Write On! 2012 Writers Guild Awards

It’s the night when the writers come out to play … and to get some well-deserved accolades!

Last night, the Writers Guild of America – WGA West and WGA East – 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 were announced. Ceremonies were held at both the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City.

The Descendant's screenwriters Nat Faxon & Jim Rash and Alexander Payne

Midnight in Paris, written by Woody Allen, took home the award for Best Original Screenplay. The award for Best Original Screenplay went to The Descendants, screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash. The film was based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. Documentary Screenplay was awarded to Better This World, written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega.

Big TV winners were ABC’s Modern Family, which won for Outstanding Comedy Series and Episode; Showtime’s Homeland, which took home awards for Best New Series and tied for Best Episodic Drama with AMC’s Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad also won the WGA award for Best Drama Series.

Breaking Bad's Vince Gilligan

Drama Series: Breaking Bad, written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, and Moira Walley-Beckett.

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, and Danny Zuker.

New Series: Homeland, written by Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Gideon Raff, and Meredith Stiehm.

Homeland Writers

Tie for Episodic Drama:
“Box Cutter” (Breaking Bad), written by Vince Gilligan and “The Good Soldier” (Homeland), written by Henry Bromell.

Episodic Comedy: “Caught in the Act” (Modern Family), written by Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman.

Other winners include …

Long Form Original: HBO’s Cinema Verite, written by David Seltzer.

Long Form – Adapted: HBO’s Too Big to Fail, written by Peter Gould; based on the book written by Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Animation: “Homer the Father” (FOX’s The Simpsons), written by Joel H. Cohen.

Comedy/Variety – Series: Comedy Central’s 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, and Max Werner.

Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, written by Amy Hennig.

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.

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.

For a complete list of winners, go to the WGA website.