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Ron Nyswaner will soon be traveling to New York to reunite with his Writers Guild of America East fellows for a grand occasion. The Oscar-nominated screenwriter, producer and showrunner has been selected to receive the Walter Bernstein Award at the 76th Writers Guild Awards at New York’s Edison Ballroom on April 14.

The honor — named after the late screenwriter who was blacklisted for his political views only to persevere and get his career back on track with such credits as Fail-Safe, Semi-Tough and Yanks — is presented to writers “who have demonstrated with creativity, grace and bravery a willingness to confront social injustice in the face of adversity,” per the organization.

Nyswaner has been doing that for pretty much his entire career. A prime example is Jonathan Demme’s 1993 film Philadelphia. Penned by Nyswaner, the Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington-starrer was the first major Hollywood film to dramatize the real-world...

The film and television director, producer and writer died of natural causes at his Bel Air Home. He was 89.

Yorkin was born in the coal mining town of Washington, Pennsylvania on February 22 1926 and after serving in the Navy embarked on a career as a camera engineer for NBC.

He became a stage manager and then writer, working on NBC’s variety showcase The Colgate Comedy Hour. He moved into directing that show and then directed stints on programmes such as The Spike Jones Show and Light’s Diamond Jubilee.

Film director credits include Love Hurts, Twice In A Lifetime, Arthur 2: On The Rocks, The Thief Who Came To Dinner, Start The Revolution Without Me, Inspector Clouseau, Divorce American Style and Come Blow Your Horn.

He also served as executive producer on Blade Runner and played a role as producer in bringing to fruition the sequel, which is set to begin shooting next summer.

His credits...

Severus Snape is the Harry Potter World Cup champion, and Alan Rickman accepted the award on his character's behalf at last night's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" premiere in New York City. It was a surreal moment, to say the least. Watch the video below to see his reaction to the news.

For many of you, Snape's victory isn't much of a surprise — he was practically predestined for the win after defeating Harry Potter with such ease, going on to topple both Hermione and Ron with a similar level of fan support — and while the feeling isn't entirely unanimous, it seems that the vast majority of "Potter" fans are very, very pleased with Snape winning the World Cup.

Check out a sample of reactions to Snape's World Cup win after the jump!

"I'm glad Severus won! I have a soft spot for Ron but Severus...god I love the characters,...