The triumph came hot on the heels of the movie's win at the American Cinema Editors' ACE Eddie Awards Saturday night when it was recognized with Best Edited Feature (Dramatic).

　　The political thriller has received seven nods for the 85th Academy Awards, including best picture and best adapted screenplay for Chris Terrio.

　　The movie prevailed at the annual WGA gala, which was simultaneously broadcast in Los Angeles and New York, by beating fellow nominees including "Lincoln," "Life of Pi," "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and "Silver Linings Playbook."

　　The win further consolidated the Iran hostage drama's stature as the major front-runner on the Oscar trail.

　　"Zero Dark Thirty" thwarted fellow nominees including "Flight," "Looper," "The Master" and "Moorise Kingdom" for best original screenplay.

　　"Searching for Sugar Man" won best documentary screenplay.

　　Such Oscar front-runners as "Les Miserables," "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Django Unchained" and "Amour" failed to make the cut as they were deemed ineligible under stringent WGA rules. Only screenplays written by WGA members or under their jurisdiction can qualify as contenders.

　　The WGA awards have been regarded as one of the major honors which is well-received as Oscar guidepost. Among the past 20 WGA winners, 15 went on to nab Oscars.

　　On the television front, "Breaking Bad" was named the year's best drama series while "Louie" won as best comedy series.