The Writers Guild Foundation, in partnership with the Writers Guild of America West and Deadline and sponsored by Late Night with Seth Meyers and Saturday Night Live, present BEYOND WORDS 2026, our annual event highlighting this year’s Writers Guild Awards screenplay nominees.
Join us for two back-to-back panels featuring nominees for Adapted and Original Screenplay. Learn about their process for crafting the nominated scripts as well as their journeys navigating the industry as screenwriters.
Original Screenplay Panel
Ronald Bronstein - Marty Supreme (Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie)
Zach Cregger - Weapons
David Koepp - Black Bag
Adapted Screenplay Panel
Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar - Train Dreams (Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar, Based on the Novella by Denis Johnson)
Guillermo del Toro - Frankenstein (Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro, Based on Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley)
Will Tracy - Bugonia (Screenplay by Will Tracy, Based on the Film Save the Green Planet Written and Directed by Jang Joon Hwan and Produced by Sidus)
Stay tuned for more panelist announcements!
Panels moderated by Antonia Blyth (Executive Editor of Awards and Awardsline Magazine, Deadline) and Anthony D’Alessandro (Editorial Director / Box Office Editor, Deadline)
Doors open at 6pm PT. Program begins at 7pm PT. A reception immediately follows the panels.
General admission tickets are now available. WGA members can RSVP for free. All proceeds from ticket sales benefit the Writers Guild Foundation’s Library, Archive and Community Outreach Programs.
In the case the event is sold out, we will have a first come, first serve stand-by line at the event starting 30 minutes before doors open. The stand-by line does not guarantee entry into the event and we will only accept credit card transactions for any released seats.
Got a question about this event? E-mail us at events@wgfoundation.org.
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About the Panelists
Academy Award nominee Clint Bentley is a writer-director-producer whose debut directorial feature, JOCKEY (Sony Pictures Classics), premiered In Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where Clifton Collins Jr. was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Best Actor for his role. Bentley and his long-time collaborator Greg Kwedar co-wrote and produced the film which went on to enjoy further global festival success with screenings at TIFF, AFI and over 30 festivals worldwide, winning the Audience Award at the AFI Film Festival. JOCKEY also received awards recognition, including two Independent Spirit Award nominations, plus The National Board of Review named it one of the Top 10 Independent Films of 2021.
Bentley and his producing partner Kwedar recently launched their production company ETHOS to develop their own original, individual and joint projects, and to champion artists under the innovative and equitable financing model that they pioneered on JOCKEY and further developed with SING SING (A24). Bentley co-wrote and produced SING SING with Kwedar, which earned them an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. SING SING received a further two Academy Awards nominations with one for lead actor Colman Domingo, as well as numerousGolden Globe, Independent Spirt Award, BAFTA and Critics Choice Awards nominations. Both AFI and the National Board of Review named SING SING in their top films of the year lists.
Bentley’s previous work includes co-writing and producing TRANSPECOS, which won the Audience Award at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival, while Moviemaker Magazine named Bentley (and Kwedar) on their ‘Screenwriters to Watch’ list. Most recently, Bentley directed TRAIN DREAMS (Netflix), an adaptation of Denis Johnson’s Pulitzer Prize finalist novella of the same name. Co-written by Bentley and Kwedar, the film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and stars Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H. Macy and Kerry Condon.
In addition to his film work, Bentley received a 2026 Pushcart Prize for his short story “Cairn” that first appeared in The Iowa Review. His fiction has also appeared in The Baltimore Review.
Ronald Bronstein is a director, screenwriter, editor and producing partner at Central Pictures. His debut feature, Frownland, antagonized audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, earning a place in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and the Criterion Collection. After playing the lead role in the Safdie's debut Daddy Longlegs, he's gone on to co-write and co-edit all of their features, including Good Time and Uncut Gems.
Zach Cregger recently wrapped shooting RESIDENT EVIL for Sony Pictures after coming off a wildly successful box office run with WEAPONS, which he wrote, directed, produced, and scored. Zach’s feature writing and directorial debut, BARBARIAN, premiered in theaters in 2022 and stars Bill Skarsgård, Georgina Campbell, and Justin Long. He has quickly become known as the horror filmmaking auteur, effortlessly blending comedy into genre alongside intimate character stories.
Zach was a founding member and writer for the New York comedy troupe, THE WHITEST KIDS U’KNOW, which he started while attending The School of Visual Arts. The group’s reputation for unpolished hit-or-miss hilarity precedes them around the New York comedy circuit, and they won the award for “Best Sketch Group” at Aspen's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival 2006. The group’s self-titled sketch comedy show ran for five seasons on IFC TV and Fuse. As an actor he has appeared alongside Anthony Anderson, Jesse Bradford, Gary Cole, Megan Mullally, and Krysten Ritter, starred in TBS’s hit series WRECKED, and was a series regular in Brian Gallivan’s NBC pilot, FRIENDS-IN-LAW.
Photo Credit: John Wilson
Mexican-born filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has created a distinctive cinematic style mixing the world of horror, fantasy, and his exuberant personal visual imagery. He studied under Oscar-winning special effects artist Dick Smith and made his first feature film, Cronos, in 1993, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Critics Prize. Since then, he has directed and produced numerous films in both the United States and internationally, including The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) which earned del Toro a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination and won the Academy Awards for Art Direction, Cinematography, and Makeup, Mimic (1997), Hellboy (2004), Pacific Rim (2013), and Crimson Peak (2015). Del Toro wrote and directed The Shape of Water (2017), which was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won four, including Best Picture and Best Director. In addition, the filmmaker garnered both the Golden Globe Award, and the BAFTA for best director. His first stop-motion feature, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022), which he directed alongside the late legend Mark Gustafson, won the Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Producers Guild Best Animated Film awards. Del Toro's work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales and horror, with an effort to infuse visual or poetic beauty into the grotesque. His upcoming Netflix live-action feature, Frankenstein, which stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and more, will be released in the fall of 2025.
Photo Credit: Norman Wong
Greg Kwedar’s sophomore film, SING SING, was over eight years in the making. He both directed and co-wrote the film, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival and won the 2024 SXSW Festival Audience Award. Acquired and theatrically released by A24, the critical darling garnered three Academy Award nominations (including Best Adapted Screenplay), three BAFTA nominations, and five Critics Choice Award nominations, including Best Picture. It was also nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature and was named one of the AFI and National Board of Review Top 10 Films of the Year. The film won the National Board of Review Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Gotham Awards for Best Lead Performance and Best Supporting Performance.
Kwedar made his feature directorial debut with TRANSPECOS, which premiered in competition at the 2016 SXSW FILM FESTIVAL, winning the Audience Award. He co-wrote and produced JOCKEY, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition where it won the Special Jury Award for Best Actor (Clifton Collins Jr.). JOCKEY also won the Audience Award at the AFI Film Festival and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for theatrical release. The film was later nominated for an Indie Spirit Award for Best Male Lead and the John Cassavetes Award, and was one of the National Board of Review Top 10 Independent Film of 2021. Kwedar also produced RISING FROM ASHES, RUNNING WITH BETO (Winner: SXSW Audience Award 2019), and was co-producer on GHOST FLEET (Telluride & TIFF, 2018).
Greg served as co-writer and executive producer on Clint Bentley's sophomore feature TRAIN DREAMS, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize finalist novella Train Dreams by Denis Johnson. The film debuted at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival where it was acquired by Netflix.
Greg is next set to direct the feature film SATURN RETURN for Netflix with Plan B producing, starring Rachel Brosnahan, Charles Melton, and Will Poulter. The script was written by Gaelyn Golde, with recent revisions made by Greg and Clint Bentley, and was previously featured on the 2024 Black List. Principal photography is set to commence later this Fall in Chicago.
Greg is also currently in development on FilmNation’s fantastical comedy, POSSUM SONG, written by Isaac Adamson with Miles Teller attached to star and Greg directing. Greg and Clint will produce through their company ETHOS.
Greg has spoken to thousands of students across the country and sat on panels about his work at SXSW, Sundance, UNESCO, the United Nations, and more.
Will Tracy is an Academy Award®, WGA®, and BAFTA®-nominated screenwriter, and an Emmy®-winning writer and producer known for his bold, unconventional storytelling. Tracy wrote the screenplay for BUGONIA, the latest multi-Oscar-nominated film from director Yorgos Lanthimos, including a nomination for Best Picture, released by Focus Features and CJ Entertainment. Starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, the film premiered to great acclaim at the Venice Film Festival, and Tracy received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as a Critics Choice Award nomination for his work. Based on the 2003 South Korean cult film SAVE THE GREEN PLANET!, BUGONIA follows two conspiracy-obsessed men (Plemons) who kidnap the CEO of a powerful company (Stone), believing her to be an alien responsible for Earth’s environmental collapse.
Prior to this in film, Tracy co-wrote and executive produced THE MENU for Searchlight Pictures, produced HBO Films' MOUNTAINHEAD and executive produced on A24's EDDINGTON.
In television, Tracy served as a writer and executive producer on the HBO series SUCCESSION, earning three Emmy Awards and a Writers Guild Award for the episode “Tern Haven.” He was a member of the inaugural writing staff for LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER, where he received three additional Emmy Awards. Tracy is also the creator of the HBO limited series, THE REGIME.
Prior to his work in television, he was the Editor-in-Chief of The Onion.
About the Moderators
Having joined Deadline in 2014, Antonia Blyth is the executive editor of Deadline's awards coverage and AwardsLine magazines. A native Brit based in LA, Antonia previously covered West Coast entertainment for ELLE.com, with her work having been featured in The Guardian, UK Marie Claire and InStyle. She has written a New York Times bestselling non-fiction book and regularly appears on French television network TF1 as an entertainment expert.
Anthony D’Alessandro covers box office, breaking film news, awards-season features and festival news for Deadline. His first job in the film industry was at Savoy Pictures' headquarters in New York where he worked in film distribution. Prior to arriving at Deadline in the fall of 2011, where he co-edited the site's sister publication AwardsLine, Anthony covered the box office beat for Indiewire's Thompson on Hollywood. He also co-produced Matt Walsh's film "A Better You."