“I urge you to find a way to remain alone with yourself…listen to your silences…not always in a writer’s room. Try to find, not what the crowd wants, so you can be successful, but try and stop to find your true meaning of your life, here on earth. And never give up on your heart and your struggle for peace and telling the truth.” Oliver Stone. (2017, WGAW’s Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement)
“So whatever you do, I ask you to look at those busy diaries of yours and say, ‘Let me actually go to someone and see if I can work with them and make some little extraordinary thing to change peoples’ hearts and minds to raise some money. It’s not always easy, you might find yourself compromised, and it can be complicated, but so is everything that we all do … better you get the sh** kicked out of you for trying to save someone’s life then trying to make the BBC more money.” Richard Curtis. (2017, WGAW’s Valentine Davies Award for humanitarian service and charitable efforts around the globe.)
“The most powerful delivery system ever invented for an idea is a story. The men and women in this room and the one just like it in NY, are America storytellers. We come from everywhere. We are old and young, black and white, gay and straight, wealthy and struggling, and yes liberal and conservative. The most powerful delivery system ever invented for an idea, is a story. And we are America’s storytellers and my dream of becoming one of you, has become true.”-Aaron Sorkin. (2017, WGAW’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement)
On February 19th, 2017 the Writers Guild Awards took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, where the nominees and honored guests adorned the red carpet donned in tuxes and gowns. As the paparazzi flashed, the video cameras rolled, and each writer had the opportunity to sparkle in front of the camera instead of behind, perhaps, still, their most important accoutrements, were the words that they had written throughout the year.
If it weren’t for these hard working, mostly behind the scenes artists (THE WRITERS), the words coming out of our favorite films or television stars’ mouths wouldn’t exist. The laughter, the tears, the gripping stories that drive viewers back to the screen, week after week, wouldn’t exist. The hero’s journey, the climatic pinnacle of the story, the happy resolution or cliff hanger ending wouldn’t exist.
Tonight, three renowned writers, Oliver Stone, Richard Curtis and Aaron Sorkin, who were recipients of special awards, captivated the room with sagacious and profound encouragement that poignantly clarified a writer’s mission…the raison d’être for being a writer.
The Hollywood 360 had the opportunity to first interview some of the nominees on the red carpet before the ceremony and then talk with the winners afterwards in the Press Room. Our spot on the red carpet leaned around the corner at the tail end, however we were right in front of the ball room where many of the celebrities were leaving and entering. It was an amusing spot to observe behavior that otherwise wouldn’t have been seen on the red carpet.
Jeff Goldblum joked and took pics with the young, beautiful reporters on the red carpet at this end of the room. He seemed to float from one admiring pack of people to another.
Oliver Stone’s head poked out of the door and my camera went into action. He walked in front of us, but wasn’t stopping for interviews here. Another photographer asked him to please pose for a moment so a picture could be taken, which he did do. Both of us snapped quickly.
The stunning and talented Emmy-winning and Oscar nominated actress, Shohreh Aghdashloo seemed to sense we would like to take her photograph and was so gracious to stop without us saying a word, before she walked the red carpet officially.
Here are interviews with some of the nominees on the red carpet.
Dance Camp Writers: Cameron Fay, Nick Turner, and Rex New. Nominated for Best Children’s Script-Long Form
The Hollywood 360: What were you nominated for?
Cameron Fay: I worked on Dance Camp nominated for Best Children’s Film. It was the first movie on Youtube Red and put out as a scripted movie.
The Hollywood 360: Tell us more about Dance Camp.
Cameron Fay: It’s a teen dance comedy.
The Hollywood 360: It sounds like you are making history here having the first movie nominated from Youtube.
Cameron Fay: It’s Youtube’s first nomination as a scripted piece. I actually rewrote the script and shared credit with the original writers, Nick Turner and Rex New.
Nick Turner: We all wrote Dance Camp together.
The Hollywood 360: How are your dance steps?
Nick Turner: Fantastic. You should see me popping.
Rex New: He’s the reason we were picked to write the movie.
Nick Turner: We’re in the underground circuit though. It’s like warehouse parties, downtown LA…once people find out about it, we’ll have to stop doing it. LOL.
The Hollywood 360: What inspired the writing of this movie? Why is dancing so popular?
Rex New: I think it’s a way for people to express themselves in a silly and fun manner. It’s a way to let loose a go wild…and why not?
Cameron Fay: We actually met at a Krump Dancing contest and it was me versus the two of them and they won because it was two on one.
The Hollywood 360: And you decided that this story would make a great script.
Nick Turner: Yes. We realized we had to honor him in a certain way and that was through writing Dance Camp.
Rex New: Our movie is basically like Blood Sport but with kids.
The Hollywood 360: Let’s see you all dance now!
We were treated to some of these writer’s best moves.
Writer for Maya and Marty: Eli Bauman, Nominated for Comedy/Variety-Sketch Series
The Hollywood 360: You have to be really funny to write for these two.
Eli Bauman: They’re really funny. I say to myself, ‘There’s no Universe where I will ever be as funny as these two people…however, they get to say the stuff that I write and they are such pros it it too. They speak my words, even if it’s not worthy of their talent. LOL.
The Hollywood 360: How many writers are writing for that show?
Eli Bauman: We had some overlap too with Saturday Night Live writers. There are a lot of us. We had like 10? I also wrote most of the music for the show too.
The Hollywood 360: Tell us one very funny incident that happened while working on the show.
Eli Bauman: Marty is such a ham. I remember one time we were drinking after the show in the Rainbow Room and Marty just took a cigarette and just started smoking out of his nose…in the window…I think mooning was involved.
The Hollywood 360: How about Maya. Talk about her.
Eli Bauman: Maya is one of the most innately talented people I’ve ever met. She’s so effortlessly funny. Marty, I kind of understand. Marty is like a real ham and so good at that. Maya is like scary smart funny.
Eric Heisserer: Writer nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Arrival
The Hollywood 360: Talk about how you adapted the original short story into a screenplay.
Eric Heisserer: This was based on a short story by Ted Chiang called Story of Your Life. I had fallen in love with that story in 2006 or 2007. I knew that the way it made me feel… uplifted and heartbroken at the same time, and it was so complex, I wanted to share that with a larger audience.
The Hollywood 360: It is a very spiritual story too. Talk about your experience writing the script. What were some of the difficulties writing it?
Eric Heisserer: It took me a year to write the first full draft. A lot of that was research and development. More than anything for this script, I had to experiment in how much science I could put into it, without it being like a Ted Talk. And how much emotional moments I could have, that made sense in context. There was a lot that I wrote between Louise and her daughter Hannah that was too much, so I had to find a way to pare it down at the moments it was the most significant.
The Hollywood 360: Was this your first time being nominated for an Oscar?
Eric Heisserer: Yes. I am thrilled.
The Hollywood 360: When the movie was being made, were you on the set? If so, talk about the different actors.
Eric Heisserer: I was on the set. Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker were all phenomenal people. It was a well- oiled machine. Everyone was so calm on set. I’ve been on seven different movie sets now and it’s typical that something is on fire and people panic, which is how it goes. This one was smooth and confident and full of passion. I was amazed. It made me miss it as soon as I left the set.
The Hollywood360: Tell us what other movies you have written.
Eric Heisserer: Last year I wrote and produced, Lights Out and I wrote and directed a film called Hours starring Paul Walker.
The Hollywood 360: Writing and directing seem to go hand in hand now. Do you enjoy doing both?
Eric Heisserer: Like it? I find it is the most brutally rewarding thing in the career.
The Hollywood 360: A lot of times when writers finishes the script, that’s the end of it. The script goes into the director’s hands. What was your input on the set of Arrival?
Eric Heisserer: Denis Villeneuve, the Director, said to me, ‘You and I are married now,’ and he meant it. (Eric Heisserer went on to win the best Adapted Screenplay Award that evening.)
Recipient of WGAW 2017 Morgan Cox Award for Guild Service: Dan Wilcox
His writing credits are: M*A*S*H, Alice, Good Times, Newhart, Murder She Wrote, Roots and many more.
The Hollywood360: Please tell us about your illustrious career for being nominated for this award.
Dan Wilcox: This award is given to a member of the Guild who has done exemplary service. I’ve done a lot. I’ve spent nine years on the Board and I still do a lot of committee work.
The Hollywood 360: What are the things you really have to fight for?
Dan Wilcox: It comes down to respect. It’s not just the money…most writers now run most of the television shows…in spite of that, we thought it was still necessary, we thought it as interchangeable parts.
The Hollywood 360: It seems like the writers tend to stay behind the scenes and usually don’t get the recognition.
Dan Wilcox: In television you continue to have everything start with the writer, and we see it through to the end. In features, it is different. In general, you can’t do any of it, without what writers do.
The Hollywood 360: How many years have you’ve been doing it?
Dan Wilcox: My first job was Captain Kangaroo in 1965.
The Hollywood 360: (Laughing.) I’m sure you deserve this honor tonight. Writing has certainly changed since Captain Kangaroo until now!
Dan Wilcox simply shook his head and agreed.
Constanza Romero, (August Wilson’s widow) August Wilson was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, Fences
The Hollywood 360: Tell us about the screenplay Fences.
Constanza Romero: The screenplay Fences opens up the play that he wrote for the stage and we suddenly see the whole house come alive…we see the Hill District of Pittsburgh where August grew up, we get a wonderful opportunity to experience it through his eyes. We are seeing things we would have never seen on stage, like Denzel and his friend Bono picking up garbage. It opens up to the city of Pittsburgh…I think that city is another character in the movie.
The Hollywood 360: When your husband August Wilson was writing this, how intense was he as a writer?
Constanza Romero: He was very intense. He was funny. He was ironic. But when he saw an injustice of any sort, he would stand up and speak for the little people or the people who were suffering, much like he did in this play. With his plays, he makes peoples’ dreams come alive and he speaks about those dreams. I am so proud of him for being nominated.
The Hollywood 360: How did you think Fences came out on film?
Constanza Romero: I couldn’t wait to see and hear how his language would play on film. I sat in an empty theater with our daughter, and we saw the film. I was crying because his language reads so beautifully on the stage and on the film.
Allison Schroeder, Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Hidden Figures
Allison Schroeder: The movie just keeps going and going and going and finding audiences worldwide. I was over in London and they were excited about it and theaters were selling out. I thought, ‘What’s happening?’ But I guess it’s a great story.
The Hollywood 360: You know it’s a great story because it’s about women, encouragement, and never giving up. And you’re the only female nominated as a screenwriter at this Oscars. Talk about how that feels in regards to the story you have written.
Allison Schroeder: I’m really proud of the story and what it represents for women. When I took it… I thought, do we really get to write a movie with female leads that are talking about math and science? The fact that this actually happened, is pretty incredible. I am trying to represent female writers everywhere and hopefully we will see more and more women being nominated in this category for seasons to come.
The Hollywood 360: We want to see more women writing stories.
Allison Schroeder: We really do. The women are different in this film because of the professions that they had chosen and the men are different as well. The men loved them and supported them and boosted them up.
The Hollywood 360: Ted Melfi told me some amazing stories about how people were affected by the movie. Can you share any as well?
Allison Schroder: I heard about this first grade boy in his class when they were teaching about civil rights, standing up and telling everyone he was going to explain about segregation…then he proceeded to say every scene in the movie and why it was wrong. It blew away his first grade teacher. So for me, it’s all about the youth, for the future. That’s all there is. Keep going. Dream big.
The Hollywood 360: Also for young girls to see they can succeed in male dominated fields, no matter what those are, in science, in the entertainment industry here…
Allison Schroeder: Not only can they make it…they can still have a family, they can still have romances, they can still look amazing and look fierce. You don’t have to lose your feminine side to still be great.
The Hollywood 360: Talk about working with the original author, Margot Lee Shetterly, who wrote Hidden Figures. You worked closely with her.
Allison Schroeder: Margot was amazing. She was writing the book the same time I was writing the screenplay and she gave me all of her research. We got on the phone every day and confer.
In the Press Room, each winner came down to the red carpet to take photos. We also interviewed the winners after they walked off. Here are some of those interviews.
Winner:
Vera Hunt, Episodic Drama, “The Trip” This Is Us NBC
The Hollywood 360: First of all, I love this show. I was a big fan of Thirty Something and this is like the modern day version of that show.
Vera Hunt: It’s the next generation.
The Hollywood 360: What is your experience writing for this show? This is reality yet portrayed with such a beautiful dramatic sense.
Vera Hunt: It is. A lot of it is based on the writer’s lives. We came into the writer’s room the first week and literally told the sad stories from our lives for two weeks straight. And we cried a lot. We took all that…not only did it makes us bond as a room and feel very comfortable to share stuff and pitch stuff…we took a lot of those stories and said, ‘Remember when this person said that about how they felt as a teenager. Let’s use that.’
The Hollywood 360: The stories are honest and the writing is transparent.
Vera Hunt: We are not afraid to display uncomfortable feelings, the things that are going to make you cry. We live in that space.
The Hollywood 360: Talk about working with Ken Olin.
Vera Hunt: He’s great. As our producing/director, Ken is so understanding of story and performance. When you are in meetings with him, the way he approaches character directs the show, helps us as writers and producers, and is so strong and powerful.
The Hollywood 360: The episode you won for was when the triplets went up to the cabin…
Vera Hunt: It also had the part where Jack does pushups with Randall on his back at the Dojo.
The Hollywood 360: The storyline about the main couple adopting Randal after their third triplet child died, is very interesting.
Vera Hunt: It is called transracial adoption. It is something we have tried to hone in on in a very honest way. We talked to a woman who is an expert on transracial adoptions and found out how a white family could adopt a black child, and what that would be like especially in the 80’s… what resources would they have had.
Winner:
Laurie Parres, Children’s Script, Episodic & Specials, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, Amazon Studios
The Hollywood 360: Tell us about your script.
Laurie Parres: My script for Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street is about our girl character worrying about her friends not being able to relate to what she was going through.
The Hollywood 360: It is wonderful that we have a girl character starring in a story.
Laurie Parres: I have to credit Amazon for picking up the show, where we have strong girls who are 13 years old.
The Hollywood 360: Tell us a little about you as a female writer in the television industry.
Laurie Parres: They say if you don’t see it, you can’t be it. I didn’t know any female writers coming out here, but met them along the way. The idea that I get to write strong girls so that other girls can grow up knowing that being this way is cool and fun, that’s admirable. It means a lot to me.
Richard Curtis gave a very impassioned speech regarding writers using their talents to help raise money for causes that help the unfortunate. He received the Valentine Davies Award for his humanitarian work around the world. When he came off the Press Room red carpet, he had to hurry back to the ball room. However, he talked with me for a moment about his philosophy regarding his writing style.
Interview with Richard Curtis/Writer/Director
The Hollywood 360: Talk about writing comedy and how you present your storylines and characters.
Richard Curtis: I had a very happy childhood. I do just try and reflect…I don’t try and present anything deeper about serious things, about happy and romantic subjects. Since I feel that, I might as well stick to my guns. I’m just about still keeping the faith.
Best Comedy/Variety-Music, Awards, Tributes – Specials, Triumph The Primary Election Special 2016, Hulu Network
The writing crew for Triumph… appeared to be a merry group. They joked with each other as they came off the red carpet.
The Hollywood 360: You beat out a lot of very funny writers. Tell us how you wrote this show.
The Writers of Triumph: A lot of it we wrote from home in our underwear. Mostly by email. We are kind of spread out between LA and NY. Some of us didn’t even wear underwear. LOL.
The Hollywood 360: How did you make it work being in so many different places?
The Writers of Triumph: Most of us had worked with Robert Smigel in some capacity before. Robert is very loyal. He’s a great collector of people.
Aaron Sorkin received the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement. His speech was delivered in a humble and gracious manner as he showed his appreciation for being a writer.
“My only dream was to become a professional writer, to be able to pay my bills with the money I made writing. It was to be a part of the WGA.”
“The most powerful delivery system ever invented for an idea is a story. The men and women in this room and the one just like it in NY, are America storytellers. We come from everywhere. We are old and young, black and white, gay and straight, wealthy and struggling, and yes liberal and conservative. The most powerful delivery system ever invented for an idea, is a story. And we are America’s storytellers and my dream of becoming one of you, has become true.”
Eric Heisserer looked extremely happy to have won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The Hollywood 360 congratulated him as he came off the red carpet in the Press Room.
Eric Heisserer, Best Adapted Screenplay, Arrival.
The Hollywood 360: You won. Congratulations. Were you expecting this?
Eric Heisserer: No…I was expecting to have a good time. I wasn’t thinking about whether I should win or not.
Lauren Signorino & Mike Zunic, Short Form New Media –Adapted, Fear the Walking Dead; Passage
The Hollywood 360: Talk about this new category for writing.
Mike Zunic: It’s great for young writers to get their legs. It’s important for the new generation of writers to express themselves with the content under five minutes in length.
Lauren Signorino: It’s wonderful to get recognized.
The Hollywood 360: What else are you working on?
Mike Zunic: We each are also working on the long form of Fear of the Walking Dead.
Jamari Olori, Stefani Robinson, Stephan Glover, Best Comedy Series, Atlanta, FX
The writers for Atlanta won for two categories, Best Comedy Series and Best New Series. The ease in which they interacted with one another, it was evident that the chemistry between the writers created this alchemy of great writing.
The Hollywood 360: Why is Atlanta so funny?
Stefani Robinson: I think it’s funny because it is real life and because we make it funny to each other. At the end of the day we are not trying to please anyone else, we are trying to please each other.
The Hollywood 360: What is so funny about your real life experiences?
Jamari Olori: Everybody’s real life experiences are funny. If you ever have seen something crazy happen and you’re like, ’Man, is this really happening?’
Stefani Robinson: I’m sure there’s something more eloquent in that. He danced around the beauty of it. I’m not sure there is anything funny about growing up in Atlanta or growing up anywhere, what we did is hone in on the specificity with what we grew up with and brought it to screen and exploited what was funny to us.
Stephen Glover: It’s capturing those real moments that aren’t necessarily laugh out loud funny, but you spend the time with people…period. The moments that you think are funny but no one else sees it. Honesty and realism.
The Hollywood 360: Is there Southern humor here?
Stefani Robinson: No.
Jamari Olori: There’s humor in everything.
Stefani Robinson: It’s funny because it’s something you see every day. What’s cool about our show is, not only are you taking a chance with an all-black show telling a story with an all-black cast, I think it’s funny because it’s different, it’s real and it’s true. When you give people a platform to make something funny and special, you get something special.
Tanya Barfield, Best Drama Series, The Americans, FX
The Hollywood 360: This is your first award. Talk about your show and what it means to you to have won this award.
Tanya Barfield: It means so much to me because The Americans has been on the air for four years now and I think it’s such an incredible show, particularly in our political climate today. I’m proud that now it is recognized with what was going on in the world.
The Hollywood 360: Tell us a bit about your background?
Tanya Barfield: I studied playwriting in college.
The Hollywood 360: Talk about the difference between writing for theater and writing for television?
Tanya Barfield: Television is more collaborative and wonderful opportunity to get together with writers and come up with story together and the scope of television goes is so much broader.
The Hollywood 360: Is there a particular character on the show that stands out for you?
Tanya Barfield: I loved writing for Martha last season. It was a joy for me to have that opportunity.
Writers for Saturday Night Live, Best Comedy/Variety-Sketch Series, Saturday Night Live, NBC
The Hollywood 360: What makes Saturday Night Live so special after being on the air for so long?
Fred Armisen: What makes it so special? I think it’s a very ordinary, not special show. I think it’s like any other…I think it’s a carbon copy of everything else out there. It keeps evolving, the cast keeps changing, the writing keeps changing, that’s what makes it alive.
The Hollywood 360: Think about all the decades the show has gone through.
Writer: There is this process in place that you can plug new parts into it, and it gets integrated by the new cast, new writers. There is an existing structure that can accommodate the new voices.
Fred Armisen: It’s live so that is a rare thing.
The Hollywood 360: How is it being a female with all these crazy guys?
Emily Spivey: It’s so fun being a female!
Barry Jenkins, Best Original Screenplay, Moonlight
Barry Jenkins: Moonlight is half way between stage and screen. The Oscars thought it was closer to stage so it was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for the Academy Awards. It was a very unique work and there was a process of translation that was involved, so no matter what category we’re in, to be nominated is an honor.
The Hollywood 360: How long did it take you to write this screenplay?
Barry Jenkins: The first draft took 10 days to be honest, but the film on screen was not the first draft. The script that was submitted was not the first draft. The original translation was six months which was myself and Tarell McCraney workshopping the piece. The source material was 45 pages. The final script was 103 pages. But after that first draft there were six to seven more. It was a year and a half process.
The Hollywood 360: Please talk about your background.
Barry Jenkins: I’m from the world of the film…I’m not very different from this character. Tarell, the playwright was not very far removed from this character. You don’t think this character would grow up and hold one of these things. I guess he does, because I am. That’s my story.
And this was the story for all of these writers this evening who were once again honored by the WGAW this evening. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners. Tonight you were in front of the camera.
Complete List of Winners
FILM WINNERS
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Moonlight, Screenplay by Barry Jenkins, Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney; A24
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Arrival, Screenplay by Eric Heisserer; Based on the Story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang; Paramount Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Command and Control, Telescript by Robert Kenner & Eric Schlosser, Story by Brian Pearle and Kim Roberts; Based on the book Command and Control by Eric Schlosser; American Experience Films
TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS
DRAMA SERIES
The Americans, Written by Peter Ackerman, Tanya Barfield, Joshua Brand, Joel Fields, Stephen Schiff, Joe Weisberg, Tracey Scott Wilson; FX
COMEDY SERIES
Atlanta, Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Jamal Olori, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX
NEW SERIES
Atlanta, Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Jamal Olori, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX
ORIGINAL LONG FORM
Confirmation, Written by Susannah Grant; HBO
ADAPTED LONG FORM
The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Written by Scott Alexander, Joe Robert Cole, D.V. DeVincentis, Maya Forbes, Larry Karaszewski, Wally Wolodarsky, Based on the book The Run of His Life by Jeffrey Toobin; FX
ORIGINAL SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
“The Party” (The Commute), Written by Linsey Stewart & Dane Clark; youtube.com
ADAPTED SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
“Part 4” (Fear the Walking Dead: Passage), Written by Lauren Signorino & Mike Zunic; amc.com
ANIMATION
“Stop the Presses” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Joe Lawson; Netflix
EPISODIC DRAMA
“The Trip” (This Is Us), Written by Vera Herbert; NBC
EPISODIC COMEDY
“Kimmy Goes on a Playdate!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Written by Robert Carlock; Netflix
COMEDY / VARIETY TALK SERIES
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner; HBO
COMEDY / VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Rob Klein, Bryan Tucker Writers: James Anderson, Fred Armisen, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Jim Downey, Tina Fey, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Tim Herlihy, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Erik Kenward, Paul Masella, Dave McCary, Dennis McNicholas, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Paula Pell, Katie Rich, Tim Robinson, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Dave Sirus, Emily Spivey, Andrew Steele, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette; NBC
COMEDY / VARIETY SPECIALS
Triumph The Primary Election Special 2016, Written by Andy Breckman, Josh Comers, Raj Desai, David Feldman, R J Fried, Jarrett Grode, Ben Joseph, Matthew Kirsch, Michael Koman, Mike Lawrence, Brian Reich, Craig Rowin, Robert Smigel, Zach Smilovitz, David Taylor, Andrew Weinberg; Additional Materials by Ray James, Jesse Joyce, Jason Reich, Alex Scordelis; Hulu
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Michael Agbabian, Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter, Dwight D. Smith; NBC
DAYTIME DRAMA
General Hospital, Writers: Shelly Altman, Anna Theresa Cascio, Andrea Archer Compton, Suzanne Flynn, Janet Iacobuzio, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Jean Passanante, Dave Rupel, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Chris Van Etten, Christopher Whitesell; ABC
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC
“Mel vs. The Night Mare of Normal Street” (Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street), Written by Laurie Parres; Amazon Studios
CHILDREN’S LONG FORM
Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas, Written by Geri Cole & Ken Scarborough; HBO
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“The Choice 2016” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS (TIE)
“Inside Assad’s Syria” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith; PBS (TIE)
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Jackie Robinson, Part One,” Written by David McMahon & Sarah Burns; PBS
TV NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Muhammad Ali: Remembering A Legend” (48 Hours), Written by Jerry Cipriano, John Craig Wilson; CBS News
TV NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“CBS Sunday Morning Almanac” June 12, 2016 (CBS Sunday Morning), Written by Thomas A. Harris; CBS
RADIO WINNERS
RADIO DOCUMENTARY
“Chernobyl: 30 Years Later,” Written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“World News This Week” August 26, 2016, Written by Tara Gimbel Tanis; ABC News Radio
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Morley Safer: A Journalist’s Life,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
PROMOTIONAL WINNERS
ON-AIR PROMOTION (TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA OR RADIO)
“CBS On-Air Reel,” Written by Brian Retchless; CBS On-Air Promotion
TELEVISION GRAPHIC ART AND ANIMATION
“The Real History of Cinco de Mayo” (Gawker Media Group), Graphic Animation by Elisa Solinas; Lifehacker.com
VIDEOGAME WINNER
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Written by Neil Druckmann, Josh Scherr; Additional Writing Tom Bissell, Ryan James; Naughty Dog