61st Writers Guild of America Awards
Award ceremony for writing of 2008
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The 61st Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best film, television, and video game writers of 2008. Winners were announced on February 7, 2009.[1][2][3]
DateFebruary 7, 2009
| 61st WGA Awards | |
|---|---|
| Date | February 7, 2009 |
| Organized by | Writers Guild of America, East Writers Guild of America, West |
Nominees
Names in bold denote the winners.
Film
Best Adapted Screenplay
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Eric Roth (screenplay), Eric Roth and Robin Swicord (story); F. Scott Fitzgerald (author)
- The Dark Knight – Jonathan and Christopher Nolan (screenplay), Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer (story); Bob Kane and Bill Finger (creators)
- Doubt – John Patrick Shanley (screenplay and playwright)
- Frost/Nixon – Peter Morgan (screenplay and playwright)
- Slumdog Millionaire – Simon Beaufoy (screenplay); Vikas Swarup (author) †
Best Original Screenplay
Best Documentary Feature Screenplay
- Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story - Stefan Forbes and Noland Walker
- Chicago 10 - Brett Morgen
- Fuel - Johnny O'Hara
- Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - Alex Gibney; from the words of Hunter S. Thompson
- Waltz with Bashir - Ari Folman
Television
Dramatic Series
Comedy Series
New Series
| Title | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|
| Breaking Bad | Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Patty Lin, and George Mastras | AMC |
| Fringe | J. J. Abrams, Jason Cahill, Julia Cho, David H. Goodman, Felicia Henderson, Brad Caleb Kane, Alex Kurtzman, Darin Morgan, J. R. Orci, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, and Zack Whedon | Fox |
| In Treatment | Rodrigo García, Bryan Goluboff, Davey Holmes, William Meritt Johnson, Amy Lippman, and Sarah Treem | HBO |
| Life On Mars | Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Becky Hartman Edwards, David Wilcox, Adele Lim, Bryan Oh, Tracy McMillan, Sonny Postiglione, Phil M. Rosenberg, and Meredith Averill | ABC |
| True Blood | Alan Ball, Brian Buckner, Raelle Tucker, Alexander Woo, Nancy Oliver, and Chris Offutt | HBO |
Episodic Drama
| Title | Series | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Don't Ever Change" | House | Doris Egan & Leonard Dick | Fox |
| "Double Booked" | Burn Notice | Craig O'Neill & Jason Tracey | USA |
| "Gray Matter" | Breaking Bad | Patty Lin | AMC |
| "Pilot" | Breaking Bad | Vince Gilligan | AMC |
| "Pilot" | Eli Stone | Greg Berlanti & Marc Guggenheim | ABC |
| "There's Something About Harry" | Dexter | Scott Reynolds | Showtime |
Episodic Comedy
| Title | Series | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Believe in the Stars" | 30 Rock | Robert Carlock | NBC |
| "Cooter" | 30 Rock | Tina Fey | NBC |
| "Crime Aid" | The Office | Charlie Grandy | NBC |
| "Crush'd" | Ugly Betty | Tracy Poust & Jon Kinnally | ABC |
| "Succession" | 30 Rock | Andrew Guest & John Riggi | NBC |
| "Vote for This and I Promise to Do Something Crazy at the Emmys" | My Name Is Earl | Greg Garcia | NBC |
Long Form - Original
| Title | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|
| An American Crime | Tommy O'Haver & Irene Turner | Showtime |
| Pilot (Fringe) | J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci | Fox |
| Recount | Danny Strong | HBO |
Long Form - Adaptation
| Title | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|
| Generation Kill | "Stay Frosty" - Teleplay by Ed Burns, Story by David Simon & Ed Burns, Based on the book by Evan Wright "Bomb in the Garden" - Teleplay by David Simon, Story by David Simon & Ed Burns, Based on the book by Evan Wright |
HBO |
| John Adams | "Join or Die" & "Independence" - Teleplay by Kirk Ellis; Based on the book by David McCullough) | HBO |
| The Memory Keeper's Daughter | Teleplay by John Pielmeier; Based on the book by Kim Edwards | Lifetime |
Animation
| Title | Series | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Apocalypse Cow" | The Simpsons | Jeff Westbrook | Fox |
| "The Debarted" | The Simpsons | Joel H. Cohen | FOX |
| "E Pluribus Wiggum" | The Simpsons | Michael Price | FOX |
| "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words" | The Simpsons | Tim Long | FOX |
| "Life: A Loser's Manual" | King of the Hill | Dan McGrath | FOX |
| "Strangeness on a Train" | King of the Hill | Jim Dauterive | FOX |
Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) Series
Comedy/Variety – Music, Awards, Tributes – Specials
| Title | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 Film Independent Spirit Awards | Written by Billy Kimball, Aaron Lee, Jennifer Celotta, and Rainn Wilson | IFC/AMC |
| Jimmy Kimmel's Big Night of Stars | Written by Jimmy Kimmel, Gary Greenberg, Molly McNearney, Bryan Paulk, Ned Rice, Jon Bines, Will Burke, Rick Rosner, Jake Lentz, Sal Iacono, and Tony Barbieri | ABC |
Daytime Serials
| Title | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|
| As the World Turns | Written by Jean Passanante, Leah Laiman, Courtney Simon, Lisa Connor, David A. Levinson, Peter Brash, Richard Culliton, Susan Dansby, Cheryl Davis, and Leslie Nipkow | CBS Daytime |
| One Life to Live | Written by Ron Carlivati, Carolyn Culliton, Elizabeth Page, Aida Croal, Shelly Altman, Janet Iacobuzio, Chris Van Etten, Anna Theresa Cascio | ABC Daytime |
Children's
Episodic & Specials
| Title | Series | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Elmo's Christmas Countdown" | Sesame Workshop | Written by Joey Mazzarino | ABC |
| "Spencer's 18th Birthday" | South of Nowhere | Written by Arika Lisanne Mittman | The N |
| "The Un-Party" | Imagination Movers | Written by Scott C. Gray & Rick Gitelson | Disney Channel |
Long Form or Special
| Title | Series | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Polar Bears" | The Naked Brothers Band | Written by Polly Draper | Nickelodeon |
Documentary
Current events
| Title | Series | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Bush's War: Part One" | Frontline | Written by Michael Kirk | PBS |
| Depression: Out of the Shadows | Written by Larkin McPhee | PBS | |
| "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" | NOVA | Written by Joseph McMaster | PBS |
| "Rules of Engagement" | Frontline | Written by Arun Rath | PBS |
| "The Medicated Child" | Frontline | Written by Marcela Gaviria | PBS |
Other than current events
| Title | Series | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil, and the Presidency | Written by Carl Byker | PBS | |
| "Kit Carson" | American Experience | Written by Michelle Ferrari | PBS |
| "Secrets of the Parthenon" | NOVA | Written by Gary Glassman | PBS |
| Episode Two: "The Best of Times, The Worst of Times (1924-1945)," | The Jewish Americans | Written by David Grubin | PBS |
| The Truth about Cancer | Written by Linda Garmon | PBS | |
News
Regularly scheduled, bulletin, or breaking report
| Title | Series | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABC Weekend News | Joel Siegel, Karen Mooney, and David Muir | ABC | |
| "Up to the Minute" | CBS News | Matt Nelko | CBS |
Analysis, feature, or commentary
| Title | Series | Writers | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Exonerated" | 60 Minutes | Tom Anderson and Jenny Dubin | CBS |
| "Show Me the Love: Amazing Pen Pal Connection" | Good Morning America | Raquel Hecker | ABC |
| "The Warren Buffett Challenge: Are the Rich Taxed Enough?" | Good Morning America | Lisa Ferri | ABC |
| "Yankee Stadium and the New Gilded Age" | Bill Moyers Journal | Bill Moyers & Michael Winship | PBS |
Video games
Videogame Writing
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Haden Blackman, Shawn Pitman, John Stafford and Cameron Suey
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Writer Haris Orkin, story producer Mical Pedriana
- Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble! - Writing Keith Nemitz, additional writing Adrianne Ambrose
- Fallout 3 - Lead Writer Emil Pagliarulo, quest writing Erik J. Caponi, Brian Chapin, Jon Paul Duvall, Kurt Kuhlmann, Alan Nanes, Bruce Nesmith and Fred Zeleny, additional quest writing Nate Ellis, William Killeen, Mark Nelson and Justin McSweeney
- Tomb Raider: Underworld - Story Eric Lindstrom and Toby Gard, screenplay Eric Lindstrom
Paul Selwin Civil Rights Award
- Dustin Lance Black, "to the member whose script best embodies the spirit of constitutional and civil rights and liberties."