With less than a week to go until the Oscars, it's time to turn our attentions to the writers behind the screen hits. The Writers Guild Awards (WGA), the winners of which were announced last night, annually pay homage to the brains who often get overshadowed by all the best actor, actress and director buzz. Award categories include film, TV, new media, radio and video game. Ultimately, the ceremonies exist to honour outstanding writing in all forms of media, including promotional and graphic animation categories. The 71st annual awards were held in both Los Angeles and New York, and attendees included Bradley Cooper, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, Alfonso Cuaron, Alison Brie, Amy Sedaris and a whole host of other A-list names, as many of the nominated films are also up for Oscars. <strong>Look through the photo gallery above to see more from the night.</strong> <strong>Original Screenplay</strong> <em>Eighth Grade</em>, written by Bo Burnham; A24 <strong>Adapted Screenplay</strong> <em>Can You Ever Forgive Me?</em>, screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, based on the book by Lee Israel; Fox Searchlight <strong>Documentary Screenplay</strong> <em>Bathtubs Over Broadway</em>, written by Ozzy Inguanzo and Dava Whisenant; Focus Features <strong>Drama Series</strong> <em>The Americans</em>, written by Peter Ackerman, Hilary Bettis, Joshua Brand, Joel Fields, Sarah Nolen, Stephen Schiff, Justin Weinberger, Joe Weisberg, Tracey Scott Wilson; FX Networks <strong>Comedy Series</strong> <em>The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</em>, written by Kate Fodor, Noah Gardenswartz, Daniel Goldfarb, Jen Kirkman, Sheila Lawrence, Daniel Palladino, Amy Sherman Palladino; Prime Video <strong>New Series</strong> <em>Barry</em>, written by Alec Berg, Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Emily Heller, Liz Sarnoff, Ben Smith, Sarah Solemani; HBO <strong>Original Long Form</strong> <em>Castle Rock</em>, writers: Marc Bernardin, Scott Brown, Lila Byock, Mark Lafferty, Sam Shaw, Dustin Thomason, Gina Welch, Vinnie Wilhelm; Hulu <strong>Adapted Long Form</strong> <em>The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story</em>, writers: Maggie Cohn, Tom Rob Smith, based on the book <em>Vulgar Favors</em> by Maureen Orth; FX Networks <strong>Original Short Form New Media</strong> <em>Class of Lies</em>, written by Tessa Leigh Williams; Snapchat <strong>Adapted Short Form New Media</strong> <em>The Walking Dead: Red Machete</em>, written by Nick Bernardone; AMC.com <strong>Animation</strong> "Bart's Not Dead" (<em>The Simpsons</em>), written by Stephanie Gillis; Fox <strong>Episodic Drama</strong> "Paean To The People" (<em>Homeland</em>), written by Alex Gansa; Showtime <strong>Episodic Comedy</strong> "Chapter One: 'Make Your Mark'" (<em>Barry</em>), written by Alec Berg and Bill Hader; HBO <strong>Comedy/Variety Talk Series</strong> <em>Last Week Tonight with John Oliver</em>; writers: Tim Carvell, Raquel D'Apice, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Jeff Maurer, Daniel O'Brien, John Oliver, Brian Parise, Owen Parsons, Ben Silva, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Seena Vali, Juli Weiner; HBO <strong>Comedy/Variety Sketch Series</strong> <em>Nathan For You</em>, writers: Leo Allen, Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Michael Koman, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola; Comedy Central <strong>Comedy/Variety Specials</strong> <em>The Fake News with Ted Nelms</em>, written by John Aboud, Andrew Blitz, Michael Colton, Ed Helms, Elliott Kalan, Joseph Randazzo, Sara Schaefer; Comedy Central <strong>Quiz and Audience Participation</strong> <em>Who Wants To Be A Millionaire</em>, head writer: Stephen A. Melcher, Jr.; writers: Kyle Beakley, Tom Cohen, Patricia A. Cotter, Ryan Hopak, Gary Lucy, James Rowley, Ann Slichter, Dylan Snowden; Disney/ABC Syndication <strong>Daytime Drama</strong> <em>General Hospital</em>, head writers: Shelly Altman, Christopher Van Etten; writers: Barbara Bloom, Anna Theresa Cascio, Suzanne Flynn, Charlotte Gibson, Lucky Gold, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O'Connor, Donny Sheldon, Scott Sickles; ABC <strong>Children's Episodic and Specials</strong> "The Ersatz Elevator: Part One" (<em>A Series of Unfortunate Events</em>), Teleplay by Daniel Handler; Netflix <em>(There were no nominees for Children’s Long Form this year.)</em> <strong>Documentary Script – Current Events</strong> "Trump's Takeover" (<em>Frontline</em>), Written by Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser; PBS <strong>Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events</strong> "The Eugenics Crusade" (<em>American Experience</em>), written by Michelle Ferrari; PBS <strong>News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report</strong> "Catastrophe" (<em>60 Minutes</em>), written by Scott Pelley, Katie Kerbstat, Nicole Young; CBS News <strong>News Script – Analysis, Feature, or Commentary</strong> "Wounds of War" (<em>60 Minutes</em>), Written by Scott Pelley, Katie Kerbstat, Nicole Young; CBS News <strong>Digital News</strong> “Inside The Culture of Sexism at Riot Games,” written by Cecilia D'Anastasio; Kotaku.com <strong>Radio/Audio Documentary</strong> “RFK: 50 Years After Shots Rang Out at The Ambassador Hotel,” written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio <strong>Radio/Audio News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report</strong> “Remembering The Good, The Bad and the Brilliant,” written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio <strong>Radio/Audio News Script – Analysis, Feature or Commentary</strong> “John McCain: A Life of Service,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio <strong>On-Air Promotion (Radio or Television)</strong> “Tribute to Star Trek for the 2018 Creative Arts Emmys,” written by Sean Brogan; CBS <strong>Video game writing</strong> <em>God of War</em>, written by Matt Sophos, Richard Zangrande Gaubert, Cory Barlog; story and narrative design lead Matt Sophos; story and narrative design Richard Zangrande Gaubert; narrative design Orion Walker, Adam Dolin; Sony Interactive Entertainment This year's honorees on the West Coast included: <em>Orange is the New Black</em> and <em>Weeds</em> creator Jenji Kohan, who received the WGAW's Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement; Oscar and WGA-nominated comedy screenwriting team Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (<em>Parenthood, Splash</em>), who received the WGAW's Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement; and WGA and Academy Award-winning screenwriter-director Adam McKay (<em>The Big Short</em>), who received the WGAW's Paul Selvin Award for his <em>Vice</em> screenplay. Also honoured was French filmmaker Agnes Varda (<em>La Courte Pointe, Vagabond, Faces Places</em>), who received the WGAW's Jean Renoir Award for International Screenwriting Achievement, and documentary filmmaker-writer and former WGAW Board of Directors member Joan Meyerson, who received the WGAW's Morgan Cox Award for Guild service. At the East Coast ceremony, three honorary awards were presented to: three-time Emmy Award-winner writer and show creator Tom Fontana (<em>Borgia, Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street, St. Elsewhere</em>), who got the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement; The Black List founder Franklin Leonard was presented with the Evelyn F. Burkey Award for bringing honour and dignity to writers; and longtime WGA East staff member Randall Jansta got the Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild.
