‘Hurt Locker,’ ‘Up in the Air’ win Writers Guild awards

The screenplays for “The Hurt Locker” and “Up in the Air” won top honors Saturday evening at the Writers Guild of America awards.

“The Hurt Locker’s” Mark Boal received the WGA award for original screenplay for his gripping drama about a bomb disposal unit in Iraq. Boal, who is also nominated for an Oscar, thanked the American soldiers in the war-devastated region who let him “get up close and personal” to the “chaos and hellishness” when he was embedded there as a journalist.

“Up in the Air’s” Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner won for adapted screenplay for their dramedy about a corporate downsizer. The two have won numerous critics’ awards, as well as the Golden Globe, for their screenplay, which was based on the book by Walter Kirn. They are also nominated for an Academy Award.

“I can’t tell you how extraordinarily proud I am to be standing in front of you,” said Reitman, who also directed the film. “I am always a writer.”

Several writers who are nominated for this year’s Oscar in the original or adapted screenplay categories -- including “Inglourious Basterds’” Quentin Tarantino and “An Education’s” Nick Hornby -- weren’t eligible for a WGA award because their movies either hadn’t been written under the guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement or under a collective-bargaining agreement of one of the international guilds.

The winners were announced at simultaneous ceremonies at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre in New York.

Other winners in film and TV categories included:

* Documentary screenplay: “The Cove,” Mark Monroe.

* Dramatic series: “Mad Men,” Lisa Albert, Andrew Colville, Kater Gordon, Cathryn Humphris, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Erin Levy, Marti Noxon, Frank Pierson, Robin Veith, Dahvi Waller and Matthew Weiner.

* Comedy series: “30 Rock,” Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Tina Fey, Donald Glover, Steve Hely, Matt Hubbard, Dylan Morgan, Paula Pell, Jon Pollack, John Riggi, Tami Sagher, Josh Siegal, Ron Weiner and Tracey Wigfield.

* New series: “Modern Family,” Paul Corrigan, Sameer Gardezi, Joe Lawson, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O’Shannon, Brad Walsh, Caroline Williams, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker

* Episodic drama: “House” (“Broken, Part 1 and Part “ episode) Russel Friend, Garrett Lerner, David Foster, David Shore

* Episodic comedy: (tie) “30 Rock” (“Apollo, Apollo” episode), Robert Carlock; “Modern Family” (pilot episode), Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd

* Long-form -- original: “Georgia O’Keeffe,” Michael Cristofer

* Long-form -- adaptation: “Taking Chance,” Michael R. Strobl and Ross Katz

* Comedy/variety -- series: (tie) “Saturday Night Live,” head writer: Seth Meyers; “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” head writer: Steve Bodow

* Animation: “The Simpsons” (“Wedding for Disaster” episode), Joel H. Cohen

* Comedy/writing -- music, awards, tributes, specials: “Film Independent’s 2009 Spirit Awards,” Billy Kimball, Neil MacLennan

* Daytime serial: “Young and the Restless,” Amanda L. Beall, Tom Caiello, Lisa Connor, Janice Ferri Esser, Eric Freiwald, Jay Gibson, Scott Hammer, Marla Kanelos, Beth Milstein, Natalie Minardi Slater, Melissa Salmons, Linda Schreiber, James Stanley, Sandra Weintraub, Teresa Zimmerman

* Children’s episodic and specials: “The Troop” (“Welcome to the Jungle” episode), Max Burnett

* Children’s script -- longform or special: “Another Cinderella Story,” Erik Patterson, Jessica Scott

* Videogame writing: “Uncharted 2: Among Theives,” Amy Hennig

susan.king@latimes.com