Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, who wrote “Splash,” “Parenthood,” and “City Slickers,” have been named the recipients of the Writers Guild of America West’s 2019 Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement.
The duo will be honored at the WGA West’s Writers Guild Awards L.A. show on Feb. 17 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
“Starting in the 1980s with a string of critical and commercial hits, the imprint Ganz and Mandel have left on movies is profound,” said WGA West president David A. Goodman. “Their scripts are always a balancing act; funny and moving, edgy but never offensive. They understand that in order for the jokes to work, the characters have to be compelling and relatable, but never lose sight of the fact that in a comedy, you need comedy.”
The duo received an Oscar nomination for “Splash” and won a National Society of Film Critics Award for best screenplay. Their scripts for “Parenthood,” “Gung Ho,” and “City Slickers” were spun off into TV series. Other credits include “Spies Like Us,” “Forget Paris,” “Multiplicity,” “Father’s Day,” “EDTV,” “Where the Heart Is,” “Fever Pitch,” and “Robots.”
TV series credits include “The Odd Couple,” “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley,” co-creating the 1979 series “Makin’ It,” and the Happy Days spinoff “Joanie Loves Chachi.”
The Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement is awarded to Writers Guild members who have advanced the literature of motion pictures and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the screenwriter. Past recipients include James L. Brooks, Elaine May, Oliver Stone, Harold Ramis, David Mamet, Paul Mazursky, Lawrence Kasdan, Eric Roth, Steven Zaillian, and Robert Towne.
Source: Read Full Article