55th Annual Writers Guild Awards Announced

Posted on May 28, 2003

The Writers Guild of America, west and East recently announced the winners of the 55th Annual Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen, television, and radio in gala ceremonies at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills and at the Pierre Hotel in New York on Saturday, March 8, 2003.

Presenters scheduled to attend in Beverly Hills included Yancey Arias, Michael Chiklis, Kristin Davis, Calista Flockhart, Jake Gyllenhaal, Cheryl Hines, Diane Lane, Barry Levinson, Bill Maher, Paul Mazursky, Chi McBride, Dylan McDermott, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Pena, Carl Reiner, Nia Vardalos, Christopher Walken, and Billy West. Guests included Nicholas Cage, Chris Cooper, Kirsten Dunst, Heather Graham, Spike Jonze, and Rob Reiner. Also scheduled to appear were Mel Brooks and David E. Kelley, who received honorary awards.

Presenters scheduled to attend in New York included Richard Belzer, Martha Byrne, Tom Cavanaugh, Jane Clayson, Jay Cocks, Ken Dashow, Griffin Dunne, Marcia Gay Harden, Harvey Keitel, Bebe Neuwirth, Mike Nichols, Molly Price, Andy Rooney, and Stephen Schiff.

This year's winner for original screenplay was Bowling for Columbine, written by Michael Moore. The adapted screenplay prize went to The Hours, screenplay by David Hare, based on the novel by Michael Cunningham.

Victoria Riskin, WGAw President said, "The writers nominated for this year's Writers Guild Awards are some of our finest. David Hare took very difficult material and, as one of our most skilled writers of English language, adapted it into a brilliant screenplay. Our members' appreciation of Michael Moore's clever, humorous, and personal storytelling is a tribute to his vision and the power of his subject matter. It is an acknowledgment that all styles of writing, whether fiction or nonfiction, documentary or drama, reality show or sitcom, deserve our highest tributes."

55th Annual Writers Guild Awards Winners

Screen Winners

Original Screenplay
Bowling for Columbine, Written by Michael Moore; United Artists/Alliance Atlantis/Salter Street Films/Dog Eat Dog Films

Adapted Screenplay
The Hours, Screenplay by David Hare, based on the novel by Michael Cunningham; Paramount Pictures/Miramax Films

Television Winners

Animation
Godfellas (Futurama), Written by Ken Keeler; 20th Century Fox Television; Fox

Original Long Form
The Gathering Storm, Teleplay by Hugh Whitemore, Story by Larry Ramin and Hugh Whitemore; A Scott Free Production in association with HBO Films; HBO

Adapted Long Form
Bastogne (Band of Brothers), Written by Bruce C. McKenna, based on the book by Stephen E. Ambrose; DreamWorks/Playtone/HBO; HBO

Episodic Drama
Pilot (The Education of Max Bickford), Written by Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin; 20th Century Fox Television; CBS

Episodic Comedy
Rooms With a View (Frasier), Written by Dan O'Shannon & Lori Kirkland & Bob Daily; Grub Street Productions in association with Paramount Pictures; NBC

Comedy/Variety - Music, Awards, Tributes - Specials
The Kennedy Center Honors, Written by Don Baer and George Stevens Jr., Film Sequences Written by Sara Lukinson; A George Stevens Jr. Presentation - Kennedy Center Television Productions, Inc.; CBS

Comedy/Variety - (including talk) Series
Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Written by Mike Sweeney, Chris Albers, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Jonathan Glaser, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Andrew Secunda, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg; Broadway Video; NBC

Daytime Serials
The Young and the Restless, Written by Kay Alden, Trent Jones, John F. Smith, Jerry Birn, Jim Houghton, Natalie Minardi, Janice Ferri, Eric Freiwald, Joshua McCaffrey, Michael Minnis, Rex M. Best; Columbia TriStar; CBS

Children's Script
Our America, Teleplay by Gordon Rayfield, Based on the book Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago by Lealan Jones, Lloyd Newman, and David Isay; Joseph Stern Productions; All Media, Inc.; Showtime

Documentary - Current Events
9/11, Written by Tom Forman & Greg Kandra; Goldfish Pictures, Inc.; CBS

Documentary - Other Than Current Events
Monkey Trail (American Experience), Written by Christine Lesiak; WGBH Educational Foundation; PBS

News - Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report
Attack on America, Written by Jerry Cipriano, Paul Fischer, Thomas Harris, Hugh Heckman, Bruce Meyer; CBS Evening News; CBS

Radio Winners

News - Regularly Scheduled
World News This Week, Written by Stuart H. Chamberlain Jr.; ABC Radio Network

News - Analysis, Feature or Commentary
Pearl Harbor Day, Written by Steve Gosset; CBS Radio Network

Honorary awards were previously announced and were presented to the recipients at the Los Angeles ceremony. These special honors include: John Gay-Edmund North Award for service to the Guild and a body of work, David E. Kelley-Paddy Chayefsky TV Laurel Award for a body of work, Mel Brooks-Screen Laurel Award for a body of work, David W. Rintels-Morgan Cox Award for service to the Guild, John Wierick & Jacob Krueger-Paul Selvin Award for best civil liberties portrayal, and Aaron Ruben-Valentine Davies Award for service to the Guild and the community.

The WGA East honorees include: Martin Scorsese-The Evelyn F. Burkey Award -For One Whose Contributions Have Brought Honor and Dignity to Writers Everywhere, James Schamus-The Richard B. Jablow Award -For Devoted Service to the Guild, and Nora Ephron-The Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Writing.

The West Coast program was produced and directed by Spike Jones, Jr., and written by Tony DeSena; the talent executive was Susan Abramson.

Founded in 1933, the Writers Guild of America, East and west represent writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new-media industries in both entertainment and news. The union conducts numerous programs, seminars, and events throughout the world on issues of interest to, and on behalf of, writers.