The 77th Writers Guild Awards took place on Saturday night, honoring 2024’s film, television, and radio writing achievements. The awards were granted by the nation’s Writers Guild of America, distributed simultaneously in East and West Coast ceremonies. The comedy-drama film Anora, written and directed by Sean Baker, took home the award for Best Original Screenplay, beating out A Real Pain, Challengers, Civil War, and My Old Ass. Anora‘s WGA win, along with its Producers and Directors Guild prizes received last week, cemented its contingency in the race for Academy Award achievements.

The award for Best Adapted Screenplay went to Nickel Boys, written by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes and based on the 2019 novel The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Other nominees in the category were A Complete Unknown, Dune: Part Two, Hit Man, and Wicked. Best Documentary Screenplay was awarded to Jim Henson: Idea Man, written by Mark Monroe.

At the Los Angeles ceremony, Kyle MacLachlan took the stage to honor the late writer/director and frequent collaborator David Lynch, posthumously honoring him with the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement. He went on to state that he “couldn’t imagine” a life or career without Lynch. The two had worked together on films such as  Dune (1984), Blue Velvet, and Twin Peaks.

“He could see things in you you would never see in yourself,” MacLachlan continued. “My heart breaks that he’s gone, but the world is so much fuller because he was here.”