[caption id="attachment_41435" align="alignleft" width="607" caption="Apatow and Wiig Photo Credit: Getty Images"][/caption]

This past weekend the B.B. King Blues Club hosted the 64th annual Writer’s Guild Awards, East. The invitation said "Blues Club Attire" which, thankfully, no one seemed to take note of and instead chose "New York Evening Chic." The bright eyed Rachel Dratch hosted the event and followed her opening number with a cello rendition of Riders on the Storm. Jimmy Fallon accompanied her on stage and did The Doors proud with his swearing and swaying version, Writers on the Storm. This being one of the few untelevised awards ceremonies, the Morrison number set the tone for an irreverent evening.

There were special honorees on the night, including Claire Labine and Judd Apatow. Claire was the head writer for several years on General Hospital and during her tenure wrote about the AIDS epidemic in ways no other show was doing at the time. She mentioned it was an important and brave moment for her as person of conscience and as a writer. Who knew that soaps could be such an important voice for social concern? Her WGA honor for the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Lifetime Achievement was well deserved.

As for Judd Apatow, the delightful Kristen Wiig of SNL and Bridesmaids presented him with the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence. She took a mock phone call from him in the audience where he berated her for her choice of "handsome pantsuit" instead of some kind of suitable gown. She looked the coolest of anyone that evening, in bright red Valentino and matching red pumps. No gown required for le Wiig to be chic.

I would have loved to have seen Kristen win for Best Original Script for Bridesmaids but it was Woody Allen and Midnight in Paris that took home the WGA. His sister, Letty Aronson, collected the award on his behalf and passed on writing words of wisdom from Woody: "Be brief and don’t bore them to death." The award for Best Adapted Screenplay went to Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash for The Descendants. With the Oscars this weekend, we’ll see if the elusive Woody wins his forth Oscar and if The Descendants picks up the awards for Adapted Screenplay.

As the evening wore on, the presenters became more entertaining, chiefly a very inebriated Jonathan Ames. For those not familiar with this auteur, he wrote the excellent -- and recently cancelled --  HBO show, Bored to Death. He made several attempts to put down his glass of Prosecco on the beveled podium, while simultaneously trying to open the winner’s envelope, which turned into a rambling stand-up routine. The best was when he started flirting with the attractive ladies in the front row. Whatever anyone tells you, writers know how to have a good time. And drink. A lot. So this weekend when you’re watching the Oscars, make sure you have a glass of something bubbly to toast the winners. And pray that Jonathan Ames somehow steals the microphone during a lull in the awards.