Some pictures may be worth a thousand words, but making one takes an awful lot more.
No one knows this better than writers, just one group of relatively unsung heroes swept under the proverbial red carpet during Oscars season. The annual Writers Guild Awards, handed out during dual ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York, helps balance the accolades by celebrating the most arguably crucial component of any great movie.
This year’s fete, held Feb. 14, directed the spotlight toward its nominated storytellers with appropriately self-deprecating wit and candor, aided by the comedic stylings of west coast emcee Lisa Kudrow and her east cost counterpart Larry Wilmore. Kudrow took particular advantage of the event’s comparatively isolated presentation, joking, “It’s very liberating for this not to be televised. There’s no one at home watching — kind of like network TV. I don’t know what you do when you’re not on TV, but for me it probably involves some hookers and blow.”
Despite the evening’s humorous undertones, there’s nothing funny about the effort it takes to create and present a well-crafted story. The Workprint caught up with Best Adapted Screenplay nominee Jason Hall (“American Sniper”) and Best Original Screenplay nominee Damien Chazelle (“Whiplash), along with revered “Game of Thrones” author George R. R. Martin, to discuss their respective projects and why it’s important to recognize that every onscreen accomplishment begins with a blinking cursor.
Watch our interviews from the Writers Guild Awards red carpet below:
Jason Hall, writer, “American Sniper”:
George R. R. Martin, author, “A Song of Ice and Fire” series:
Damien Chazelle, writer/director, “Whiplash”:
Video shot and edited by Keith Kuramoto
Clips courtesy of HBO, Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures Classics
Here’s the complete list of winners for this year’s Writers Guild Awards:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Boyhood, Written by Richard Linklater; IFC Films
Foxcatcher, Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman; Sony Pictures Classics
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness; Fox Searchlight – WINNER
Nightcrawler, Written by Dan Gilroy; Open Road Films
Whiplash, Written by Damien Chazelle; Sony Pictures Classics
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper, Written by Jason Hall; Based on the book by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice; Warner Bros.
Gone Girl, Screenplay by Gillian Flynn; Based on her novel; 20th Century Fox
Guardians of the Galaxy, Written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman; Based on the Marvel comic by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Imitation Game, Written by Graham Moore; Based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges; The Weinstein Company – WINNER
Wild, Screenplay by Nick Hornby; Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed; Fox Searchlight
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Finding Vivian Maier, Written by John Maloof & Charlie Siskel; Sundance Selects
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, Written by Brian Knappenberger; FilmBuff – WINNER
Last Days in Vietnam, Written by Mark Bailey & Keven McAlester; American Experience Films
Red Army, Written by Gabe Polsky; Sony Pictures Classics
DRAMA SERIES
Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO
The Good Wife, Written by Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Erica Shelton Kodish, Matthew Montoya, Luke Schelhaas, Nichelle Tramble Spellman, Craig Turk, Julia Wolfe; CBS
House of Cards, Written by Bill Cain, Laura Eason, Sam R. Forman, William Kennedy, Kenneth Lin, John Mankiewicz, David Manson, Beau Willimon; Netflix
Mad Men, Written by Lisa Albert, Heather Jeng Bladt, Semi Chellas, Jonathan Igla, David Iserson, Janet Leahy, Erin Levy, Patricia Resnick, Tom Smuts, Matthew Weiner, Carly Wray; AMC
True Detective, Written by Nic Pizzolatto; HBO – WINNER
COMEDY SERIES
Louie, Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.; FX – WINNER
Orange Is the New Black, Written by Stephen Falk, Sian Heder, Tara Herrmann, Sara Hess, Nick Jones, Jenji Kohan, Lauren Morelli, Alex Regnery, Hartley Voss; Netflix
Silicon Valley, Written by John Altschuler, Alec Berg, Matteo Borghese, Jessica Gao, Mike Judge, Dave Krinsky, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Rob Turbovsky, Ron Weiner; HBO
Transparent, Written by Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway; Amazon Prime
Veep, Written by Simon Blackwell, Kevin Cecil, Roger Drew, Sean Gray, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, Georgia Pritchett, David Quantick, Andy Riley, Tony Roche, Will Smith; HBO
NEW SERIES
The Affair, Written by Dan LeFranc, Hagai Levi, Melanie Marnich, Eric Overmyer, Kate Robin, Sarah Treem; Showtime
The Knick, Written by Jack Amiel, Michael Begler, Steven Katz; Cinemax
Silicon Valley, Written by John Altschuler, Alec Berg, Matteo Borghese, Jessica Gao, Mike Judge, Dave Krinsky, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Rob Turbovsky, Ron Weiner; HBO
Transparent, Written by Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway; Amazon Prime
True Detective, Written by Nic Pizzolatto; HBO – WINNER
LONG FORM ORIGINAL
Deliverance Creek, Written by Melissa Carter; Lifetime – WINNER
Return to Zero, Written by Sean Hanish; Lifetime
LONG FORM ADAPTED
Houdini, Written by Nicholas Meyer; Based on the book Houdini: A Mind in Chains: A Psychoanalytic Portrait by Bernard C. Meyer, M.D.; History Channel
Klondike, Parts One, Three and Six, Teleplay by Paul T. Scheuring, Parts Two, Four and Five, Teleplay by Josh Goldin & Rachel Abramowitz, Based on the book Gold Diggers by Charlotte Gray; Discovery Channel
The Normal Heart, Teleplay by Larry Kramer, Based on his play The Normal Heart; HBO
Olive Kitteridge, Teleplay by Jane Anderson, Based on the novel by Elizabeth Strout; HBO – WINNER
“Pilot” (The Leftovers), Teleplay by Damon Lindelof & Tom Perrotta, Based on the book by Tom Perrotta; HBO
SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ORIGINAL
“Apocalypse No” Bad Shorts, Written by Ben Zelevansky; luckybirdsmedia.com
“City of Angles” Caper, Written by Amy Berg & Mike Sizemore; hulu.com
“Episode 1 – Nurture” F To 7th, Written by Ingrid Jungermann; youtube.com
“Episode 113: Rachel” High Maintenance, Written by Katja Blichfeld & Ben Sinclair; helpingyoumaintain.com – WINNER
“Episode 204” Vicky and Lysander, Written by Damon Cardasis and Shannon Walker; youtube.com
“Episode 207” Vicky and Lysander, Written by Damon Cardasis and Shannon Walker; youtube.com
ANIMATION
“Bob and Deliver” Bob’s Burger), Written by Greg Thompson; Fox
“Brick Like Me” The Simpsons, Written by Brian Kelley; Fox – WINNER
“Covercraft” The Simpsons, Written by Matt Selman; Fox
“Pay Pal” The Simpsons, Written by David H. Steinberg; Fox
“Steal This Episode” The Simpsons, Written by J. Stewart Burns; Fox
“Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl” Bob’s Burgers, Written by Nora Smith; Fox
EPISODIC DRAMA
“A Day’s Work” Mad Men, Written by Jonathan Igla and Matthew Weiner; AMC
“Devil You Know” Boardwalk Empire, Written by Howard Korder; HBO
“Donald the Normal” Rectify, Written by Kate Powers & Ray McKinnon; Sundance Channel
“Friendless Child” Boardwalk Empire, Written by Riccardo DiLoreto & Cristine Chambers and Howard Korder; HBO
“The Last Call” The Good Wife, Written by Robert King & Michelle King; CBS – WINNER
“The Lion and the Rose” Game of Thrones, Written for Television by George R.R. Martin; HBO
EPISODIC COMEDY
“The Cold” Modern Family, Written by Rick Wiener & Kenny Schwartz; ABC
“Landline” New Girl, Written by Rob Rosell; Fox
“Low Self Esteem City” Orange Is the New Black, Written by Nick Jones; Netflix
“So Did the Fat Lady” Louie, Written by Louis C.K.; FX – WINNER
“Three Dinners” Modern Family, Written by Abraham Higginbotham & Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman; ABC
“The Wilderness” Transparent, Written by Ethan Kuperberg; Amazon Prime
COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES
The Colbert Report, Writers: Michael Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Rich Dahm, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, Rob Dubbin, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Sam Kim, Matt Lappin, Opus Moreschi, Tom Purcell, Meredith Scardino, Max Werner; Comedy Central
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Writers: Rory Albanese, Dan Amira, Steve Bodow, Tim Carvell, Travon Free, Hallie Haglund, JR Havlan, Elliott Kalan, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Jo Miller, John Oliver, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parsons, Daniel Radosh, Lauren Sarver, Jon Stewart, Delaney Yeager; Comedy Central
Inside Amy Schumer, Head Writer: Jessi Klein Writers: Emily Altman, Jeremy Beiler, Neil Casey, Kyle Dunnigan, Kurt Metzger, Christine Nangle, Dan Powell, Amy Schumer; Comedy Central
Jimmy Kimmel Live, Head Writers: Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Gary Greenberg Writers: Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Bess Kalb, Jimmy Kimmel, Jeff Loveness, Bryan Paulk, Rick Rosner, Bridger Winegar; ABC
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner; HBO – WINNER
Real Time with Bill Maher, Head Writer: Billy Martin Writers: Scott Carter, Adam Felber, Matt Gunn, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Bill Maher, Danny Vermont; HBO
Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Seth Meyers, Colin Jost, Rob Klein, Bryan Tucker Writers: James Anderson, Alex Baze, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Steve Higgins, Leslie Jones, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, Claire Mulaney, Josh Patten, Paula Pell, Katie Rich, Tim Robinson, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, John Solomon, Kent Sublette, Lakendra Tookes; NBC
COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS
The 68th Annual Tony Awards, Written by Dave Boone; Special Material by Jon Macks; CBS
71st Annual Golden Globe Awards, Written by Barry Adelman; Special Material by Alex Baze, Dave Boone, Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Jon Macks, Sam Means, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Mike Shoemaker; NBC – WINNER
2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards, Written by Gerry Duggan, Wayne Federman, Patton Oswalt, Erik Weiner; IFC
Bill Maher: Live from D.C., Written by Bill Maher; HBO
Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles, Written by Sarah Silverman; HBO
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter; NBC – WINNER
Jeopardy!, Written by John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Debbie Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse; ABC
DAYTIME DRAMA
Days of Our Lives, Written by Lorraine Broderick, David Cherrill, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, Christopher Dunn, Janet Iacobuzio, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Melissa Salmons, Christopher Whitesell; NBC
General Hospital, Written by Ron Carlivati, Anna Theresa Cascio, Suzanne Flynn, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Elizabeth Page, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Chris Van Etten; ABC – WINNER
CHILDREN’S SCRIPT – EPISODIC AND SPECIALS
“Girl Meets 1961” Girl Meets World, Written by Matthew Nelson; Disney Channel
“Haunted Heartthrob” Haunted Hathaways, Written by Bob Smiley; Nickelodeon – WINNER
“Haunted Sisters” Haunted Hathaways, Written by Boyce Bugliari & Jamie McLaughlin; Nickelodeon
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Losing Iraq” Frontline, Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
“United States of Secrets: Privacy Lost (Part Two)” Frontline, Written by Martin Smith; PBS
“United States of Secrets: The Program (Part One)” Frontline; PBS; Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS – WINNER
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Episode Five: The Rising Road (1933-1939)” The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, Written by Geoffrey C. Ward; PBS
“League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis” Frontline, Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS – WINNER
“Standing Up in the Milky Way (Episode 1)” COSMOS: A Space Time Odyssey, Written by Ann Druyan and Steven Soter; Fox
TV NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“50th Anniversary of JFK’s Assassination” CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, Written by Jerry Cipriano, Joe Clines; CBS News
CBS This Morning, Saturday, Written by Duane Tollison, Evan Gray, Chip Sorrentino, Bill Crowley; CBS News
“Nelson Mandela: A Man Who Changed the World” (World News with Diane Sawyer), Written by Dave Bloch, Lisa Ferri, Diane Sawyer; ABC News – WINNER
TV NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Nowhere to Go” 60 Minutes, Written by Oriana Zill de Granados, Scott Pelley, Michael Rey; CBS – WINNER
RADIO DOCUMENTARY
“Three Shots Rang Out: The JFK Assassination 50 Years Later,” Written by Darren Reynolds; ABC News Radio – WINNER
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“6AM News,” Written by Philip Pilato; 1010 WINS Radio
“8PM Hour,” Written by Robert Hawley; WCBS-AM
“New York City Loses a Radio News Legend,” Written by Bill Spadaro; CBS Radio/1010 WINS
“World News This Week,” Written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio – WINNER
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Civil Rights at 50,” Written by Jane Tillman Irving; WCBS Radio – WINNER
“Remembering Nelson Mandela,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio News
ON-AIR PROMOTION (TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA OR RADIO)
“How I Met Your Mother,” Written by Dan Greenberger; CBS – WINNER
“WABC-TV On-Air Promos,” Written by Brandon Nelson; WABC-TV
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING
Alien: Isolation, Writers Dan Abnett, Dion Lay, Will Porter; SEGA
Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry, Lead Scriptwriter Jill Murray; Scriptwriter Melissa MacCoubrey; Story by Jill Murray, Hugo Giard, Wesley Pincombe; Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Story by Alexandre Amancio, Sylvain Bernard, Travis Stout; Scriptwriting Alexandre Amancio, Travis Stout, Russell Lees, Darby McDevitt, Ceri Young; Additional Scriptwriting Jeffrey Yohalem; Ubisoft
The Last of Us: Left Behind, Written by Neil Druckmann; Sony Computer Entertainment – WINNER
Do you think screenwriters get enough credit during awards season? Or does it take much more than just well-crafted words to tell a successful story? Sound off in our comment section, and stick with @TheWorkprint for all your pop culture needs.
