HBO's "Succession," "Barry," "Watchmen" among marquee television winners
“Parasite” has continued its march through Hollywood’s awards season by winning the best original screenplay honor at Saturday’s Writers Guild Awards.
The Nazi satire “Jojo Rabbit” took home the best adapted screenplay honor.
The Writers Guild Awards were roughly a week before the Academy Awards, where both films will compete in the best picture category.
The “Parasite” win went to Bong Joon Ho, who is also the film’s director, and Han Jin Won. Taika Waititi won for “Jojo Rabbit,” a film he also directed and starred in.
HBO swept the top television awards, winning the drama category for “Succession,” the comedy category for “Barry” and the best new series honor of “Watchmen.”
The premium cable network’s limited series also won the original long form prize, while FX’s “Fosse/Verdon” won the adapted long form award.
Saturday’s awards were handed out in concurrent ceremonies in New York and Beverly Hills, California.
Here’s a rundown of the evening’s winners:
FILM WINNERS
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Parasite, Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, Story by Bong Joon Ho; Neon
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jojo Rabbit, Screenplay by Taika Waititi, Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens; Fox Searchlight
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS
DRAMA SERIES
Succession, Written by Jesse Armstrong, Alice Birch, Jon Brown, Jonathan Glatzer, Cord Jefferson, Mary Laws, Lucy Prebble, Georgia Pritchett, Tony Roche, Gary Shteyngart, Susan Soon He Stanton, Will Tracy; HBO
COMEDY SERIES
Barry, Written by Alec Berg, Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Emily Heller, Jason Kim, Taofik Kolade, Elizabeth Sarnoff; HBO
NEW SERIES
Watchmen, Written by Lila Byock, Nick Cuse, Christal Henry, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Cord Jefferson, Jeff Jensen, Claire Kiechel, Damon Lindelof, Janine Nabers, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Tom Spezialy, Carly Wray; HBO
ORIGINAL LONG FORM
Chernobyl, Written by Craig Mazin; HBO
ADAPTED LONG FORM
Fosse/Verdon, Written by Debora Cahn, Joel Fields, Ike Holter, Thomas Kail, Steven Levenson, Charlotte Stoudt, Tracey Scott Wilson, Based on the book Fosse by Sam Wasson; FX Networks
ORIGINAL SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
Special, Written by Ryan O’Connell; Netflix
ANIMATION
“Thanksgiving of Horror” (The Simpsons), Written by Dan Vebber; Fox
EPISODIC DRAMA
“Tern Haven” (Succession), Written by Will Tracy; HBO
EPISODIC COMEDY
“Pilot” (Dead to Me), Written by Liz Feldman; Netflix
COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Senior Writers: Dan Gurewitch, Jeff Maurer, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner Writers: Tim Carvell, Daniel O’Brien, John Oliver, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO
COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents: Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Part 2, Head Writer Melinda Taub, Writing Supervised by Joe Grossman, Nicole Silverberg, Writers Samantha Bee, Kristen Bartlett, Pat Cassels, Sean Crespo, Mike Drucker, Mathan Erhardt, Lewis Friedman, Miles Kahn, Sahar Rizvi, Special Material by Allison Silverman; TBS
COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Writers: Jeremy Beiler, Zach Kanin, Tim Robinson, John Solomon; Netflix
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, Head Writer Bret Calvert, Writers Seth Harrington, Rosemarie DiSalvo; Nickelodeon
DAYTIME DRAMA
The Young and the Restless, Writers: Amanda L. Beall, Jeff Beldner, Sara Bibel, Matt Clifford, Annie Compton, Christopher Dunn, Sara Endsley, Janice Ferri Esser, Mellinda Hensley, Lynn Martin, Anne Schoettle, Natalie Minardi Slater, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
“Remember Black Elvis?” (Family Reunion), Written by Howard Jordan, Jr.; Netflix
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Trump’s Trade War” (Frontline), Written by Rick Young; PBS
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Right To Fail” (Frontline), Written by Tom Jennings; PBS
NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Terror in America: The Massacres in El Paso and Dayton” (Special Edition of the CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell), Written by Jerry Cipriano, Joe Clines, Bob Meyer; CBS News
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Fly Like An Eagle” (60 Minutes), Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News
DIGITAL NEWS
“Stories About My Brother,” Written by Prachi Gupta, Jezebel.com
RADIO/AUDIO WINNERS
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT—REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Hail and Farewell: Remembering Some Headline Makers,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“The Enduring Legacy of Jackie Kennedy Onassis,” Written by Dianne E. James, Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
PROMOTIONAL WINNER
ON-AIR PROMOTION
“Star Trek: Picard” and “All Rise Promos,” Written by Jessica Katzenstein; CBS
SPECIAL HONORS
Writers Guild of America West presented several honorary special achievement and service awards at its West Coast ceremony. This year’s honorees included: Trailblazing screenwriter-director Nancy Meyers ("Private Benjamin," "Something’s Gotta Give," "It’s Complicated"), who received WGAW’s Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement; Emmy-winning, pioneering TV comedy writer Merrill Markoe ("The David Letterman Show," "Late Night with David Letterman"), who received WGAW’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement); television creator-director-producer Brad Falchuk ("The Politician," "Glee," "Pose"), who received WGAW’s Valentine Davies Award, in recognition of his positive impact on young writers to increase literacy and promote self-esteem through arts education in schools; and Writers Guild and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Charles Randolph ("The Big Short"), who received WGAW’s Paul Selvin Award for his "Bombshell" screenplay, an incisive retelling of Fox News’ sexual harassment scandal in the #MeToo era.
The Writers Guild of America, East presented three honorary awards at the New York ceremony. Richard Price, the Academy Award-nominated writer of "The Color of Money," the co-creator of "The Night Of," and a writer for "The Wire" and "The Deuce," was presented with the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement. Writer and actress Paula Pell, who has won five Writers Guild Awards and received another nine nominations for her work at "Saturday Night Live," in addition to writing credits for "30 Rock," "A.P. Bio" and the feature film "Sisters," was presented with the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence and Mentorship. And writer, WGAE Council member and co-chair of the WGAE Committee for Inclusion and Equity Lisa Takeuchi Cullen ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") was presented the Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More