'Gosford Park,' 'Mind' win WGA Awards

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 4 (UPI) -- "Gosford Park" and "A Beautiful Mind" won top honors at the 54th Annual Writers Guild Awards presented Saturday in dual ceremonies in Beverly Hills, Calif. and New York.

Julian Fellowes won for best screenplay written directly for the screen for "Gosford Park" -- his first produced screenplay. Robert Altman, the Oscar-nominated director of the picture, has credited Fellowes with writing a "foolproof script."

Akiva Goldsman added to a growing list of awards for his adaptation of Sylvia Nasar's book, "A Beautiful Mind," winning the WGA prize for best screenplay based on material previously produced or published. Goldsman had already won a Golden Globe and a USC Scripter Award, and was nominated for a BAFTA by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

The WGA winner for original screenplay has gone to win the Oscar six times in the past 10 years, while the WGA winner for adapted screenplay has won the Oscar seven times over that span.

PBS, which led the TV field with nine nominations, won three awards, all in documentary categories. "Drug Wars Part 2," an installment of the "Frontline" series, was named best current events documentary. The "Nova" episode "Hitler's Lost Sub" tied for best non-current events documentary with "Scottsboro, An American Tragedy," which appeared on the series, "The American Experience."

HBO, which was nominated for eight WGA awards, won two. "Conspiracy" won for best original long form, and the "Pine Barrens" episode of "The Sopranos" won for best episodic drama.

CBS, which also had eight TV nominations, picked up two trophies. "Everybody Loves Raymond" won for "Italy, Parts 1 & 2" and "The Kennedy Center Honors" won for best music, awards or tribute comedy-variety special.

NBC had seven nominations, but just one win. The writing staff of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" won for comedy/variety series. ABC only had five nominations, but took two awards -- for adapted long form with "Anne Frank," and for the daytime serial "All My Children."

The Showtime movie "My Louisiana Sky" won for best children's script.

The WGA honored veteran producer-director-writer Blake Edwards with its Screen Laurel Award, in recognition of a career in which he turned out such hits as "Victor/Victoria," "10," "Experiment in Terror" and the Pink Panther movies.

Glenn and Les Charles, the creative force behind such hit comedies as "Cheers" and "Taxi," were honored with the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award.

The WGA presented its Valentine Davies Award posthumously to "Frasier" creator-producer David Angell. He and his wife were among the passengers who died on Sept. 11 when terrorists rammed a jetliner into the World Trade Center.