glenn Eichler, Dan Guterman, Peter Gwinn, Jay Katsir, Barry Julien, Frank Lesser, Opus Moreschi, Tom Purcell, Meredith Scardino, Scott Sherman, Max Werner; Comedy Central

COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS

After the Academy Awards, Head Writers: Gary Greenberg, Molly McNearney; Writers: Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, John N. Huss, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Jimmy Kimmel, Jonathan Kimmel, Jacob Lentz, Danny Ricker, Richard G. Rosner; ABC

DAYTIME DRAMA

General Hospital, Written by Meg Bennett, Nathan Fissell, David Goldschmid, Robert Guza, Jr., Karen Harris, Elizabeth Korte, Mary Sue Price, Michele Val Jean, Susan Wald, Tracey Thomson; ABC

CHILDREN’S EPISODIC & SPECIALS

“Hero of the Shadows” (Supah Ninjas), Written by Leo Chu, Eric S. Garcia; Nickelodeon

DOCUMENTARY – CURRENT EVENTS

“Top Secret America” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser; PBS

DOCUMENTARY – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS

“Wiki Secrets” (Frontline), Written by Marcela Gaviria & Martin Smith; PBS

NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN OR BREAKING REPORT

“Educating Sergeant Pantzke” (Frontline), Written by John Maggio, Martin Smith; PBS

NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“Doctor Hot Spot” (Frontline), Written by Thomas Jennings; PBS

SCREEN WINNERS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings; Fox Searchlight

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Better This World, Written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega; Loteria Films

RADIO WINNERS

DOCUMENTARY

2010 Year in Review, Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio News

NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED OR BREAKING

Portraits of a Terrorist: Who is Osama Bin Laden?, Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio News

NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE OR COMMENTARY

Justice in a Time of Terror, Written by Andrew Cohen & Rob Mank; CBS Radio News

PROMOTIONAL WRITING AND GRAPHIC ANIMATION WINNERS

ON-AIR PROMOTION (RADIO OR TELEVISION)

“Fairytale” (Today Show), Written by Carol M. Sullivan; NBC News

TELEVISION GRAPHIC ANIMATION

“CBS News Animations” (CBS News), Graphic Animation by David Rosen; CBS News

VIDEOGAME WRITING WINNER

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Written by Amy Hennig; Sony Computer Entertainment

NEW MEDIA WRITING WINNERS

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING – ORIGINAL NEW MEDIA

“Episode 1,” “Episode 2,” “Episode 4,” “Episode 5,” “Episode 6” (Aim High), Written by Heath Corson & Richie Keen; cambio.com/aim-high

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING – DERIVATIVE NEW MEDIA

“A New Day,” “Family Matters,” “Neighborly Advice,” “Step Mom,” “Everything Dies” (The Walking Dead), Teleplay by John Esposito, Story by John Esposito and Greg Nicotero; amc.com

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New Girl star Zooey Deschanel and Community/The Soup star Joel McHale co-hosted the West Coast WGA show, which was executive produced by Spike Jones, Jr. Presenters who appeared at the Hollywood show included: Academy Award-nominated actresses Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer (The Help), Blue Bloods star Tom Selleck with Jesse Stone TV movies co-writer Michael Brandman, Parks & Recreation star Amy Poehler with Parks & Recreation co-creator Michael Schur, Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston with Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, 2 Broke Girls star Kat Dennings with 2 Broke Girls co-creator Michael Patrick King, Web Therapy star/co-creator Lisa Kudrow with Web Therapy co-creator Don Roos, actor-comic Patton Oswalt (Young Adult) with director-screenwriter Brad Bird (MI4: Ghost Protocol, Ratatouille), Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner with Mad Men co-star Kiernan Shipka, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry with Desperate Housewives co-star Brenda Strong, Luck creator David Milch, Emmy-winning writer Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights), Emmy-winning animation writer Mike Reiss (The Simpsons), and the Emmy-winning comic writing dynasty of Academy Awards telecasts writer Buz Kohan, Will & Grace co-creator David Kohan, and Weeds creator Jenji Kohan, as well as director David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Academy and Writers Guild Award-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis (Crash) and Emmy and Writers Guild Award-nominated writer Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life) via special videotaped presentations. Also in attendance at the WGAW’s Hollywood ceremony were: Amanda Peet, Paul Dooley, Andy Richter, Twilight co-star Jackson Rathbone, This Mean’s War director McG, and Columbia Picture Chairman Amy Pascal, among others.

Actress and comedienne Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live) hosted the East Coast WGA show, which was executive produced by John Marshall. Presenters who appeared at the New York show included actor and writer Jonathan Ames (Bored to Death), late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, act
ress and writer Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids), writer and comedian Seth Meyers (Saturday Night Live), comedian and writer Jon Benjamin (Jon Benjamin has a Van and Archer), Emmy and Peabody-winning journalist, CBS News and 60 Minutes Correspondent Steve Kroft, Oscar-winning writer Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious), award-winning screenwriter, producer and CEO of Focus Features, writer James Schamus (The Ice Storm), Boardwalk Empire writer and creator Terence Winter, actress Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek: Voyager), writers/directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (American Splendor), and Peabody award winning news commentator and actress Nancy Giles (CBS “Sunday Morning”). Also in attendance at the WGAE’s New York City ceremony were: actress and comedienne Tiny Fey, (30 Rock) Bridesmaid director Paul Feig, actor, comedian and writer Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live), actor Mandy Patinkin (Homeland), talk show host Dick Cavett, daytime star Eilene Kristen and the writers of 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report.

The Writers Guild of America, West presented special honors to: Marshall Herskovitz & Edward Zwick – Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television for lifetime achievement in television writing; Eric Roth – Laurel Award for Screen for lifetime achievement in screenwriting; Tate Taylor (The Help) – Paul Selvin Award for written work which embodies constitutional rights and civil liberties; former WGAW President (2005-2009) Patric M. Verrone – Morgan Cox Award for exemplary service to the Guild.

The Writers Guild of America, East presented special honors to: Judd Apatow – Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence; Claire Labine – Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Writing; Susan Kim – Richard E. Jablow Award for devoted service to the Guild; David Shultz – John Merriman Award for Study of Broadcast Journalism at American University. In addition, the Writers Guild of America, East Foundation presented the Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting to Hailey O’Brien.

Credits for the West Coast ceremony included: executive producer Spike Jones, Jr., director Chris Donovan, talent producer Carole Propp, producer-head writer Guy Nicolucci, line producer Cynthia Ukas-Bradley, and production designer Scott Storey.

Credits for the East Coast show included: executive producer and head writer John Marshall, consulting producers David Steven Cohen and Craig Shemin, producer Larry Bogush, supervising writer Frank Santopadre, and talent producer Bonnie Datt. The show’s writers included: Alex Baze, Tim Carvell, David Steven Cohen, Bruce Cherry, Bonnie Datt, Gabe Feller-Cohen, Sean Jaffe, Catie Lazarus, Craig Shemin and Courtney Simon.