The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has annually awarded an Academy Awards for achievement in writing since 1928. This is the most prestigious award that a screenwriter can receive. The names and precise categories for the writing awards varied widely during the first 30 years that Academy Awards were given. There were often three categories, including an award given to the writers of the story or play which was adapted to film. The current pattern of awarding an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay has been established essentially in its current form since 1957 (although the current precise names of the awards dates back only to 2002).
| Winners, Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film (Year) | Screenwriter(s)/ Academy Award Winners | Religious Affiliation of Screenwriter(s) | Original Author, Writer, etc. | Religious Affiliation of Original Author(s) |
| Sideways (2004) | Alexander Payne Jim Taylor | Rex Pickett | ||
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) | Frances Walsh Philippa Boyens Peter Jackson | J.R.R. Tolkien | Catholic | |
| The Pianist (2002) | Ronald Harwood | Wladyslaw Szpilman | ||
| A Beautiful Mind (2001) | Akiva Goldsman | Sylvia Nasar | ||
| Traffic (2000) | Stephen Gaghan | Simon Moore | ||
| The Cider House Rules (1999) | John Irving | ? | John Irving | ? |
| Gods And Monsters (1998) | Bill Condon | Christopher Bram | ||
| L.A. Confidential (1997) | Brian Helgeland Curtis Hanson | James Ellroy | ||
| Sling Blade (1996) | Billy Bob Thornton | Billy Bob Thornton | ||
| Sense And Sensibility (1995) | Emma Thompson | Jane Austen | Anglican | |
| Forrest Gump (1994) | Eric Roth | Winston Groom | ||
| Schindler's List (1993) | Steven Zaillian | Thomas Keneally | ||
| Howards End (1992) | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | E.M. Forster | ||
| The Silence Of The Lambs (1991) | Ted Tally | Thomas Harris | ||
| Dances With Wolves (1990) | Michael Blake | Michael Blake | ||
| Driving Miss Daisy (1989) | Alfred Uhry | Jewish | Alfred Uhry | Jewish |
| Dangerous Liaisons (1988) | Christopher Hampton | Choderlos de Laclos (novel) Christopher Hampton (play) | ||
| The Last Emperor (1987) | Mark Peploe Bernardo Bertolucci | ? Catholic (lapsed); Freudian | Henry Pu-yi | |
| A Room With A View (1986) | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | E.M. Forster | ||
| Out Of Africa (1985) | Kurt Luedtke | Isak Dinesen (memoirs) Errol Trzebinski (book) Judith Thurman (other book) | Catholic ? ? | |
| Amadeus (1984) | Peter Shaffer | Peter Shaffer | ||
| Terms Of Endearment (1983) | James L. Brooks | Jewish | Larry McMurtry | |
| Missing (1982) | Costa-Gavras Donald Stewart | Thomas Hauser | ||
| On Golden Pond (1981) | Ernest Thompson | Ernest Thompson | ||
| Ordinary People (1980) | Alvin Sargent | Judith Guest | ||
| Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979) | Robert Benton | Avery Corman | ||
| Midnight Express (1978) | Oliver Stone | Jewish father; Catholic mother; raised Episcopalian; Tibetan Buddhism (convert) | Billy Hayes William Hoffer | |
| Julia (1977) | Alvin Sargent | Lillian Hellman | Jewish | |
| All The President's Men (1976) | William Goldman | Jewish | Carl Bernstein Bob Woodward | Jewish ? |
| One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975) | Lawrence Hauben Bo Goldman | Ken Kesey | ||
| The Godfather Part II (1974) | Francis Ford Coppola Mario Puzo | Catholic (non-practicing) ? | Mario Puzo | |
| The Exorcist (1973) | William Peter Blatty | Catholic | William Peter Blatty | Catholic |
| The Godfather (1972) | Mario Puzo Francis Ford Coppola | ? Catholic (non-practicing) | Mario Puzo | |
| The French Connection (1971) | Ernest Tidyman | Robin Moore Edward M. Keyes | ||
| M*A*S*H (1970) | Ring Lardner Jr. | Communist; atheist; anti-Catholic | Richard Hooker | |
| Midnight Cowboy (1969) | Waldo Salt | James Leo Herlihy | ||
| The Lion In Winter (1968) | James Goldman | Jewish | James Goldman | Jewish |
| In The Heat Of The Night (1967) | Stirling Silliphant | John Ball | ||
| A Man For All Seasons (1966) | Robert Bolt | Robert Bolt | ||
| Doctor Zhivago (1965) | Robert Bolt | Boris Pasternak | Jewish | |
| Becket (1964) | Edward Anhalt | Jean Anouilh | ||
| Tom Jones (1963) | John Osborne | Henry Fielding | ||
| To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) | Horton Foote | Christian Science | Harper Lee | |
| Judgment At Nuremberg (1961) | Abby Mann | Abby Mann | ||
| Elmer Gantry (1960) | Richard Brooks | Jewish | Sinclair Lewis | |
| Room At The Top (1959) | Neil Paterson | John Braine | ||
| Gigi (1958) | Alan Jay Lerner | Jewish | Colette (Colette de l'Academie Goncourt) | |
| The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) | Michael Wilson Carl Foreman | Pierre Boulle | ||
| Around The World In Eighty Days (1956) | James Poe John Farrow S. J. Perelman | ? Catholic Jewish | Jules Verne | Catholic |
| Marty (1955) | Paddy Chayefsky | Jewish | Paddy Chayefsky | Jewish |
| The Country Girl (1954) | George Seaton | Clifford Odets | Jewish | |
| From Here To Eternity (1953) | Daniel Taradash | James Jones | ||
| The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) | Charles Schnee | George Bradshaw | ||
| A Place in the Sun (1951) | Michael Wilson Harry Brown | Theodore Dreiser (novel) Patrick Kearney (play) | ? | |
| All About Eve (1950) | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Jewish parents; atheist father | Mary Orr | |
| A Letter To Three Wives (1949) | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Jewish parents; atheist father | John Klempner | |
| The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948) | John Huston | B. Traven (Bernard Traven) | ||
| Miracle on 34th Street (1947) | George Seaton | Valentine Davies | ||
| The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) | Robert E. Sherwood | MacKinlay Kantor | ||
| The Lost Weekend (1945) | Charles Brackett Billy Wilder | ? Jewish | Charles R. Jackson | |
| Going My Way (1944) | Frank Butler Frank Cavett | Leo McCarey | Catholic | |
| Casablanca (1943) | Julius J. Epstein Philip G. Epstein Howard Koch | Murray Burnett Joan Alison | ||
| Mrs. Miniver (1942) | Arthur Wimperis George Froeschel James Hilton Claudine West | Jan Struther | ||
| Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) | Sidney Buchman Seton I. Miller | Harry Segall | ||
| The Philadelphia Story (1940) | Donald Ogden Stewart | Philip Barry | ||
| Gone With The Wind (1939) | Sidney Howard | Margaret Mitchell | ||
| Pygmalion (1938) | Cecil Lewis W. P. Lipscomb Ian Dalrymple George Bernard Shaw | ? ? ? | George Bernard Shaw | Church of Ireland (Anglican); atheist, then mystic |
| The Life Of Emile Zola (1937) | Norman Reilly Raine Heinz Herald Geza Herczeg | Matthew Josephson | ||
| The Story Of Louis Pasteur (1936) | Pierre Collings Sheridan Gibney | Pierre Collings Sheridan Gibney | ||
| The Informer (1935) | Dudley Nichols | Liam O'Flaherty | ||
| It Happened One Night (1934) | Robert Riskin | Samuel Hopkins Adams | ||
| Little Women (1932/33) | Vistor Heerman Sarah Y. Mason | Louisa May Alcott | Unitarian | |
| Bad Girl (1931/32) | Edwin Burke | Vina Delmar [Viña Delmar] | ||
| Cimarron (1930/31) | Howard Estabrook | Edna Ferber | Jewish | |
| The Patriot (1928/29) | Hans Kraly | Dmitri Merezhkovsky (stor) Alfred Neumann (play) Ashley Dukes (other play) | ||
| 7th Heaven (1927/28) | Benjamin Glazer | Austin Strong | ||
| Winners, Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay | ||
|---|---|---|
| Film (Year) | Screenwriter(s) | Religious Affiliation of Screenwriter(s) |
| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) | Charlie Kaufman Michel Gondry Pierre Bismuth | Jewish ? ? |
| Lost in Translation (2003) | Sofia Coppola | Catholic |
| Talk To Her (Hable con ella) (2002) | Pedro Almodovar | Catholic (lapsed) |
| Gosford Park (2001) | Julian Fellows | |
| Almost Famous (2000) | Cameron Crowe | |
| American Beauty (1999) | Alan Ball | |
| Shakespeare In Love (1998) | Marc Norman Tom Stoppard | |
| Good Will Hunting (1997) | Ben Affleck Matt Damon | Catholic ? |
| Fargo (1996) | Ethan Coen Joel Coen | Jewish Jewish |
| The Usual Suspects (1995) | Christopher McQuarrie | |
| Pulp Fiction (1994) | Quentin Tarantino Roger Avery | |
| The Piano (1993) | Jane Campion | |
| The Crying Game (1992) | Neil Jordan | |
| Thelma and Louise (1991) | Callie Khouri | |
| Ghost (1990) | Bruce Joel Rubin | Buddhist |
| Dead Poets Society (1989) | Tom Schulman | |
| Rain Man (1988) | Ronald Bass Barry Morrow | |
| Moonstruck (1987) | John Patrick Shanley | |
| Hannah And Her Sisters (1986) | Woody Allen | Jewish (raised Orthodox); agnostic |
| Witness (1985) | Earl W. Wallace William Kelley Pamela Wallace | |
| Places In The Heart (1984) | Robert Benton | |
| Tender Mercies (1983) | Horton Foote | Christian Science |
| Gandhi (1982) | John Briley | |
| Chariots Of Fire (1981) | Colin Welland | |
| Melvin And Howard (1980) | Bo Goldman | |
| Breaking Away (1979) | Steve Tesich | |
| Coming Home (1978) | Nancy Dowd Waldo Salt Robert C. Jones | |
| Annie Hall (1977) | Woody Allen Marshall Brickman | Jewish (raised Orthodox); agnostic ? |
| Network (1976) | Paddy Chayefsky | Jewish |
| Dog Day Afternoon (1975) | Frank Pierson | |
| Chinatown (1974) | Robert Towne | |
| The Sting (1973) | David S. Ward | |
| The Candidate (1972) | Jeremy Larner | |
| Hospital (1971) | Paddy Chayefsky | Jewish |
| Patton (1970) | Francis Ford Coppola Edmund H. North | Catholic (non-practicing) ? |
| Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) | William Goldman | Jewish |
| The Producers (1968) | Mel Brooks | Jewish |
| Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967) | William Rose | |
| A Man and a Woman (1966) | Claude Lelouch Pierre Uytterhoeven | Jewish? ? |
| Darling (1965) | Frederic Raphael | |
| Father Goose (1964) | S. H. Barnett Peter Stone Frank Tarloff | |
| How The West Was Won (1963) | James R. Webb | |
| Divorce - Italian Style (1962) | Ennio de Concini Alfredo Giannetti Pietro Germi | |
| Splendor In The Grass (1961) | William Inge | |
| The Apartment (1960) | Billy Wilder I. A. L. Diamond | Jewish ? |
| Pillow Talk (1959) | Russell Rouse Clarence Greene Stanley Shapiro Maurice Richlin | |
| The Defiant Ones (1958) | Nedrick Young Harold Jacob Smith | |
| Designing Woman (1957) | George Wells | |
| The Red Balloon (1956) | Albert Lamorisse | |
| Interrupted Melody (1955) | William Ludwig Sonya Levien | |
| On The Waterfront (1954) | Budd Schulberg | Jewish |
| Titanic (1953) | Charles Brackett Walter Reisch Richard Breen | |
| The Lavender Hill Mob (1952) | T. E. B. Clarke | |
| An American In Paris (1951) | Alan Jay Lerner | Jewish |
| Sunset Boulevard (1950) | Charles Brackett Billy Wilder D. M. Marshman Jr. | ? Jewish ? |
| Battleground (1949) | Robert Pirosh | |
| The Bachelor And The Bobby-Soxer (1947) | Sidney Sheldon | Jewish |
| The Seventh Veil (1946) | Muriel Box Sydney Box | |
| Marie-Louise (1945) | Richard Schweizer | |
| Wilson (1944) | Lamar Trotti | |
| Princess O'Rourke (1943) | Norman Krasna | |
| Woman Of The Year (1942) | Ring Lardner Jr. Michael Kanin | ? |
| Citizen Kane | Herman J. Mankiewicz Orson Welles | ? Protestant Christian |
| The Great McGinty (1940) | Preston Sturges | |
| The Big House (1929/30) | Frances Marion | |
| Winners, Academy Award for Best Motion Picture Story | ||
|---|---|---|
| Film (Year) | Writer(s) | Religious Affiliation of Writer(s) |
| The Brave One (1956) | Dalton Trumbo | Christian Science |
| Love Me or Leave Me (1955) | Daniel Fuchs | |
| Broken Lance (1954) | Philip Yordan | |
| Roman Holiday (1953) | Dalton Trumbo | Christian Science |
| The Greatest Show On Earth (1952) | Frederic M. Frank Theodore St. John Frank Cavett | |
| Seven Days To Noon (1951) | Paul Dehn James Bernard | |
| Panic In The Streets (1950) | Edna Anhalt Edward Anhalt | |
| The Stratton Story (1949) | Douglas Morrow | |
| The Search (1948) | Richard Schweizer David Wechsler | |
| Miracle On 34th Street (1947) | Valentine Davies | |
| Vacation From Marriage (1946) | Clemence Dane | |
| The House On 92nd Street (1945) | Charles G. Booth | |
| Going My Way (1944) | Leo McCarey | Catholic |
| The Human Comedy (1943) | William Saroyan | |
| The Invaders (1942) | Emeric Pressburger | Jewish |
| Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) | Harry Segall | |
| Arise, My Love (1940) | Benjamin Glazer John S. Toldy | |
| Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) | Lewis R. Foster | |
| Boys Town (1938) | Dore Schary Eleanore Griffin | |
| A Star Is Born (1937) | William A. Wellman Robert Carson | |
| The Story Of Louis Pasteur (1936) | Pierre Collings Sheridan Gibney | |
| The Scoundrel (1935) | Ben Hecht Charles MacArthur | Jewish ? |
| Manhattan Melodrama (1934) | Arthur Caesar | |
| One Way Passage (1932/33) | Robert Lord | |
| The Champ (1931/32) | Frances Marion | |
| The Dawn Patrol (1930/31) | John Monk Saunders | |
| Underworld (1927/28) | Ben Hecht | |
| Winners, Academy Award for Title Writing (for silent films) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Film (Year) | Writer(s) | Religious Affiliation of Writer(s) |
| 1927/28 | Joseph Farnham | |