Woody Allen scoops Writers Guild award

The romance film - starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy - beat Bridesmaids, Young Adult, Win Win and 50/50 to take home the prize.

The Adapted Screenplay award went to The Descendants - about a man who is dealing with his family and his life falling apart in Hawaii - with writers Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash winning for their work on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming.

It beat competition from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, Hugo and Moneyball.

In the television category, Modern Family won two awards for Best Comedy and Best Comedy Episode, as did critically-acclaimed drama series Homeland and Breaking Bad.

New Girl star Zooey Deschanel, who was co-hosting the event with Joel McHale, tried to make light of the geeky nature of writers when she opened the ceremony.

She said: "Hi and welcome to nerd prom! Male Writers: You are all hot because of your minds."

Complete list of winners at the Writers Guild of America awards:

Film

Original Screenplay - Midnight in Paris

Adapted Screenplay - The Descendants

Documentary Screenplay - Better This World

Television

Drama Series - Breaking Bad

Comedy Series - Modern Family

New Series - Homeland

Episodic Drama (tie) - Box Cutter (Breaking Bad) and The Good Soldier (Homeland)

Episodic Comedy - Caught in the Act (Modern Family)

Long Form Original - Cinema Verite

Long Form Adapted - Too Big to Fail

Animation - Home the Father (The Simpsons)

Comedy/Variety Series - The Colbert Report

Daytime Drama - General Hospital