‘Jojo Rabbit’ and ‘Parasite’ Win Top Writers Guild Awards (Complete List of Winners)
“Jojo Rabbit” has been named the best adapted screenplay of 2019 by the Writers Guild of America, which handed out its annual awards at simultaneous shows in Los Angeles and New York. “Parasite” has won the award as the best original screenplay, making it the first non-English-language feature to win a WGA award.
The film awards, which are traditionally held until the end of the show, were the first two categories of the night and were announced at the New York ceremony before the one in Los Angeles. Most of the nominees in those categories were heading to London for Sunday’s BAFTA Awards, so the unusual timing allowed them more time to get there from New York.
Because the Writers Guild limits eligibility to scripts written under the guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement or under the contracts of several allied international guilds, some significant Oscar contenders are always missing from the WGA nominees each year. This year, Quentin Tarantino’s screenplay for “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” considered one of the frontrunners in the Oscar race for Best Original Screenplay, was not eligible for a Writers Guild nomination.
Also Read: 'Little Women' Wins Scripter Award for Adapted Screenplay
Since the WGA adapted categories that match the Oscar writing categories in 1984, a little less than two-thirds of Writers Guild winners have gone on to win the Oscar. About half the time, one of the Writers Guild winners also takes the Academy’s Best Picture prize.
Last year, neither film category matched the Academy’s choice, with “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” winning the WGA’s adapted-screenplay prize over Oscar winner “BlacKkKlansman” and “Eighth Grade” winning in original screenplay over “Green Book.”
“Jojo Rabbit” and “Parasite” are both Oscar nominees, but the former is facing tough competition from “Little Women” and “The Irishman,” and the latter from “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” and “Marriage Story.”
Alex Gibney’s “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley” won the award for documentary screenplay.
In the television categories, “Succession” won the award for drama series, “Barry” won for comedy series and “Watchmen” won for a new series. “Chernobyl” won the original long-form award, while “Fosse/Verdon” won for a long-form adaptation.
The “Tern Haven” episode of “Succession” won for episodic drama, while the “Dead to Me” pilot won for episodic comedy.
Other TV winners included “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” “Special,” “The Simpsons,” “I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson,” “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee Presents Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Part 2,” “The Young and the Restless” and “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
The Writers Guild was the last of the four major Hollywood guilds to declare its winners, doing so only eight days before the Academy Awards. The Producers Guild and Directors Guild gave their top prizes to “1917,” while the Screen Actors Guild awarded its film-ensemble prize to “Parasite.”
The WGA, West gave out its awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, while the WGA, East held its ceremony at the Edison Ballroom in New York City.
Honorary awards presented by guilds included, in Los Angeles, the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement to Nancy Meyers, the Paddy Chayevsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement to Merrill Markoe, the Paul Selvin Award to Charles Randolph and the Valentine Davies Award to Brad Falchuk; and in New York, the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement to Richard Price, the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence to Paula Pell and the Richard B. Jablow Award to Lisa Takeuchi Cullen.
Also Read: The Oscars Homestretch: '1917' Is on Top as Voting Begins
Here is the complete list of nominees. Winners indicated by **WINNER.
Film categories
Original Screenplay
“1917,” Written by Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns; Universal Pictures
“Booksmart,” Written by Emily Halpern & Sarah Haskins and Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman; United Artists Releasing
“Knives Out,” Written by Rian Johnson; Lionsgate
“Marriage Story,” Written by Noah Baumbach; Netflix
“Parasite,” Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, Story by Bong Joon Ho; Neon **WINNER
Adapted Screenplay
“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster, Inspired by the Article “Can You Say … Hero?” by Tom Junod; TriStar Pictures
“The Irishman,” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian, Based upon the Book “I Heard You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt; Netflix
“Jojo Rabbit,” Screenplay by Taika Waititi, Based on the book “Caging Skies” by Christine Leunens; Fox Searchlight **WINNER
“Joker,” Written by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, Based on Characters from DC Comics; Warner Bros. Pictures
“Little Women,” Screenplay by Greta Gerwig, Based on the Novel by Louisa May Alcott; Sony Pictures
Documentary Screenplay
“Citizen K,” Written by Alex Gibney; Greenwich Entertainment
“Foster,” Written by Mark Jonathan Harris; HBO Documentary Films
“The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,” Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films **WINNER
“Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People,” Written by Robert Seidman & Oren Rudavsky; First Run Features
“The Kingmaker,” Written by Lauren Greenfield; Showtime Documentary Films
Also Read: 3 Reasons Why 'Parasite' Really Could Win Best Picture - And 1 Reason Why It Can't
Television categories
Drama Series
“The Crown,” Written by James Graham, David Hancock, Peter Morgan; Netflix
“The Handmaid’s Tale,” Written by Marissa Jo Cerar, Yahlin Chang, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Jacy Heldrich, John Herrera, Lynn Renee Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Eric Tuchman; Hulu
“Mindhunter,” Written by Pamela Cederquist, Joshua Donen, Marcus Gardley, Shaun Grant, Liz Hannah, Phillip Howze, Jason Johnson, Doug Jung, Colin Louro, Alex Metcalf, Courtenay Miles, Dominic Orlando, Joe Penhall, Ruby Rae Spiegel; Netflix
“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 **WINNER
“Watchmen,” Written by Lila Byock, Nick Cuse, Christal Henry, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Cord Jefferson, Jeff Jensen, Claire Kiechel, Damon Lindelof, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Tom Spezialy, Carly Wray; HBO
Comedy Series
“Barry,” Written by Alec Berg, Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Emily Heller, Jason Kim, Taofik Kolade, Elizabeth Sarnoff; HBO **WINNER
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Written by Katherine Fodor, Noah Gardenswartz, Daniel Goldfarb, Alison Leiby, Dan Palladino, Sono Patel, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Jordan Temple; Prime Video
“PEN15,” Written by Jeff Chan, Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Gabe Liedman, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Andrew Rhymer, Jessica Watson, Sam Zvibleman; Hulu
“Russian Doll,” Written by Jocelyn Bioh, Flora Birnbaum, Cirocco Dunlap, Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler, Tami Sagher, Allison Silverman; Netflix
“Veep,” Written by Gabrielle Allan-Greenberg, Rachel Axler, Emilia Barrosse, Ted Cohen, Jennifer Crittenden, Alex Gregory, Steve Hely, Peter Huyck, Erik Kenward, Billy Kimball, David Mandel, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Dan Mintz, Lew Morton, Dan O’Keefe, Georgia Pritchett, Leila Strachan; HBO
New Series
“Dead To Me,” Written by Rebecca Addelman, Njeri Brown, Liz Feldman, Kelly Hutchinson, Anthony King, Emma Rathbone, Kate Robin, Abe Sylvia; Netflix
“PEN15,” Written by Jeff Chan, Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Gabe Liedman, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Andrew Rhymer, Jessica Watson, Sam Zvibleman; Hulu
“Russian Doll,” Written by Jocelyn Bioh, Flora Birnbaum, Cirocco Dunlap, Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler, Tami Sagher, Allison Silverman; Netflix
“Watchmen,” Written by Lila Byock, Nick Cuse, Christal Henry, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Cord Jefferson, Jeff Jensen, Claire Kiechel, Damon Lindelof, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Tom Spezialy, Carly Wray; HBO **WINNER
“What We Do in the Shadows,” Written by Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Jemaine Clement, Josh Lieb, Iain Morris, Stefani Robinson, Duncan Sarkies, Marika Sawyer, Tom Scharpling, Paul Simms,Taika Waititi; FX Networks
Original Long Form
“Chernobyl,” Written by Craig Mazin; HBO **WINNER
“The Terror: Infamy,” Written by Max Borenstein, Alessandra DiMona, Shannon Goss, Steven Hanna, Naomi Iizuka, Benjamin Klein, Danielle Roderick, Tony Tost, Alexander Woo; AMC
“Togo,” Written by Tom Flynn; Disney+
“True Detective,” Written by Alessandra DiMona, Graham Gordy, Gabriel Hobson, David Milch, Nic Pizzolatto; HBO
Adapted Long Form
“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” Written by Vince Gilligan; Netflix
“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 **WINNER
“The Loudest Voice,” Written by John Harrington Bland, Laura Eason, Tom McCarthy, Alex Metcalf, Gabriel Sherman, Jennifer Stahl, Based on the Book The Loudest Voice in the Room and the New York Magazine Articles by Gabriel Sherman; Showtime
“Unbelievable,” Written by Michael Chabon, Susannah Grant, Becky Mode, Jennifer Schuur, Ayelet Waldman, Based on the Pro Publica & The Marshall Project article “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” and This American Life radio episode “Anatomy of Doubt;” Netflix
Original Short Form New Media
“After Forever,” Written by Michael Slade & Kevin Spirtas; Prime Video
“Special,” Written by Ryan O’Connell; Netflix **WINNER
Animation
“Bed, Bob & Beyond” (“Bob’s Burgers”), Written by Kelvin Yu; Fox
“The Gene Mile” (“Bob’s Burgers”), Written by Steven Davis; Fox
“Go Big or Go Homer” (“The Simpsons”), Written by John Frink; Fox
“A Horse Walks Into A Rehab” (“BoJack Horseman”), Written by Elijah Aron; Netflix
“Livin’ La Pura Vida” (“The Simpsons”), Written by Brian Kelley; Fox
“Thanksgiving of Horror” (“The Simpsons”), Written by Dan Vebber; Fox **WINNER
Episodic Drama
“407 Proxy Authentication Required” (“Mr. Robot”), Written by Sam Esmail; USA Network
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” (“Ray Donovan”), Written by Joshua Marston; Showtime
“Mirror Mirror” (“The OA”), Written by Dominic Orlando & Claire Kiechel; Netflix
“Moondust” (“The Crown”), Written by Peter Morgan; Netflix
“Our Little Island Girl” (“This Is Us”), Written by Eboni Freeman; NBC
“Tern Haven” (“Succession)”, Written by Will Tracy; HBO **WINNER
Episodic Comedy
“Here’s Where We Get Off” (“Orange Is the New Black”), Written by Jenji Kohan; Netflix
“It’s Comedy or Cabbage” (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), Written by Amy Sherman-Palladino; Prime Video
“Nice Knowing You” (“Living With Yourself”), Written by Timothy Greenberg; Netflix
“Pilot” (“Dead to Me”), Written by Liz Feldman; Netflix **WINNER
“The Stinker Thinker” (“On Becoming a God in Central Florida”), Written by Robert F. Funke & Matt Lutsky; Showtime
“Veep” (“Veep”), Written by David Mandel; HBO
Comedy/Variety Talk Series
“Conan,” Head Writer: Matt O’Brien Writers: Jose Arroyo, Glenn Boozan, Daniel Cronin, Andres du Bouchet, Jessie Gaskell, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Laurie Kilmartin, Stephen Kutner, Todd Levin, Levi MacDougall, Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, Frank Smiley, Mike Sweeney; TBS
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” Head Writer: Melinda Taub Writing Supervised by: Joe Grossman, Nicole Silverberg Writers: Samantha Bee, Kristen Bartlett, Pat Cassels, Sean Crespo, Mike Drucker, Mathan Erhardt, Miles Kahn, Sahar Rizvi, Special Material by: Allison Silverman; TBS
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” Senior Writers: Dan Gurewitch, Jeff Maurer, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner Writers: Tim Carvell, Daniel O’Brian, John Oliver, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO **WINNER
“Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Supervising Writers: Sal Gentile, Seth Reiss, Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Alex Baze, Karen Chee, Bryan Donaldson, Matt Goldich, Dina Gusovsky, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, John Lutz, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit; NBC Universal
“The Late Late Show with James Corden,” Writers: Demi Adejuyigbe, James Corden, Rob Crabbe, Lawrence Dai, Nate Fernald, Caroline Goldfarb, Olivia Harewood, David Javerbaum, Lauren Greenberg, Ian Karmel, John Kennedy, Kayleigh Lamb, James Longman, Jared Moskowitz, CeCe Pleasants, Tim Siedell, Benjamin Stout, Tom Thriveni, Louis Waymouth, Ben Winston; CBS
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Head Writers: Jay Katsir, Opus Moreschi Writers: Michael Brumm, River Clegg, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Django Gold, Gabe Gronli, Greg Iwinski, Barry Julien, Daniel Kibblesmith, Eliana Kwartler, Matt Lappin, Asher Perlman, Tom Purcell, Kate Sidley, Jen Spyra, Brian Stack, John Thibodeaux; CBS
Comedy/Variety Specials
“Desi Lydic: Abroad,” Written by Devin Delliquanti, Lauren Sarver Means; Comedy Central
“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 **WINNER
“The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special 2019,” Head Writers Lauren Greenberg, Ian Karmel, Writers Demi Adejuyigbe, James Corden, Rob Crabbe, Lawrence Dai, Nate Fernald, Caroline Goldfarb, John Kennedy, James Longman, Jared Moskowitz, CeCe Pleasants, Tim Siedell, Benjamin D. Stout, Tom Thriveni, Louis Waymouth, Ben Winston; CBS
“Ramy Youssef: Feelings,” Written by Ramy Youssef; HBO
Comedy/Variety Sketch Series
“At Home with Amy Sedaris,” Writers: Cole Escola, Amy Sedaris, Allison Silverman; truTV
“I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson,” Writers: Jeremy Beiler, Zach Kanin, Tim Robinson, John Solomon; Netflix **WINNER
“Saturday Night Live,” Head Writers: Michael Che, Colin Jost, Kent Sublette Supervising Writers: Anna Drezen, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Streeter Seidell Senior Writer: Bryan Tucker Weekend Update Head Writer: Pete Schultz Writers: James Anderson, Neal Brennan, Andrew Briedis, Dan Bulla, Megan Callahan, Steven Castillo, Emma Clark, Andrew Dismukes, Alison Gates, Tim Herlihy, Steve Higgins, Sam Jay, Erik Kenward, Steve Koren, Rob Klein, Michael Koman, Dan Licata, Alan Linic, Eli Coyote Mandel, Dave McCary, Dennis McNicholas, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney, Josh Patten, Simon Rich, Josh Patten, Jasmin Pierce, Katie Rich, Gary Richardson, Marika Sawyer, Robert Smigel, Mark Steinbach, Will Stephen, Julio Torres, Bowen Yang; NBC Universal
Quiz and Audience Participation
“Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?,” Head Writer Bret Calvert, Writers Seth Harrington, Rosemarie DiSalvo; Nickelodeon **WINNER
“Hollywood Game Night,” Head Writers Ann Slichter, Grant Taylor, Writers Michael Agbabian, Marshall Davis, Allie Kokesh, Dwight D. Smith; NBC
“Jeopardy!,” Writers Matthew Caruso, John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Deborah Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse; ABC
“Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” Head Writer Stephen Melcher, Writers Kyle Beakley, Patricia A. Cotter, Ryan Hopak, Gary Lucy, James Rowley, Ann Slichter; Disney/ABC Syndication
Daytime Drama
“Days of Our Lives,” Writers: Lorraine Broderick, Ron Carlivati, Joanna Cohen, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, Dave Kreizman, Rebecca McCarty, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Betsy Snyder, Katie Schock; NBC Universal
“General Hospital,” Head Writers: Shelly Altman, Christopher Van Etten Associate Head Writers: Anna T. Cascio, Dan O’Connor Writers: Barbara Bloom, Suzanne Flynn, Charlotte Gibson, Lucky Gold, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Donny Sheldon, Scott Sickles; ABC
“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, Anne Schoettle, Natalie Minardi Slater, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS **WINNER
Children’s Episodic, Long Form and Specials
“It’s Just… Weird” (“Alexa & Katie”), Written by Romi Barta; Netflix
“Remember Black Elvis?” (“Family Reunion”), Written by Howard Jordan, Jr.; Netflix **WINNER
“Remember How This All Started?” (“Family Reunion”), Written by Meg DeLoatch; Netflix
“Stupid Binder” (“Alexa & Katie”), Written by Nancy Cohen; Netflix
“Time to Make… My Move” (“Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”), Written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach; Netflix
Documentary Script – Current Events
“Coal’s Deadly Dust” (“Frontline”), Written by Elaine McMillion Sheldon; PBS
“The Mueller Investigation” (“Frontline”), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
“Trump’s Trade War” (“Frontline”), Written by Rick Young; PBS **WINNER
Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events
“Chasing The Moon Part One: A Place Beyond The Sky” (“American Experience”), Written by Robert Stone; PBS
“Right To Fail” (“Frontline”), Written by Tom Jennings; PBS **WINNER
“Supreme Revenge” (“Frontline”), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; 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 **WINNER
News Script – Analysis, Feature or Commentary
“Atlanta, EP. 3” (“A King’s Place”), Written by Jessica Moulite, Ashley Velez; TheRoot.com
“Fly Like An Eagle” (“60 Minutes”), Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News **WINNER
“‘Tis the Season: Here’s How Jesus Became So Widely Accepted as White,” Written by Joon Chung, Felice León, Ashley Velez; TheRoot.com
“Toxic Water Crisis Still This Haunts New York Town”, Written by Lena Jackson; HuffPost.com
Digital News
“A Gridiron of Their Own,” Written by Kelsey McKinney; Deadspin.com
“Stories About My Brother,” Written by Prachi Gupta, Jezebel.com **WINNER
Radio/Audio Writing
Radio/Audio News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin or Breaking Report
“CBS News on the Hour with Norah O’Donnell – El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio – Communities in Mourning,” Written by James Hutton; CBS News Radio
“Hail and Farewell: Remembering Some Headline Makers,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio **WINNER
“World News This Week, August 9, 2019,” Written by Stephanie Pawlowski and Jim Ryan; ABC News Radio
“World News This Week, September 13, 2019,” Written by Joan B. Harris; ABC 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 **WINNER
“Woodstock: Back to the Garden,” Written by Gail Lee, CBS News Radio
Promotional Writing
On Air Promotion
“CBS Promos”, Written by Molly Neylan; CBS
“Star. Kill. Evil. FBI.,” Written by Ralph Buado; CBS
“Star Trek: Picard” and “All Rise Promos,” Written by Jessica Katzenstein; CBS **WINNER
Thom Geier contributed to this report.
Read original story ‘Jojo Rabbit’ and ‘Parasite’ Win Top Writers Guild Awards (Complete List of Winners) At TheWrap
