31st Writers Guild of America Awards

The **31st Writers Guild of America Awards** showed the best movie writers and television writers from 1978. The winners of these awards were announced in 1979.

### Movie

Winners are **bolded**.
|valign="top" width="50%"|* **_Coming Home_. Written by Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones. Story by Nancy Dowd.** ** _An Unmarried Woman_. Written by Paul Mazursky. ** _Days of Heaven._ Written by Terrence Malick. ** _The Deer Hunter._ Written by Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, Louis Garfinkle and Quinn K. Redeker. ** _Interiors_. Written by Woody Allen.|valign="top"|* **_Movie Movie_. Written by Larry Gelbart and Sheldon Keller.** ** _A Wedding_. Screenplay by John Considine, Patricia Resnick, Allan F. Nicholls and Robert Altman; Story by Robert Altman and John Considine. ** _House Calls_. Screenplay by Max Shulman, Julius J. Epstein, Alan Mandel, and Charles Shyer. Story by Max Shulman and Julius J. Epstein. ** _National Lampoon's Animal House_. Written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller ** _Once in Paris..._. Written by Frank D. Gilroy.|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|valign="top"|* **_Midnight Express_. Screenplay by Oliver Stone. This drama was based on the book by Billy Hayes and William Hoffer.** ** _Bloodbrothers_. Screenplay by Walter Newman. This drama was based on the novel by Richard Price. ** _Go Tell the Spartans_. Screenplay by Wendell Mayes. This drama was based on the novel by Daniel Ford. ** _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_. Screenplay by W.D. Richter. This drama was based on the novel<nowiki/>by Jack Finney. ** _Who'll Stop the Rain_. Screenplay by Judith Rascoe and Robert Stone. This drama was based on the novel by Robert Stone.|valign="top"|* **_Heaven Can Wait_. Screenplay by Elaine May and Warren Beatty. This comedy was based on the play by Harry Segall.** ** _California Suite_. Screenplay by Neil Simon. This comedy was based on his play. ** _Same Time, Next Year_. Screenplay by Bernard Slade. This comedy was based on his play. ** _Superman_. Screenplay by Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman and Robert Benton. This comedy was based on another character. This character was made by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. ** _Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?_. Screenplay by Peter Stone. This comedy was based on a novel by Nan Lyons and Ivan Lyons.|

### Television

|valign="top" width="50%"|* **"Baby, It's Cold Outside" – _M*A*S*H_ (CBS) – Gary David Goldberg** ** "California, Here We Are" – _All in the Family_ (CBS) – Milt Josefsberg, Phil Sharp, Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf ** "The Ghost" – _Barney Miller_ (ABC) – Reinhold Weege ** "Point of View" – _M*A*S*H_ (CBS) – Ken Levine and David Isaacs ** "Pilot" – _Mork & Mindy_ (ABC) – Dale McRaven ** "Rhoda vs. Ida" – _Rhoda_ (CBS) – Bob Ellison ** "Memories of Cab 804: Part 1 & 2" – _Taxi_ (ABC) – Barry Kemp ** "Blind Date" – _Taxi_ (ABC) – Michael Leeson|valign="top" width="50%"|* **"Prisoner" – _Lou Grant_ (CBS) – Seth Freeman** ** "The Conspirators" – _Columbo_ (NBC) – Howard Berk ** "Murder" – _Lou Grant_ (CBS) – Gary David Goldberg ** "The House on Willis Avenue" – _The Rockford Files_ (NBC) – Stephen J. Cannell ** "The Illusion" – _The Waltons_ (CBS) – John McGreevey ** "The Captive" – _The Waltons_ (CBS) – Ray Cunneff|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|valign="top" width="50%"|* **_Ryan's Hope_ (ABC) – Claire Labine, Jeffrey Lane, Paul Avila Mayer, Mary Munisteri and Judith Pinsker** ** _Love of Life_ (CBS) – Gabrielle Upton ** _One Life to Live_ (ABC) – Lanie Bertram, Margaret DePriest, Marisa Gioffre, Sam Hall, Peggy O'Shea, Gordon Russell and Don Wallace|valign="top" width="50%"|* **"Mom and Dad Can't Hear Me" – _ABC Afterschool Special_ (ABC) – Irma Reichert and Daryl Warner** ** _Christmas Eve on Sesame Street_ (PBS) – Jon Stone and Joseph A. Bailey ** "The Tap Dance Kid" – _NBC Special Treat_ (NBC) – Barra Grant|
|valign="top" width="50%"|* ***A Christmas to Remember_ (CBS) – Stewart Stern; Based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout** * ***A Woman Called Moses_ (NBC) – Lonne Elder III; Based on the book by Marc Heidish**|valign="top" width="50%"|* **_Scott Joplin_ (NBC) – Christopher Knopf**|
|valign="top" width="50%"|* **"Steve Martin and Betty White" – _The Carol Burnett Show_ (CBS) – Roger Beatty, Rick Hawkins, Liz Sage, Bob Illes, James R. Stein, Franelle Silver, Larry Siegel, Tim Conway, Bill Richmond, Gene Perret, Dick Clair, Jenna McMahon and Ed Simmons**|||

### Special awards

|colspan="2" style="background:#abcdef;"|Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement|
| --- | --- |
|colspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"|**Neil Simon**|
|colspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"|**James Costigan**|
|colspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"|**Melville Shavelson**|
|colspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"|**George Seaton**|

## References

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## Other websites

- WGA.org

## Infobox (movie awards)

- **number**: 31
- **award**: WGA Awards
- **date**: 1979
- **organizer**: Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West
- **last**: 30th Writers Guild of America Awards, 30th
- **next**: 32nd Writers Guild of America Awards, 32nd