Hollywood celebrated its best and brightest writers at the 2021 Writers Guild of America Awards on Sunday night, with Promising Young Woman and Borat 2 coming up big.
Writer-director Emerald Fennell took home the Best Original Screenplay award for her critically-acclaimed revenge thriller Promising Young Woman (via THR).
Sacha Baron Cohen and his team of writers Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja & Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern took home Best Adapted Screenplay for Borat 2, while Ted Lasso took home two TV awards.
Winner: Hollywood celebrated its best and brightest writers at the 2021 Writers Guild of America Awards on Sunday night, with Promising Young Woman and Borat 2 coming up big
Fennell’s Promising Young Woman beat out Judas and the Black Messiah, Palm Springs, Sound of Metal and The Trial of the Chicago 7 for the Best Original Screenplay award.
‘I wish I could be the room see everyone in person. As it is, I will say thank from my bleak writers room in England,’ Fennell said in her speech.
Fennell now becomes a front runner for the Best Original Screenplay category, with the winner of the WGA award usually going on to win the Oscar.
Best Original: Fennell’s Promising Young Woman beat out Judas and the Black Messiah, Palm Springs, Sound of Metal and The Trial of the Chicago 7 for the Best Original Screenplay award
Awards Watch journalist Erik Anderson mentioned on Twitter that the last time the WGA winner didn’t win the Oscar was 20 years ago, when You Can Count On Me won the WGA award but Almost Famous won the Oscar.
Baron Cohen’s Borat 2 beat out Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, News of the World, One Night in Miami and The White Tiger for the Best Adapted Screenplay award.
‘I can’t help but think that we won it because 60 percent of the Writers Guild worked on this movie,’ Baron Cohen joked of his numerous co-writers.
Very nice: Baron Cohen’s Borat 2 beat out Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, News of the World, One Night in Miami and The White Tiger for the Best Adapted Screenplay award
‘A film like this is extremely hard to write, partly because it stars real people whose behavior is completely unpredictable. Well, apart, of course, for Rudy Giuliani, who did everything we hoped for,’ he added.
The Dissident, which failed to make the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature, won the Documentary Screenplay award.
The film about the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi beat All In: The Fight for Democracy, Herb Alpert Is…, Red Penguins and Totally Under Control.
Hard to write: ‘A film like this is extremely hard to write, partly because it stars real people whose behavior is completely unpredictable. Well, apart, of course, for Rudy Giuliani, who did everything we hoped for,’ he added
The Dissident director and co-writer Bryan Fogel thanked the Human Rights Foundation and honored reporters, stating, ‘to journalists all over the world that work to make this world a better place.’
On the TV side, The Crown won Best Drama Series, beating out Better Call Saul, The Boys, The Mandalorian and Ozark.
Ted Lasso was the big winner of the night, taking home two awards, Best Comedy Series and Best New Series.
Big winner: Ted Lasso was the big winner of the night, taking home two awards, Best Comedy Series and Best New Series
It beat out Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Great, PEN15 and What We Do in the Shadows for Best Comedy Series, and Dave, The Flight Attendant, The Great and Lovecraft Country for Best New Series.
Series co-creator Bill Lawrence said he was, ‘grateful that anybody is watching anything.’
He also gave a shout out to their writers assistants, adding, ‘You’re writing the show without us and we just stamp our name on it at the end,’ before thanking his other nominees, adding, ‘We’re sad that you lost but happy that we won. Is that how this works?’ while co-creator Jason Sudeikis, laughed in agreement.
Grateful: Series co-creator Bill Lawrence said he was, ‘grateful that anybody is watching anything’
Other winners included Judas and the Black Messiah writers Will Berson, Shaka King and Keith and Kenny Lucas, who took home the Paul Selvin Award, named for the union’s late general counsel of 25 years, which is, ‘given to the member or members whose script best embodies the spirit of constitutional and civil rights and liberties.’
Mrs. America won for Original Long Form, while The Queen’s Gambit won Adapted Long Form and BoJack Horseman won the Animated award.
Ozark won Best Episodic Drama and The Great won Best Episodic Comedy while Desus and Mero won Best Comedy/Variety Talk Series.
Adapted: Mrs. America won for Original Long Form, while The Queen’s Gambit won Adapted Long Form and BoJack Horseman won the Animated award