The sci-fi smash Inception and Facebook drama The Social Network took top screenplay honors last night at the Writers Guild Awards. Inception writer Christopher Nolan won for best original screenplay and The Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin won for best adapted screenplay. The Social Network, was the heavy favorite Sorkin adapted from the Ben Mezrich book The Accidental Billionaires. But the original screenplay category was considered a toss-up between Inception, the psychosexual thriller Black Swan, and the boxing drama The Fighter because current awards-season darling The King's Speech was not eligible for a WGA award as it was not made under the writing union's contract guidelines.
Other of the top films of 2010 like Toy Story 3 and Winter's Bone were ineligible for the same reason. Sorkin will be the prohibitive favorite in the adapted category, and The King's Speech and Inception will vie for original screenplay honors at the Academy Awards on Feb. 27. And large teams of writers from AMC's Mad Men and ABC's Modern Family won for best drama and comedy series, respectively. (More Writers Guild of America stories.)