In the history of the A Real Pain, his second directorial feature, while Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold were nominated for The Brutalist.
Originally known as the Award for Best Screenplay Based On Material From Another Medium, the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay was first awarded in 1929 to the drama 7th Heaven. The Oscar category for Best Original Screenplay was established in 1940 with its first award going to the comedy The Great McGinty. Woody Allen holds the record for most nominations, having been nominated 16 times, and winning three, including for Annie Hall, which is considered one of Allen's best movies. The 2025 Oscar screenplay nominees could the list of actors who won Oscars for their screenwriting work.
1 Orson Welles (1941)
Best Original Screenplay For Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
- Release Date
- April 17, 1941
- Runtime
- 119 minutes
- Director
- Orson Welles
Cast
Orson Welles-
Joseph Cotten
WHERE TO WATCH
Directed by and starring Orson Welles in his feature film debut, Citizen Kane tells the life story of Charles Foster Kane, a self-made business tycoon partially based on William Randolph Hearst. The film tells the story of Kane's rise and fall from power, narratively framed by the sensation caused by death at the beginning and end of the film. Besides Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, and Ruth Warrick also star.
- Writers
- Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles, John Houseman, Roger Q. Denny, Mollie Kent
- Studio(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures
Considered by many to be the greatest movie of all time, Citizen Kane follows the life of business and political tycoon, Charles Foster Kane, who dies a recluse and estranged from the world, with his last word being "Rosebud." As news of Kane's death spreads, reporter, Jerry Thompson, is tasked with finding out the meaning of "Rosebud" and its relevance to Kane's life. Through interviews with former friends and associates, Thompson uncovers how Kane rose from a young boy playing in the snow on his sled to eventually becoming one of the richest men in the world.
Top 10 Orson Welles Movies, According To IMDb
Hollywood legend Orson Welles has been involved with a wide assortment of incredible movies. Here are his 10 best according to IMDb.
Orson Welles starred in Citizen Kane as Charles Foster Kane, and also served as the movie's director and producer. He also served as co-writer of the movie's screenplay alongside Herman K. Mankiewicz. Citizen Kane was released to critical acclaim and has since been cited as one of the greatest American movies in history (via The Guardian). Citizen Kane was nominated for eight Oscars, with Welles and Mankiewicz winning for Best Original Screenplay in 1941. In the years following the movie's release, there have been studies and speculations about Welles and Mankiewicz's contributions to the screenplay (via Variety).
2 Emma Thompson (1995)
Best Adapted Screenplay For Sense And Sensibility
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Sense and Sensibility
- Release Date
- December 13, 1995
- Runtime
- 136 minutes
- Director
- Ang Lee
WHERE TO WATCH
The Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, face sudden destitution after their father's death, which snatches their comfortable lifestyle away. Thrust into a world where marriage is often more about economics than emotion, they must wade through suitors and social expectations to find what others define as happiness.
- Writers
- Emma Thompson
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Studio(s)
- Columbia Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Columbia Pictures
Ranked as one of Emma Thompson's best movies, Sense and Sensibility is set in England during the 19th century, and follows the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, who are polar opposites to each other, but and love each other after their father dies, and the family is left financially destitute. After moving to a cottage, the sensible Elinor finds herself harboring feelings towards the loyal Edward Ferrars, while Marianne is caught between two different loves. Sense and Sensibility is considered one of the best adaptations of the Jane Austen novel, and is credited for reviving interest in Austen's works.
Thompson spent five years working on the screenplay for Sense and Sensibility, and credits the movie's producer, Lindsay Doran, for helping her understand the process. Thompson stated that Doran was able to "help me, nourish me and mentor me through that process ... I learned about screenwriting at her feet" (via Philadelphia Inquirer). Thompson adapted Austen's novel into a screenplay that focused on the relationship between the Dashwood sisters alongside their love interests. Her work resulted in winning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1995; she is the only person to win Oscars for both acting and screenwriting (via Independent).
3 Billy Bob Thornton (1996)
Best Adapted Screenplay For Sling Blade
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Sling Blade
- Release Date
- August 30, 1996
- Runtime
- 135 Minutes
- Director
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Writers
- Billy Bob Thornton
Cast
Billy Bob Thornton
Dwight Yoakam
Sling Blade is a 1996 American drama film written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton, who also stars in the film. The story follows Karl Childers, a mentally challenged man who is released from a psychiatric hospital after being institutionalized for murder. Karl returns to his hometown and befriends a young boy and his mother, but his simple and naive nature is soon disrupted by a menacing figure from his past.
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Studio(s)
- MiraMax, The Shooting Gallery
Billy Bob Thornton's directorial debut, Sling Blade, follows Karl Childers, a man suffering from a psychological disability, who is released from a mental hospital after he murdered his mother and her lover years before. While attempting to rebuild his life, Karl befriends a young boy, Frank, and his mother, Linda, who offer Karl the kindness he wasn't given when he was a child. As their friendship deepens, Karl notices the escalating abusive behavior of Linda's partner, Doyle, and vows to find a way to save Frank and Linda from the life of misery he was forced to endure.
Thornton created the character of Karl while working on the 1987 movie, The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains, and eventually played the character in his 1994 short movie, Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade, which also starred Molly Ringwald. The short movie was expanded and became the basis of the screenplay for Sling Blade. The movie was widely praised upon release, with critics calling it "a masterpiece of Southern storytelling" (via one of Thornton's best movies, he received a nomination for Best Actor and won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Sling Blade.
4 Matt Damon (1997)
Best Original Screenplay For Good Will Hunting
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Good Will Hunting
- Release Date
- December 5, 1997
- Runtime
- 126 minutes
- Director
- Gus Van Sant
Cast
Will Hunting
Sean Maguire
WHERE TO WATCH
Good Will Hunting centers around a gifted janitor, Will Hunting, whose mathematical genius is recognized by professors. As he navigates his complex personal life and inner struggles, he is guided by a therapist who helps him confront his past and realize his potential.
- Writers
- Ben Affleck
- Studio(s)
- MiraMax
- Distributor(s)
- MiraMax
Directed by Gus Van Sant, Good Will Hunting stars Matt Damon as a young man named Will Hunting, working as a janitor at MIT, who is secretly a mathematical genius. His mathematics skills are discovered by a college professor, who offers Will the opportunity to study under his tuition, provided he seeks psychological help to manage his anger issues. The movie was critically acclaimed upon release, receiving praise for its direction, acting and screenplay. Good Will Hunting is regarded as one of the career-defining movies of Robin Williams' career, and he won the Oscar for Best ing Actor as Dr. Sean Maguire.
Matt Damon wrote the original draft of Good Will Hunting's screenplay while studying at Harvard University; he later stated that the only scene that remained original was when his character, Will, meets Sean Maguire for the first time (via Boston Magazine). Damon later developed the script with fellow actor, Ben Affleck, and the two eventually sold their screenplay to Miramax Films. Damon received a Best Actor nomination for his performance as Will Hunting, and was the co-winner of Best Original Screenplay with Ben Affleck.
5 Ben Affleck (1997)
Best Original Screenplay For Good Will Hunting
Ben Affleck starred alongside Matt Damon and Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting; Affleck starred as Chuckie Sullivan, one of Will's closest friends. Throughout the movie, Chuckie does his best to Will and tries to steer him to make good decisions in life. Chuckie eventually challenges Will about his resistance to seize any good opportunities that come his way and urges him to make the most of life, rather than be stuck in the past.
Matt Damon & Ben Affleck Reunite (& Look Deadly Serious) In First Image For Netflix Crime Thriller RIP
Netflix shares their first official image of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who have reunited for their crime-thriller movie RIP.
Ben Affleck had previously worked with Matt Damon on the 1989 drama, Field of Dreams, and the 1992 movie, School Ties. The two worked together on the script for Good Will Hunting, which saw the two win their first Oscars. In his award acceptance speech, Affleck joked that "losing would suck and winning would be really scary, and it's really, really scary." Affleck was 25 when he won the Oscar, making him the youngest person to win for Best Original Screenplay. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have collaborated on other movies, since Good Will Hunting, including Dogma and Air.
6 Jim Rash (2011)
Best Adapted Screenplay For The Descendants
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The Descendants
- Release Date
- December 9, 2011
- Runtime
- 115 minutes
- Director
- Alexander Payne
Cast
Amara Miller
Shailene Woodley
WHERE TO WATCH
Based off of the 2007 novel, The Descendants is a comedy-drama that follows Hawaii attorney Matthew King and his family as they are forced to reckon with the family land inheritance from Matt's father. Pressured to sell the land and split it up amongst his financially irresponsible extended family, Matt struggles to deal with the burden after his wife falls into a coma, leaving him to care for his two children in her absence.
- Writers
- Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne
- Studio(s)
- Searchlight Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Searchlight Pictures
Jim Rash, best known for his acting in the NBC sitcom, Community, served as co-writer of the 2011 drama, The Descendants. Starring George Clooney, The Descendants follows the King family, with its patriarch, Matt, struggling with pressure from his family to sell their trust, and how to cope with his wife Elizabeth's brain-death from a boating accident. As time es, Matt is forced to come to with the revelation that his wife was keeping secrets from him. The Descendants is one of Alexander Payne's best movies as director and is ranked as one of the best movies of 2011.
Rash explained that Payne thought "our tone might be a great fit for the adaptation of [Kaui Hart Hemmings’] The Descendants."
Alongside Payne and Nat Faxon, Jim Rash adapted the screenplay from the 2007 novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. In an interview, Rash stated that he had been working with Faxon on another project which caught Payne's attention. Rash explained that Payne thought "our tone might be a great fit for the adaptation of [Kaui Hart Hemmings’] The Descendants" (via TIME). Out of five Oscar nominations, Payne, Faxon and Rash won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay; Payne thanked Hemmings in their speech, calling her "our beautiful Hawaiian flower" for allowing them to adapt her novel.
7 Jordan Peele (2017)
Best Original Screenplay For Get Out
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Get Out
- Release Date
- February 24, 2017
- Runtime
- 1 hour, 44 minutes
- Director
- Jordan Peele
Cast
Lyle Brocato
WHERE TO WATCH
Jordan Peele made his directorial Horror debut with Get Out, a terrifying Psychological Horror film starring Daniel Kaluuya. In the 2017 release, Chris Washington heads to Upstate New York to meet the family of his girlfriend, Rose. What follows is a horrifying ordeal for the anxious photographer.
- Writers
- Jordan Peele
- Studio(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
Serving as Jordan Peele's directorial debut, Get Out is a psychological horror movie that follows Jordan Williams, a young man who travels with his girlfriend, Rose Armitage, to meet her family for the first time. At first, Jordan dismisses Rose's family's behavior as an attempt to accept their interracial relationship, but soon comes to discover their most sinister intentions. The movie received highly positive reviews, with praise going towards its acting, portrayal of interracial tensions, and plot twists; Allison Williams' Rose Armitage has been ranked as one of the most underrated female movie villains of all time.
This Get Out Scene Had Jordan Peele Crying
Get Out has become a classic horror movie with a sharp satirical edge, but one Get Out scene left Jordan Peele in tears after writing it.
While he gained recognition for his work in comedy, Jordan Peele chose to direct a horror movie due to his love of the genre; he stated his belief that horror and comedy have "a lot of similarities between the genres. So much of it is pacing, so much of it reveals" (via Forbes). Peele's direction and screenplay were critically acclaimed, and he received two Oscar nominations for directing and screenplay, winning for Best Original Screenplay. With his win for Get Out, Jordan Peele became the first African-American in history to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (via CNN).
8 Taika Waititi (2019)
Best Adapted Screenplay For Jojo Rabbit
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Jojo Rabbit
- Release Date
- October 18, 2019
- Runtime
- 108 minutes
- Director
- Taika Waititi
Cast
Sam Rockwell
WHERE TO WATCH
Directed by Taika Waititi and featuring his characteristic absurdist humor, Jojo Rabbit stars Roman Griffin Davis as Johannes "Jojo" Betzler, a young German boy during WWII who is a member of the Hitler Youth. When Jojo discovers that his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is helping a Jewish girl hide from the Nazis in the attic of their home, he must begin to confront his prejudices and what he thought he knew was right head-on. Waititi also stars in the film as a fictionalized version of Hitler who is Jojo's imaginary friend.
- Writers
- Taika Waititi
- Studio(s)
- Fox Searchlight Pictures, TSG Entertainment, Defender Films, Piki Films
- Distributor(s)
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
Set towards the end of World War II, Jojo Rabbit follows a young boy, Johannes Betzler, nicknamed Jojo, who is determined to prove himself worthy of ing the Deutsches Jungvolk, a junior section of the Hitler Youth. His Nazi beliefs are shaken when he discovers that his mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their home, and he is forced to confront the realities of war and the realization that everything he believed in could be wrong. Throughout the movie, Taika Waititi portrays a comedic version of Hitler, who appears as Jojo's imaginary friend and acts as Jojo's confidant.
Waititi created Jojo Rabbit after reading Christine Leunens' novel Caging Skies; he decided to create the movie to show how children were affected during the war. He explained in an interview that he was taking a risk by adding comedy to a war movie, as he understood that "the subject matter is very sensitive, and I knew I had to get it right" (via one of Taika Waititi's best movies and earned him the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2020.
9 Emerald Fennell (2020)
Best Original Screenplay For Promising Young Woman
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Promising Young Woman
- Release Date
- December 25, 2020
- Runtime
- 113 minutes
- Director
- Emerald Fennell
WHERE TO WATCH
Starring Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman follows Cassie, a college dropout intent on getting revenge for the unprosecuted rape of her deceased best friend, Nina. As she becomes deeper involved in tormenting those she sees as complicit in Nina's rape and subsequent suicide, Cassie begins to travel down a more dangerous path than she realizes. Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, and Connie Britton also star.
- Writers
- Emerald Fennell
- Studio(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Focus Features, Universal Pictures
Starring Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman depicts Cassie, a young woman who dropped out of medical school after her best friend, Nina, committed suicide, following a public assault. Upon learning Nina's attacker is about to get married, Cassie vows to get revenge on the man she deems responsible for her best friend's death. Promising Young Woman has been listed as one of the greatest movies with a badass female lead, and received five Oscar nominations in 2021, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Carey Mulligan.
Emerald Fennell was seven months pregnant with her second child, while serving as the director of Promising Young Woman.
Fennell previously gained attention for her acting work in TV series including Call the Midwife and The Crown, before she transitioned into directing and screenwriting; she explained she wanted to create a movie that took "a “very established genre, like a revenge movie or a thriller” and upending the audience expectations that come with it” (via IndieWire). Fennell was seven months pregnant with her second child, while serving as the director of Promising Young Woman (via People). Fennell won her first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the movie, and also received two nominations for Best Picture and Best Director.
10 Kenneth Branagh (2021)
Best Original Screenplay For Belfast
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Belfast
- Release Date
- November 12, 2021
- Runtime
- 97 minutes
- Director
- Kenneth Branagh
Cast
-
Jude Hill
-
Lewis McAskie
WHERE TO WATCH
Belfast is a coming-of-age drama by Kenneth Branagh that centers on a family, specifically one boy in the family, living in 1969 Belfast, Ireland. The film chronicles the young man's childhood as he experiences love, drama, and more in a socially tumultuous time in Ireland's history as Protestant loyalists and Catholics find themselves at war with one another.
- Writers
- Kenneth Branagh
- Studio(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Focus Features, Universal Pictures
Set during the beginning of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Belfast is told from the point of view of Buddy, whose childhood innocence is shattered forever after his street is attacked by Protestant loyalists during the 1969 August riots. As the turmoil increases between Catholics and Protestants across the country, Buddy and his family have to make a choice about whether to stay or leave for England, where they are offered safety. Belfast included incredible performances by Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds, and Jamie Dornan and was described by critics as a harrowing insight into the Troubles of Northern Ireland.
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