By Jessica Herndon, Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Spike Jonze's "Her" and Billy Ray's "Captain Phillips" have earned top screenplay honors from the Writers Guild of America.
Winning the prize for original screenplay on Saturday was "Her," Jonze's futuristic exploration of a man's relationship with his computer starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson as the voice of an operating system.
The victor of the guild's adapted screenplay went to Ray for "Captain Phillips," the Somali pirate saga based on the book "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea" by Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty. The film, nominated for a best picture Oscar, stars Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi, a limo driver-turned actor, who earned a supporting actor Oscar nom.
Sarah Polley won the documentary award for "Stories We Tell," a film about her parents and how the filmmaker was the product of an extramarital affair.
"Her" has picked up a number of accolades over the course of awards season, including the Golden Globe for best screenplay, Critics' Choice award for best original screenplay, and the AFI award for movie of the year.
Jonze's film is nominated for five Academy Awards, including best original screenplay and best picture. This guild victory gives the computer love tale an edge in the journey to the Oscars.
Among the guild's TV winners:
Drama series: "Breaking Bad," written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz and Moira Walley-Beckett.
Comedy series: "Veep," written by Simon Blackwell, Roger Drew, Sean Gray, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, Georgia Pritchett, David Quantick, Tony Roche and Will Smith.
New series: "House of Cards," written by Kate Barnow, Rick Cleveland, Sam Forman, Gina Gionfriddo, Keith Huff, Sarah Treem and Beau Willimon.
Alec Baldwin Urges Judge To Stand By Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Case In “Rust” Shooting
Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Friday to stand by her decision to skuttle his trial and dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin halfway through a trial in July based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be revived once any appeals of the decision are exhausted.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey recently asked the judge to reconsider, arguing that there were insufficient facts and that Baldwin's due process rights had not been violated.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on "Rust," was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
The case-ending evidence was ammunition that was brought into the sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers alleged that they "buried" it and filed a successful motion to dismiss the case.
In her decision to dismiss the Baldwin case, Marlowe Sommer described "egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct" by law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as false testimony about physical evidence by a witness during the trial.
Defense counsel says that prosecutors tried to establish a link... Read More