`48 Hrs.' screenwriter Walter Hill to receive Writers Guild Laurel Award

Walter Hill, who wrote or co-wrote such films as “The Getaway,” “48 Hrs.” and “The Warriors” will receive the Writers Guild of America West's 2024 Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, it was announced Tuesday.

Hill will be presented with the honor on April 14 during the WGA ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium.

The WGA said its lifetime achievement award is presented to members who have “advanced the literature of motion pictures and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the screenwriter.”

WGAW President Meredith Stiehm said Hill's “impact on our industry is undeniable. His unique style influenced and educated generations of screenwriters who followed. He has had an enduring, renowned career, and the Guild is honored to present him with the Screen Laurel Award.”

Hill's career began in the early 1970s with screenplay credits for “Hickey and Boggs,” “The Getaway,” “The Mackintosh

Man” and “The Drowning Pool.” In 1975, he made his directorial debut with the Depressionera street fighting drama “Hard Times,” starring Charles Bronson.

In 1979, Hill co-wrote and directed “The Warriors,” which has remained a popular cult film for over 40 years. That year, he also co-produced the science fiction blockbuster “Alien” and would go on to cowrite its first two sequels, “Aliens” and “Alien 3,” receiving a Saturn Award nomination for his writing on “Alien 3.”

Hill went on to write or co-write and direct “48 Hrs.,” “Another 48 Hrs.,” “Southern Comfort” and “Last Man Standing.”

Hill received the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the Venice International Film Festival when his most recent film, the bounty hunter thriller “Dead For A Dollar,” premiered in September 2022. He also received the Western Heritage Award for Theatrical Motion Picture, the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Western Drama Script and the Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Film-Drama.