The 61st

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility ...

s honored the best

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, and videogame writers of 2008. Winners were announced on February 7, 2009.

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 Robin Stender Swicord (born October 23, 1952) is an American screenwriter, film director, and playwright, best known for literary adaptations. Her notable screenplays include ''Little Women'' (1994), ''Matilda'' (1996), ''Practical Magic'' (1998 ...

(story); F. Scott Fitzgerald (author) *''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan Nolan, Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and t ...

'' –

Jonathan Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

and

Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&nb ...

(screenplay), Christopher Nolan and

David S. Goyer David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), the '' Blade'' ...

(story); Bob Kane and

Bill Finger Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatur ...

(creators) *'' Doubt'' –

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer P ...

(screenplay and playwright) *'' Frost/Nixon'' –

Peter Morgan Peter Julian Robin Morgan, (10 April 1963) is a British screenwriter and playwright. He is the playwright behind '' The Audience'' and '' Frost/Nixon'' and the screenwriter of ''The Queen'' (2006), '' Frost/Nixon'' (2008), '' The Damned Unit ...

(screenplay and playwright) *''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...

'' – Simon Beaufoy (screenplay); Vikas Swarup (author)

Best Original Screenplay

*''

Burn After Reading ''Burn After Reading'' is a 2008 black comedy spy film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It follows a recently jobless CIA analyst, Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) whose misplaced memoirs are found by a pair of dimwitt ...

'' – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen *''

Milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

'' – Dustin Lance Black *'' Vicky Cristina Barcelona'' –

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

*'' The Visitor'' – Tom McCarthy *'' The Wrestler'' –

Robert Siegel Robert Charles Siegel (born June 26, 1947) is an American retired radio journalist. He was one of the co-hosts of the National Public Radio evening news broadcast ''All Things Considered'' from 1987 until his retirement in January 2018. Early ...

Best Documentary Feature Screenplay

*'' Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story'' - Stefan Forbes and Noland Walker *'' Chicago 10'' -

Brett Morgen Brett D. Morgen (born October 11, 1968) is an American documentary filmmaker. His directorial credits include ''The Kid Stays in the Picture'' (2002), '' Crossfire Hurricane'' (2012), '' Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'' (2015), ''Jane'' (2017), an ...

*''

Fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy b ...

'' - Johnny O'Hara *'' Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson'' -

Alex Gibney Philip Alexander Gibney (; born October 23, 1953) is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, ''Esquire'' magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time". Gibney's works as director include '' ...

; from the words of Hunter S. Thompson *'' Waltz with Bashir'' - Ari Folman

Television

Dramatic Series

Comedy Series

New Series

Episodic Drama

Episodic Comedy

Long Form - Original

Long Form - Adaptation

Animation

Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) Series

Comedy/Variety – Music, Awards, Tributes – Specials

Daytime Serials

Children's

=Episodic & Specials

=Long Form or Special

Documentary

=Current events

=Other than current events

News

=Regularly scheduled, bulletin, or breaking report

=Analysis, feature, or commentary

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 ''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...

'' - Lead Writer Emil Pagliarulo, quest writing Erik J. Caponi, Brian Chapin, Jon Paul Duvall, Kurt Kuhlmann, Alan Nanes,

Bruce Nesmith Bruce Nesmith is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He was Creative Director at TSR, working on a variety of games including ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and is a senior game designer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has ...

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."

References

External links

{{WGA Awards Chron Writers Guild of America Awards, 2008 W

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

W Writers Guild of America Awards 2008 in American cinema 2008 in American television Writers Guild of America Awards