It’s really a shame that the WGA Awards are not televised because this is an awards show that has it all, from major Hollywood stars to song and dance men and women to storm troopers and clowns. And running all through the kudofest, which itself can last for up to three hours, is a huge vein of humor.
At this year’s West Coast event, held February 1 at the Beverly Hilton’s International ballroom—THE favored place for awards season ceremonies, televised or not—host Ana Gasteyer tapped into that funny bone immediately as she took the stage.
That came after a hilarious opening sequence that played out on the big screens flanking the stage. It was a video spoof of the warnings that appear in the opening frames of screeners sent to Guild and Academy members, threatening them with huge fines and even jail time if they loan, distribute or otherwise do anything shady with the DVDs. “We’ve taken the trouble to watermark 30,000 of these DVDs for the 12 people who still have DVD players. The fine for violating the sanctity of this screener is $250,000 – the same price of getting your daughter into USC,” the screen read. “When you are done with the DVD break it in half so it won’t be usable – except for using the other half to hide during Passover so the children can find it.”
Gasteyer, whom people still remember fondly from SNL even though her gig there ended nearly 20 years ago, got right down to business by saying the proceedings were a vagina party compared to the Directors Guild, which notably nominated zero female directors.
Addressing the WGA’s continuing battle with talent agencies, she went on to praise those in the room that signed the guild’s franchise agreement, Verve, Buchwald and Gersh, before jabbing industry heavyweight CAA for holding out.
“Yo, CAA, are you a Ken doll? Because I don’t see no package,” she said.
“What’s the difference between CAA and Helen Keller? You’re allowed to sign with Helen Keller,” Gasteyer continued.
“How many CAA agents does it to take to screw in a light bulb?” Gasteyer asked attendees in the ballroom, then answering, “Two. One to screw it in, one to screw over another client.”
The SNL alum launched into a spirited song parody of many of the major nominated films and television shows. One of them was about The Irishman, sung to the tune of Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man” while another spoofed Knives Out to the melody of “Memory” from Cats.
In all of our years of attending this and similar awards shows, I have never seen this happen: she received a standing ovation– after most of the crowd had been on the floor laughing.
The real-life laugh track continued through the evening as a parade of well-known presenters, everyone from Diane Keaton to Kate Hudson, Jane Lynch to Geena Davis, Henry Winkler, Bob Odenkirk, Retta, Taran Killam, Wendi McClendon-Covey and Will Arnett opened the envelopes or presented honorary awards.
But I’m burying the lead. The headline-making news is that two of the “smaller” films, smaller compared to behemoths like Joker and The Irishman, walked out winners.
Parasite won for best original screenplay and Jojo Rabbit took the trophy for best adapted script. Neither auteur/author was at the LA ceremonies due to logistics. Both Bong Joon Ho and Taiki Waititi were in New York, poised to hop over the pond for the BAFTAs on Sunday, where both would also claim the respective screenplay prizes. The two awards, considered the WGA’s most prestigious, were handed out at the very beginning of the ceremonies so they could make a mad dash to the airport.
Bong’s co-screenwriter, Han Jin Wo, was on hand at the Hilton to grab the trophy.
On the TV side, it was HBO’s night all the way – a sweep of four of the five top awards with Barry, Succession, Chernobyl and Watchmen. (FX’s Fosse/Verdon won the other television script prize.)
The HBO recipients started a trend when one of them acknowledged his spouse as “the HBO of wives.” Another award winner said his mate was “the OWN” of wives since they watch a lot of the Oprah Winfrey channel. Topping both of them, Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof said his wife was not only the HBO of wives but “the Cinemax of wives.”
Those of you who don’t get that joke, let’s just say that at one time the nickname for the cable channel was Skinemax.
Honorary awards are always a highlight at the WGA. Acclaimed actress Diane Keaton presented Nancy Meyers (Private Benjamin, Something’s Gotta Give, It’s Complicated), with the WGAW’s Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, and proclaimed that she needed to be in another Meyers film before she dies.
Kate Hudson came out in a pair of very sparkly black pants to present television creator-director-producer Brad Falchuk (The Politician, Glee, Pose) with WGAW’s Valentine Davies Award as proud wife Gwyneth Paltrow looked on from a prime table.
Female late-night pioneer Merrill Markoe was awarded the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement for her work on the David Letterman Show and Late Night with David Letterman. Laraine Newman did the honors in presenting.
Screenwriter Charles Randolph (The Big Short) received the Paul Selvin Award for his Bombshell screenplay, an incisive retelling of Fox News’ sexual harassment scandal in the #MeToo era. It was presented Oscar-winning actress and Geena Davis, who founded the Institute on Gender in Media.
The New York ceremonies started at the same time as the West Coast’s. They were held at the Edison Ballroom in New York and hosted by John Fugelsang.
Here is a complete list of the winners:
FILM WINNERS
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Parasite, Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, Story by Bong Joon Ho; Neon
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jojo Rabbit, Screenplay by Taika Waititi, Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens; Fox Searchlight
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS
DRAMA SERIES
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
COMEDY SERIES
Barry, Written by Alec Berg, Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Emily Heller, Jason Kim, Taofik Kolade, Elizabeth Sarnoff; HBO
NEW SERIES
Watchmen, Written by Lila Byock, Nick Cuse, Christal Henry, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Cord Jefferson, Jeff Jensen, Claire Kiechel, Damon Lindelof, Janine Nabers, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Tom Spezialy, Carly Wray; HBO
ORIGINAL LONG FORM
Chernobyl, Written by Craig Mazin; HBO
ADAPTED LONG FORM
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
ORIGINAL SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
Special, Written by Ryan O’Connell; Netflix
ANIMATION
“Thanksgiving of Horror” (The Simpsons), Written by Dan Vebber; Fox
EPISODIC DRAMA
“Tern Haven” (Succession), Written by Will Tracy; HBO
EPISODIC COMEDY
“Pilot” (Dead to Me), Written by Liz Feldman; Netflix
COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Senior Writers: Dan Gurewitch, Jeff Maurer, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner Writers: Tim Carvell, Daniel O’Brien, John Oliver, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO
COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
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
COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Writers: Jeremy Beiler, Zach Kanin, Tim Robinson, John Solomon; Netflix
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, Head Writer Bret Calvert, Writers Seth Harrington, Rosemarie DiSalvo; Nickelodeon
DAYTIME DRAMA
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, Lynn Martin, Anne Schoettle, Natalie Minardi Slater, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
“Remember Black Elvis?” (Family Reunion), Written by Howard Jordan, Jr.; Netflix
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Trump’s Trade War” (Frontline), Written by Rick Young; PBS
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Right To Fail” (Frontline), Written by Tom Jennings; 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
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Fly Like An Eagle” (60 Minutes), Written by Katie Kerbstat Jacobson, Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News
DIGITAL NEWS
“Stories About My Brother,” Written by Prachi Gupta, Jezebel.com
RADIO/AUDIO WINNERS
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT—REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Hail and Farewell: Remembering Some Headline Makers,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS 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
PROMOTIONAL WINNER
ON-AIR PROMOTION
“Star Trek: Picard” and “All Rise Promos,” Written by Jessica Katzenstein; CBS
