'Parasite', 'Jojo Rabbit' among top winners of WGA awards

Movies 'Parasite' and 'Jojo Rabbit', and series 'Succession' and 'Barry' were big winners at the Writers Guild of America's award ceremony held on Saturday night.

The awards were handed out in concurrent ceremonies on both the East and West Coasts.

Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won took home the award for original screenplay for 'Parasite'. Bong expressed his gratitude to WGA members for reading his script in translation. "You understood the structure of our story and the nuance of our dialogue - it's amazing," he said, reports variety.com.

In English, Bong made a reference to President Donald Trump's polarising political agenda by observing: "Some people make the barriers higher. We writers, we love to destroy the barriers."

'Jojo Rabbit' by Taika Waititi won over competitors including Todd Phillips and Scott Silver.

On the TV side, HBO dominated the winners' list, starting with 'Succession', which won both best drama and best drama episode. It also bagged the best comedy prize for 'Barry' (although the pilot to Netflix's 'Dead to Me' won for comedy episode). And in longform, HBO did it again with its Emmy winner 'Chernobyl', which won for original screenplay, while FX's 'Fosse/Verdon' won the top honour in adapted screenplay.

HBO's "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver", won the comedy/variety talk prize, its fourth in a row.

Screenwriter-director Nancy Meyers ("Private Benjamin", "Something's Gotta Give") received WGAW's Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement.

Comedy writer Merrill Markoe ("Late Night with David Letterman") got WGAW's Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement.

Creator-director-producer Brad Falchuk ("The Politician," "Glee") received WGAW's Valentine Davies Award, in recognition of his impact on young writers to increase literacy and promote self-esteem through arts education in schools.

Screenwriter Charles Randolph ("The Big Short") received WGAW's Paul Selvin Award for his "Bombshell" screenplay.

In New York, honorary winners included writer Richard Price ("The Color of Money", "The Night Of") who was presented with the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement; writer/actress Paula Pell was given the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence and Mentorship; writer Lisa Takeuchi Cullen ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") was presented the Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service.

The Los Angeles ceremony was hosted by comedian-actress Ana Gasteyer. The New York event, on the other hand, was hosted by actor John Fugelsang.

( With inputs from IANS )