Writers Guild of America Awards 1996
Encyclopedia
The 50th Writers Guild of America Awards, given on 16 March 1997, honored the best writers of screen and television of 1996.
- Joel and Ethan Coen
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Theresa Rebeck
and Bill Clark
- Seinfeld
- David Mandel
Best Original Screenplay
FargoFargo (film)
Fargo is a 1996 American dark comedy-crime film produced, directed and written by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Frances McDormand as a pregnant police chief who investigates a series of homicides, William H...
- Joel and Ethan Coen
- Jerry MaguireJerry MaguireJerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe...
- Cameron CroweCameron CroweCameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes.... - Lone StarLone Star- Locations :* Lone Star State, the official state nickname of Texas** Lone Star, Texas, a city in Morris County, Texas* Lone Star, California** Lone Star, Fresno County, California, an unincorporated community in Fresno County, California...
- John SaylesJohn SaylesJohn Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"... - Secrets & Lies - Mike LeighMike LeighMichael "Mike" Leigh, OBE is a British writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and studied further at the Camberwell School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s...
- ShineShineShine may refer to:* Reflection* Shine , a 1996 Australian film starring Geoffrey Rush* Shine * Shine Guitars* LG Shine, mobile phone* Donal Shine, Gaelic footballer...
- Jan SardiJan SardiJan Sardi is an Australian screenwriter. In 1997 he was nominated for a Academy Award for Best Writing , for Shine. He has also written and directed Love's Brother, and adapted The Notebook, based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks....
and Scott HicksScott HicksRobert Scott Hicks is a film director from Australia. He is best known as the screenwriter and director of Shine, the Oscar-winning biopic of pianist David Helfgott. Hicks's work has been nominated for an Academy Award as well as winning an Emmy Award.-Personal life:Hicks was born in Uganda, the...
Best Adapted Screenplay
Sling BladeSling Blade
Sling Blade is a 1996 American drama film set in rural Arkansas, written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton, who also stars in the lead role. It tells the story of a mentally impaired man named Karl Childers who is released from a psychiatric hospital, where he has lived since killing his mother...
- Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
- EmmaEmmaEmma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively 'comedy of manners' among...
- Douglas McGrathDouglas McGrathDouglas Geoffrey McGrath is an American screenwriter. He is also a film director and actor.McGrath was nominated for a both an Academy Award and a BAFTA award for his Bullets Over Broadway screenplay... - The BirdcageThe BirdcageThe Birdcage is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Mike Nichols, and stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski. The script was written by Elaine May...
- Elaine MayElaine MayElaine May is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols... - The English PatientThe English Patient (film)The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture...
- Anthony MinghellaAnthony MinghellaAnthony Minghella, CBE was an English film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007.... - TrainspottingTrainspotting (film)Trainspotting is a 1996 British satirical/drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. The movie follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life...
- John Hodge
Best Episodic Drama
Girl Talk - NYPD BlueNYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
- Theresa Rebeck
Theresa Rebeck
Theresa Rebeck is an American playwright, television writer and novelist. Her work has appeared on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage, in film, and on television. Among her awards are the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award.-Biography:...
and Bill Clark
Bill Clark
Clark joined the New York City Police Department in 1969. He worked a special undercover assignment for two years before entering the Police Academy. In 1972 he earned his gold detective shield. On December 31, 1994, Clark retired from the Queens Homicide Detective Squad as a First Grade...
- Aftershock - Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
- Janis Diamond and Michael S. ChernuchinMichael S. ChernuchinMichael S. Chernuchin is an American television writer and producer. He has worked on the NBC crime dramas Law & Order and Brooklyn South... - SavagesSavages (Law & Order episode)"Savages" is the 114th episode of NBC's legal drama Law & Order, and the third episode of the sixth season. This episode explores the issue of capital punishment, which had been recently reintroduced in the state of New York by then-governor George Pataki....
- Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
- Morgan GendelMorgan GendelMorgan Gendel is a screenwriter and television producer who has written for such television shows as Nash Bridges, Law & Order, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Wiseguy and 21 Jump Street. Gendel won the coveted Hugo Award for writing the popular Star Trek: The Next...
, Barry M. Schkolnick and Michael S. ChernuchinMichael S. ChernuchinMichael S. Chernuchin is an American television writer and producer. He has worked on the NBC crime dramas Law & Order and Brooklyn South... - TrophyTrophyA trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
- Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
- Jeremy R. Litman, Ed Zuckerman and Michael S. ChernuchinMichael S. ChernuchinMichael S. Chernuchin is an American television writer and producer. He has worked on the NBC crime dramas Law & Order and Brooklyn South... - Pilot - Murder OneMurder One (TV series)Murder One is an American legal drama series that first aired on the ABC network in the United States in 1995. The series was created by Steven Bochco, Charles H. Eglee, and Channing Gibson.-Premise:...
- Charles H. EgleeCharles H. EgleeCharles H. Eglee is an Emmy Award winning American film and television writer and producer. He worked extensively for Steven Bochco productions throughout the 1990s. For Bochco productions he co-created Byrds of Paradise with frequent collaborator Channing Gibson and co-created Murder One with...
, Channing GibsonChanning GibsonChanning Gibson is an Emmy Award winning American television writer and producer. He worked in both capacities with St. Elsewhere and NYPD Blue. He is one of the creators of acclaimed drama series Murder One and the short-lived The Byrds of Paradise.-Career:Gibson began working in television as a...
, Steven BochcoSteven BochcoSteven Ronald Bochco is a US television producer and writer. He has developed a number of popular television hits including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue, as well as some notable flops such as Cop Rock....
and David MilchDavid MilchDavid S. Milch is an American writer and producer of television series. He has created several television shows, including NYPD Blue and Deadwood.-Biography:... - FalsiesFalsiesIn fashion, falsies is a term used in American English to denote padding for use in a brassiere to create the appearance of larger breasts. The term is also, more rarely, used for pads which create the appearance of larger buttocks. In both cases, there is a note of amusement conveyed by the term...
- Party of FiveParty of FiveParty of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation...
- Mark B. Perry - Clyde Bruckman's Final ReposeClyde Bruckman's Final Repose"Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is the fourth episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on October 13, 1996, on FOX. It was written by Darin Morgan and directed by David Nutter...
- The X Files - Darin MorganDarin MorganDarin Morgan is an American screenwriter best known for several offbeat, darkly humorous episodes of the television series The X-Files and Millennium. His teleplay for the X-Files episode "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" won a 1996 Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Drama...
Best Episodic Comedy
The Pool GuyThe Pool Guy
"The Pool Guy" is the 118th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the eighth episode of the seventh season. It aired on November 16, 1995. The end credit states "In Memory of our Friend Rick Bolden"; Rick Bolden was one of the musicians who worked on the show's theme song.-Plot:Elaine befriends...
- Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
- David Mandel
David Mandel
David Mandel is an executive producer and director of Curb Your Enthusiasm , and one of the producers of the teen-comedy Eurotrip. He was a writer for Seinfeld during its seventh, eighth, and ninth seasons. He is also one of the creators of Clerks: The Animated Series, and he was a writer for...
- The Soup NaziThe Soup Nazi"The Soup Nazi" is the title of the 116th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which was the 6th episode of the 7th season. It first aired in the United States on November 2, 1995....
- SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
- Spike FerestenSpike FerestenSpike Feresten is an American television writer, screenwriter and television personality.-Origins and early career:Feresten was born September 3, 1964 in Fall River and raised in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where he attended public schools. Feresten then attended Berklee College of Music in... - The SpongeThe Sponge"The Sponge" is the 119th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the ninth episode for the seventh season. It aired on December 7, 1995.-Plot:...
- SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
- Peter MehlmanPeter MehlmanPeter Mehlman is an American television writer and producer, best known for serving as a writer and producer on the TV series Seinfeld through nearly all of the show's nine-year run from 1989 to 1998. He also created the 1999 series It's Like, You Know... and produced the 2004 animated series... - Eight - The Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
- Peter TolanPeter TolanPeter James Tolan III is an American television producer, director, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Tolan was born in Scituate, Massachusetts where he was a perrenial favorite in the high school's dramatic productions. Before leaving to pursue a career in Hollywood, Tolan founded a theater...