Parasite, Jojo Rabbit win big at Writers Guild Awards

It was the one of the biggest nights for the most unsung heroes of television and film — the writers.

The Edison Ballroom in Manhattan was packed Saturday night with some of Hollywood’s and elsewhere’s brightest minds for the Writers Guild Awards last night, such Bong Joon Ho, who won best original screenplay for his Korean film, Parasite.

“It’s so surprising the script is written in a foreign language, but to know that you have loved the film and understood the structure of the story and the nuance of our dialogue,” he said with the help of a translator while accepting the award.

“It’s amazing,” the writer and director added.

Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, a comedy about Hitler youth in World War II, took home the award for best adapted screenplay, while Alex Gibney’s documentary, The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, a truthful tale about a blood testing company’s squeamish methods had also won big.

“I was delighted to get two nominations,” he said about The Inventor and his other documentary, Citizen K a story about a former Russian oligarch, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

“It helps promote the films it makes me happy,” he continued.

Gibney, known greatly in the sports realm for his ESPN documentary Catching Hell about unlucky Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman spoke to amNewYork Metro about the differences between making sports and more news-based documentaries.

“Depends on the story,” Gibney said while noting how unconventional sports documentaries can be.

Alex Gibney, Samantha Bee and Natasha Lyonne pose backstage at the 72nd Writers Guild Awards at Edison Ballroom on February 01, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Writers Guild of America, East)

Gibney is also working on producing a series about historic golfer Tiger Woods that’s expected to debut later on in 2020, he explained on the red carpet

“I think people are going to like this one,” Gibney said.

He also told amNewYork Metro that a follow up to Catching Hell isn’t off the table either.

“Maybe, I sure into sports, so yes,” he said to considering some form of a sequel to the iconic sports doc.

Another highlight of the evening came when Amy Poehler presented Saturday Night Live writer Paula Pell with the Herb Sargent Award for comedy writing.

“We need quality storytelling and late night topical jokes more than ever,” the evening’s host, John Fugelsang told amNewYork Metro.

“We’ve never needed the work of artists more than ever to combat some of the ugliness that we see creeping up on our culture now,” the Coyote Ugly actor added about the American political climate.

The full list of Writers Guild Award winners:

Film

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