Writers and Sound Editors Announce Annual Awards

Oscar night is less than a week away and two more movie guilds announced their awards over the weekend with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) following the other guilds by awarding Ben Affleck’s Argo for its adapted screenplay by Chris Terrio. Mark Boal’s original screenplay for Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty won in that category.

Meanwhile, the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) gave out their 2013 Golden Reel Awards for sound editing with Ang Lee’s Life of Pi taking two awards, one for its music sound editing and another for its dialogue and ADR (automatic dialogue replacement). Les Misérables won an award for music sound editing in a musical while the James Bond movie Skyfall won for sound effects and foley.

Malik Bendjelloul’s documentary Searching for Sugar Man continued to win honors with the WGA awarding its screenplay.

“Breaking Bad,” “Louie” and “Girls” were honored by the WGA in some of their television writing categories. “Fringe,” “Smash,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Newsroom” and “American Horror Story” were among the television shows that received Golden Reel awards.

Wreck-It Ralph won a Golden Reel Award for sound editing in an animated motion picture while Jacques Audiard’s Rust & Bone received a sound editing award in the foreign language category.

What does this mean for Oscar night? Argo‘s win in the adapted screenplay category at the WGAs helps bolster its support leading into Oscar night, while Zero Dark Thirty could get a boost from its WGA win although it didn’t have to face Tarantino’s Django Unchained as it does on Oscar night since that was ineligible for the Writers Guild Awards.

As far as sound editing, it does give Life of Pi somewhat of an advantage in that often difficult Oscar category although that category is voted on by the full Academy, not just sound editors, and they usually give it to the movie with the loudest sound effects which in this case would be Skyfall.

The Oscar ballot deadline is tomorrow, February 19, at 5pm, so all of this past weekend’s awards could influence Academy voters.

You can read the full press release from the Writers Guild Awards below including the list of full winners:

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) tonight announced the winners of the 2013 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing at simultaneous ceremonies at the JW Marriott L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles and the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City.

SCREEN WINNERS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Zero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendjelloul; Sony Pictures Classics

TELEVISION 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

Louie, Written by Pamela Adlon, Vernon Chatman, Louis C.K.; FX

NEW SERIES

Girls, Written by Judd Apatow, Lesley Arfin, Lena Dunham, Sarah Heyward, Bruce Eric Kaplan, Jenni Konner, Deborah Schoeneman, Dan Sterling; HBO

EPISODIC DRAMA

“The Other Woman” (Mad Men), Written by Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner; AMC

EPISODIC COMEDY

“Virgin Territory” (Modern Family), Written by Elaine Ko; ABC

LONG FORM – ORIGINAL

Hatfields & McCoys, Nights Two and Three, Teleplay by Ted Mann and Ronald Parker, Story by Bill Kerby and Ted Mann; History Channel

LONG FORM – ADAPTED

Game Change, Written by Danny Strong, Based on the book by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann; HBO

ANIMATION

“Ned ’N’ Edna’s Blend Agenda” (The Simpsons), Written by Jeff Westbrook; Fox

COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES

Portlandia, Writers: Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Karey Dornetto, Jonathan Krisel,

Bill Oakley; IFC

COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS

66th Annual Tony Awards, Written by Dave Boone; Special Material by Paul Greenberg; Opening and Closing Songs by David Javerbaum, Adam Schlesinger; CBS

DAYTIME DRAMA

The Young and the Restless, Written by Amanda Beall, Jeff Beldner, Susan Dansby, Janice Ferri Esser, Jay Gibson, Scott Hamner, Marla Kanelos, Natalie Minardi Slater, Beth Milstein, Michael Montgomery, Anne Schoettle, Linda Schreiber, Sarah K. Smith, Christopher J. Whitesell, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS

CHILDREN’S – EPISODIC & SPECIALS

“The Good Sport” (Sesame Street); Written by Christine Ferraro; PBS

CHILDREN’S – LONG FORM OR SPECIAL

Girl vs. Monster, Teleplay by Annie DeYoung and Ron McGee, Story by Annie DeYoung; Disney Channel

DOCUMENTARY – CURRENT EVENTS

“Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode One” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria; PBS

DOCUMENTARY – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS

“The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time” (Nova), Telescript by Randall MacLowry, Story by Joseph McMaster and Randall MacLowry; PBS

NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“Tragedy In Colorado: The Movie Theatre Massacre,” Written by Lisa Ferri, Joel Siegel; ABC News

NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“The Ghost of Joe McCarthy” (Moyers & Company), Written by Bill Moyers, Michael Winship; Thirteen/ WNET

RADIO WINNERS

NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED OR BREAKING REPORT

“World News This Year 2011,” Written by Darren Reynolds; ABC News Radio

NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“Dishin Digital,” Written by Robert Hawley; WCBS-AM

PROMOTIONAL WRITING AND GRAPHIC ANIMATION WINNERS

ON-AIR PROMOTION (RADIO OR TELEVISION)

“Partners,” Written by Dan A. Greenberger; CBS

TELEVISION GRAPHIC ANIMATION

“The Oscars” (Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood), Animation by Bob Pook; CBS

VIDEOGAME WRITING WINNER

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING

Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, Scriptwriting by Richard Farrese, Jill Murray; Ubisoft

NEW MEDIA WRITING WINNERS

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING ORIGINAL NEW MEDIA

“The Compromises, Episode 1,” “The Pest, Episode 3,” The Snake, Episode 4,” “The Bonding, Episode 6,” “The Future, Episode 7/Series Finale” (Jack in a Box), Written by Michael Cyril Creighton; jackinaboxsite.com

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING DERIVATIVE NEW MEDIA

“Hide And Seek,” “Keys to the Kingdom,” “The Chosen Ones,” “Parting Shots” (The Walking Dead: Cold Storage), Written by John Esposito; amctv.com

The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio and promotional writing, and graphic animation. The awards were presented jointly in all competitive categories during simultaneous ceremonies on Sunday, February 17, 2013, in Los Angeles at the JW Marriott L.A. LIVE and in New York at the B.B. King Blues Club.

Emmy-winning Castle TV star Nathan Fillion hosted the West Coast WGA ceremony, which was executive produced by Cort Casady. Presenters who appeared at the L.A. show included:

two-time Academy Award-nominee and Golden Globe-winning actress Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Modern Family co-stars, two-time Emmy-winning actress Julie Bowen and ALMA Award-winning actor Rico Rodriguez, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Jane Lynch (Glee), Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), Golden Globe-nominated actor Tobey Maguire (The Great Gatsby), two-time Academy Award-nominated actress Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook), Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actress Kate Walsh (Private Practice, Grey’s Anatomy), three-time Writers Guild and nine-time Emmy Award-nominated actress-writer Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) and her Parks and Recreation co-star, Independent Spirit Award-nominated actor Adam Scott, Emmy-nominated actress Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad), Emmy-nominated actor Walton Goggins (Justified), actor Alfred Molina (Monday Mornings), Emmy and Writers Guild Award-winning Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, ALMA Award-winning actress Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), Emmy-winning actor Sam Waterston (The Newsroom), three-time Emmy-winning actor Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), actor Craig Robinson (The Office), writer/actor/director Mark Duplass (The Mindy Project), screenwriters Jon Lucas & Scott Moore (The Hangover), and Writers Guild Award-nominated Key and Peele co-creators/co-stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.

Attendees at the WGAW’s awards ceremony included: James Gandolfini, Francis Ford Coppola, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, T. Bone Burnett, Jay Roach, Congressman Henry Waxman, and L.A. Councilmember Steve Koretz.

Versatile television and screen actor Richard Kind hosted the East Coast WGA ceremony, which was executive produced by Craig Shemin and Bonnie Datt. Presenters who appeared at the New York show included: Academy Award-nominated writer Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild), writer and actor Jonathan Ames (Bored to Death), stand-up comedian and writer W. Kamau Bell (Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell), Sundance Audience Award-winning actor and writer Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk With Me), Emmy-winning actor Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie), Academy Award-nominated writer Scott Frank (Minority Report), actress and writer Gina Gershon (Killer Joe), actress and CBS News Sunday Morning contributor Nancy Giles (China Beach), stand-up comedienne and actress Lisa Lampanelli (Not Fade Away), Emmy-winning actress and writer Sonia Manzano (Sesame Street), Emmy-winning producer and writer Mike Reiss (The Simpsons), producer and writer Liz Tuccillo (Smash and Sex and the City) and author Meg Wolitzer (The Interestings, This Is Your Life).

Attendees at the WGAE’s awards ceremony included: Fred Armisen Talia Balsam, Amy Berg, Eleanor Bergstein, Jacob Bernstein, Louis C.K., Lena Dunham, Terry George, Gina Gionfriddo, Steve Higgins, Alex Karpovsky, Brian Koppelman, Franklin Leonard, David Magee, John McLaughlin and Matthew Quick.

The Writers Guild of America, West presented special honors to: Tom Stoppard – Laurel Award for Screen for lifetime achievement in screenwriting; Joshua Brand & John Falsey – Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television for lifetime achievement in television writing; Tony Kushner (Lincoln) – Paul Selvin Award for written work which embodies constitutional rights and civil liberties; past WGAW President Daniel Petrie, Jr. – Morgan Cox Award for exemplary service to the Guild; Everybody Loves Raymond Creator Phil Rosenthal – Valentine Davies Award for community service and humanitarian efforts; Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Ryûzô Kikushima, and Hideo Oguni – Jean Renoir Award for Screenwriting Achievement, given to international screenwriters who have advanced the literature of motion pictures and made outstanding contributions to the profession of screenwriter.

The Writers Guild of America, East presented special honors to: David Koepp – Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement in Writing, and Bob Schneider – Richard E. Jablow Award for devoted service to the Guild. The Guild also presented a special tribute to the late Nora Ephron.

Credits for the WGAW’s West Coast show included: Executive Producer Cort Casady, Director Joe DeMaio, Talent Producer Carole Propp, Head Writer Dave Boone, Writers Beth Armogida and Cort Casady, Coordinating Producer Michelle Robinson, Co-Producer Aaron Cooke, and Production Designer John Calkins.

Credits for the WGAE’s East Coast show included: Executive Producer and Head Writer Craig Shemin, Executive Producer Bonnie Datt, Consulting Producer David Steven Cohen, and Producer Larry Bogush. The show’s writers included: David Steven Cohen, Bonnie Datt, John Marshall and Frank Santopadre. Additional material provided by Tim Carvell, Travon Free, Dan McCoy and Sam Means.

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