Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" was partly improvised and scripted by nine writers, but it still walked away Sunday night with one of the Writers Guild Awards' top honors, best adapted screenplay.
At the guild's virtual, pre-recorded 73rd annual awards, the biggest winners were a pair of awards-season dark horses. Best original screenplay went to the script for the feminist revenge thriller "Promising Young Woman," by writer-director Emerald Fennell. The film, which is nominated for five Oscars including best picture, triumphed over Aaron Sorkin's "The Trial of the Chicago 7," along with "Sound of Metal," "Judas and the Black Messiah" and "Palm Springs."
The "Borat" sequel win came over "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "News of the World," "One Night in Miami" and "The White Tiger." Due to guild regulations, several of this year's best-picture nominees at the Academy Awards weren't nominated, including "Mank," "Nomadland," "Minari" and "The Father."
Cohen and his fellow eight credited writers for the film's screenplay and story accepted the award by Zoom.
"Thank you for this incredible award, though I can't help thinking we won it because 60% of the Writers Guild worked on this movie," said Cohen. "A film like this is extremely hard to write partly because it stars real people whose behavior is completely unpredictable. Well, apart from Rudy Giuliani who did everything we hoped for."
Kal Penn hosted the show, streamed privately for invitees, from his living room. He began dressed in a tuxedo and ended in his pajamas.
Best documentary screenplay went to the Jamal Khashoggi documentary "The Dissident," written by director Bryan Fogel and Mark Monroe. The film, which streaming services were too timid to acquire, Fogel has argued, missed out on an Oscar nomination.
Other awards included "Ted Lasso" for comedy series and for new series; "The Crown" for drama series; "The Great" for episodic comedy; and "Ozark" for episodic drama.
The guild's awards came after the conclusion of a two-year battle with talent agencies over potential conflicts of interest as representatives of film and TV writers. Last month, WME became the final big agency to sign the guild's agreement over an industry practice known as "packaging."
"Our agency campaign has made us true partners again with our agency representatives," said David Goodman, president of the WGA West.
Here’s a full rundown of winners:
FILM WINNERS
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Promising Young Woman, Written by Emerald Fennell; Focus Features
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja & Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern, Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Nina Pedrad, Based on Characters Created by Sacha Baron Cohen; Amazon Studios
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
The Dissident, Written by Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel; Briarcliff Entertainment
TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS
DRAMA SERIES
The Crown, Written by Peter Morgan, Jonathan Wilson; Netflix
COMEDY SERIES
Ted Lasso, Written by Jane Becker, Leann Bowen, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence, Jamie Lee, Jason Sudeikis, Phoebe Walsh, Bill Wrubel; Apple TV+
NEW SERIES
Ted Lasso, Written by Jane Becker, Leann Bowen, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence, Jamie Lee, Jason Sudeikis, Phoebe Walsh, Bill Wrubel; Apple TV+
ORIGINAL LONG FORM
Mrs. America, Written by Tanya Barfield, Joshua Griffith, Sharon Hoffman, Boo Killebrew, Micah Schraft, April Shih, Dahvi Waller; FX Networks
ADAPTED LONG FORM
The Queen’s Gambit, Written by Scott Frank, Allan Scott, Based on the novel by Walter Tevis; Netflix
ORIGINAL & ADAPTED SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
#FREERAYSHAWN, Written by Marc Maurino; Quibi
ANIMATION
“Xerox of a Xerox” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Nick Adams; Netflix
EPISODIC DRAMA
“Fire Pink” (Ozark), Written by Miki Johnson; Netflix
EPISODIC COMEDY
“The Great” (The Great), Written by Tony McNamara; Hulu
COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES
Desus & Mero, Writers: Daniel “Desus Nice” Baker, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Josh Gondelman, Robert Kornhauser, Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez, Heben Nigatu, Mike Pielocik, Julia Young; Showtime
COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand: Building Back America Great Again Better 2020, Head Writers Ariel Dumas, Jay Katsir, Writers: Delmonte Bent, Michael Brumm, River Clegg, Aaron Cohen, Stephen T. Colbert, Nicole Conlan, Paul Dinello, Glenn Eichler, Django Gold, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Michael Cruz Kayne, Eliana Kwartler, Matt Lappin, Felipe Torres Medina, Opus Moreschi, Asher Perlman, Tom Purcell, Kate Sidley, Brian Stack, John Thibodeaux, Steve Waltien; Showtime
COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
At Home with Amy Sedaris, Writers: Jeremy Beiler, Cole Escola, Peter Grosz, Amy Sedaris; truTV
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Weakest Link, Head Writer: Ann Slichter, Writers: Chip Dornell, Paul Greenberg, Joyce Ikemi, Stuart Krasnow, Jon Macks, Mona Mira, Scott Saltzburg, Aaron Solomon, Chris Sturgeon, Grant Taylor; NBC
DAYTIME DRAMA
Days of Our Lives, Head Writer: Ron Carlivati, Writers: Lorraine Broderick, Joanna Cohen, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, David Kreizman, Rebecca McCarty, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Katherine D. Schock, Elizabeth Snyder; NBC
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
“The Sleepover,” Written by Sarah Rothschild.; Netflix
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Agents of Chaos, Part I,” Written by Alex Gibney & Michael J. Palmer; HBO Documentary Films
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Opioids, Inc” (Frontline), Written by Tom Jennings; PBS
NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Anger in America” (World News Tonight with David Muir), Written by Dave Bloch, David Muir, Karen Mooney, David Schoetz; ABC News
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming,” Written by Dave Bloch; ABC News
DIGITAL NEWS
“The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd,” Written by Aymann Ismail, Slate.com
RADIO/AUDIO WINNERS
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT—REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Changemakers: Leaders Who Made a Difference,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Against Those Thugs: Delores Tucker and Bill Bennett,” Written by Joel Anderson, Christopher Johnson; Slate Podcasts
