LOS ANGELES – Emmy Award-winning writer/actor/comedian Patton Oswalt will return for the second year in a row to host the 2017 Writers Guild Awards L.A. show, Sunday, February 19, at the Beverly Hilton.
Emmy-winning writer-producer Hugh Fink will be back for his third consecutive year as Executive Producer of the Awards.
“Writing is the goodest thing for movies when you watch the movies the writing is what makes the actors go I like writing,” said Oswalt, who hosted the 2016 Writers Guild Awards L.A. show.
“Despite Patton Oswalt’s brilliant performance hosting last year’s Awards, FiveThirtyEight predicted there was a less than 20% chance that he would agree to host this year’s show. Fortunately, Patton has proved all the pundits wrong and will make the Writers Guild Awards Great Again,” commented Fink.
Most recently, Oswalt earned a 2016 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for his Netflix one-man comedy special, Talking for Clapping.
In 2015, along with co-writers Gerry Duggan, Wayne Federman, and Erik Weiner, he received a Writers Guild Award nomination for co-writing the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards show, which Oswalt hosted.
Over the last decade, his screen roles have included memorable appearances in films such as Young Adult, Big Fan, and Ratatouille as the voice of “Remy.” Next, he will co-star opposite Tom Hanks and Emma Watson in the upcoming thriller, The Circle, due out in 2017.
In 2013, Oswalt won a Critics Choice Award for his guest appearance as “Garth Blundin” on Parks and Recreation (Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series). A versatile comic actor, Patton’s diverse television acting credits include portraying “Teddy Sykes” on Veep, “Billy / Sam / Eric Koenig” on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., “Alan Shapiro” on Archer, BoJack Horseman, Drunk History, Inside Amy Schumer, Justified, Modern Family, Two and a Half Men, Portlandia, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Burn Notice, Bored to Death, Reno 911!, The King of Queens, and Seinfeld, as well as the narrator on The Goldbergs and a version of himself on Lady Dynamite.
A veteran of the stand-up comedy circuit, Oswalt has been headlining clubs across the nation for two decades, as well as starring in his own cable TV comedy specials for Comedy Central and HBO, including his acclaimed trio of one-man shows – Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time, Finest Hour, and My Weakness is Strong – having also been a three-time Grammy nominee for Best Comedy Album for those lauded comedy specials in 2015, 2012, and 2010.
Executive Producer Hugh Fink’s recent work includes writing for this fall’s Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe. During his tenure as a writer for Saturday Night Live, he shared a Primetime Emmy Award in 2002 (Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program), as well as a 2001 Emmy nomination. In addition, he received three WGA nominations as part of the SNL writing staff in 2003, 2002, and 2001 (Comedy/Variety [Including Talk] Series). Fink also created and executive produced Comedy Central’s The Showbiz Show with David Spade, as well as NickMom’s Parental Discretion. His additional television writing-producing credits include The Drew Carey Show, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, and The ESPY Awards.
Other key talent returning to the 2017 production team includes:
- Producers Tara Power and Joselyn Allen, the duo who head up Decoupage Productions and whose clients include Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Vuguru, AOL, Conde Nast Entertainment, and more.
- Co-Producer Kelly Brock, whose numerous awards show credits include the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, Critics’ Choice Television Awards, and American Cinemateque Tributes to Robert Downey, Jr., Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts.
- Head Writer Joe O’Brien, whose writing credits include The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson and The Showbiz Show with David Spade, as well as co-producer on the Critics’ Choice Television Awards and producer on Candid Camera.
The WGAW’s Awards Committee includes Writers Guild members Karen Harris (Chair), Steve Chivers, Patrick Doody, Shelly Goldstein, and Scott Saltzburg.
The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation categories. The awards will be presented at concurrent ceremonies on Sunday, February 19, 2017, in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton and in New York City at the Edison Ballroom. For more information about the 2017 Writers Guild Awards, please visit www.wga.org or www.wgaeast.org.
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, West, visit www.wga.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org.
