“Trumbo” screenwriter John McNamara will be honored with the Writers Guild of America’s Paul Selvin Award, which honors a work that focuses on constitutional and civil rights, the guild announced Tuesday.
“Trumbo,” starring Bryan Cranston, tells the story of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1940s and served time in federal prison.
“The Paul Selvin Award honors ‘that member whose work best embodies the spirit of constitutional and civil rights and liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere,”‘ WGA, West President Howard A. Rodman said. “Though we’ve given it since 1989, it might as well have been purpose-built for John McNamara’s ‘Trumbo.’
“In shining light on a dark corner of our history, while at the same time illuminating Dalton Trumbo from within, John McNamara has both illustrated and embodied the importance of courageous writing,” he said.
Dalton Trumbo was given the WGAW’s Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement in 1970. After being blacklisted, he continued to write secretly using pseudonyms or the names of fellow writers, and he even won Oscars for “Roman Holiday” and “The Brave One.”
After the blacklisting era ended, Trumbo was revealed as the screenwriter of films including “Exodus” and “Spartacus.”
McNamara’s television writing and producing credits include “Prime Suspect,” “The Fugitive” and “Vengeance Unlimited.” He was a staff writer on “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.” and was a writer/producer of “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” He more recently created the NBC crime series “Aquarius,” which stars David Duchovny, along with the SyFy series “The Magicians.”
He will be honored during the WGA Awards ceremony Feb. 13 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel.
— Wire reports