History of Best Original Screenplay winners
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- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsJude HillLewis McAskieCaitríona BalfeA young boy and his working-class Belfast family experience the tumultuous late 1960s.
- DirectorEmerald FennellStarsCarey MulliganBo BurnhamAlison BrieNothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be - she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.Should've won:
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Shouldn’t been nominated: - DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoLee Sun-kyunCho Yeo-jeongGreed and class discrimination threaten the newly-formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.Should've won:
Should've been nominated:
Shouldn’t been nominated: 1917 - DirectorPeter FarrellyStarsViggo MortensenMahershala AliLinda CardelliniA working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorKenneth LonerganStarsCasey AffleckMichelle WilliamsKyle ChandlerA depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorJordan PeeleStarsDaniel KaluuyaAllison WilliamsBradley WhitfordA young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorTom McCarthyStarsMark RuffaloMichael KeatonRachel McAdamsThe true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsMichael KeatonZach GalifianakisEdward NortonA washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.Should've won: Yes; or Boyhood; or The Grand Budapest Hotel
Should've been nominated: - DirectorSpike JonzeStarsJoaquin PhoenixAmy AdamsScarlett JohanssonIn a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJamie FoxxChristoph WaltzLeonardo DiCaprioWith the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorJason ReitmanStarsElliot PageMichael CeraJennifer GarnerFaced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.Ugh... probably the worst screenplay I've known to win the prize. Diablo Cody writes this script about a girl that gets preganant. However the whole movie is too unrealistic... the kids in her grade look like they're from middle school and the way Juno and her friend talks throughout the movie is pathetic and unrealistic. The scene when Juno's mother talks to the nurse and talks to her like they're in a bar does not happen in society, sorry. Remember Juno is a confussed girl that's in HIGH SCHOOL not in 6th grade.
Should've won: Any of the four nominees or Eastern Promises (2007) by Steven Knight
Should've been nominated: Eastern Promises (2007) by Steven Knight - DirectorWoody AllenStarsOwen WilsonRachel McAdamsKathy BatesWhile on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.Great screenplay by David Seidler about the King's difficulty with his stammer and seeking help for it. Other great nominees were Another Year, The Fighter, Inception, and The Kids Are All Right.
Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: Comfortable with nominees - DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJeremy RennerAnthony MackieBrian GeraghtyDuring the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.Good screenplay by Mark Boal with men who have to adjust to a new risky leader. Other great nominees are Inglourious Basterds, The Messenger, and A Serious Man.
Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke - DirectorMichel GondryStarsJim CarreyKate WinsletTom WilkinsonWhen their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorGus Van SantStarsSean PennJosh BrolinEmile HirschThe story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorJonathan DaytonValerie FarisStarsSteve CarellToni ColletteGreg KinnearA family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorPaul HaggisStarsDon CheadleSandra BullockThandiwe NewtonLos Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsBill MurrayScarlett JohanssonGiovanni RibisiA faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorRobert AltmanStarsMaggie SmithRyan PhillippeMichael GambonSet in the 1930s, a group of pretentious rich and famous get together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: David Lynch for Mulholland Drive - DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsRosario FloresJavier CámaraDarío GrandinettiTwo men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorCameron CroweStarsBilly CrudupPatrick FugitKate HudsonA high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorSam MendesStarsKevin SpaceyAnnette BeningThora BirchA sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorRidley ScottStarsSusan SarandonGeena DavisHarvey KeitelTwo best friends set out on an adventure, but it soon turns around to a terrifying escape from being hunted by the police, as these two women escape for the crimes they committed.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorJohn MaddenStarsGwyneth PaltrowJoseph FiennesGeoffrey RushThe world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorGus Van SantStarsRobin WilliamsMatt DamonBen AffleckWill Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsWilliam H. MacyFrances McDormandSteve BuscemiMinnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorBryan SingerStarsKevin SpaceyGabriel ByrneChazz PalminteriThe sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: Andrew Kevin Walker for Se7en - DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsDustin HoffmanTom CruiseValeria GolinoAfter a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: - DirectorJane CampionStarsHolly HunterHarvey KeitelSam NeillIn the mid-19th century a mute woman is sent to New Zealand along with her young daughter and prized piano for an arranged marriage to a farmer, but is soon lusted after by a farm worker.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: Quentin Tarantino for True Romance - DirectorNeil JordanStarsStephen ReaJaye DavidsonForest WhitakerA British soldier kidnapped by the IRA soon befriends one of his captors, who then becomes drawn into the soldier's world.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorPeter WeirStarsHarrison FordKelly McGillisLukas HaasWhile protecting an Amish boy - who is the sole witness to a brutal murder - and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life is threatened.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorJerry ZuckerStarsPatrick SwayzeDemi MooreWhoopi GoldbergAfter a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorPeter WeirStarsRobin WilliamsRobert Sean LeonardEthan HawkeMaverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorNorman JewisonStarsCherNicolas CageOlympia DukakisLoretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsRobert DuvallTess HarperBetty BuckleyA broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowDianne WiestMichael CaineBetween two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorRobert BentonStarsSally FieldLindsay CrouseEd HarrisIn central Texas in the 1930s, a widow with two small children tries to save her small 40-acre farm with the help of a blind boarder and an itinerant black handyman.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsPaul Le MatJason RobardsElizabeth CheshireThe story of hard-luck Melvin E. Dummar, who claimed to have received a will naming him an heir to the fortune of Howard Hughes.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorPeter YatesStarsDennis ChristopherDennis QuaidDaniel SternA working-class Indiana teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl while searching for life goals with his friends.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorHal AshbyStarsJane FondaJon VoightBruce DernIn 1968 California, a woman whose husband is a Marine officer fighting in Vietnam falls in love with a former high school classmate who suffered a paralyzing combat injury in the war.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorSidney LumetStarsFaye DunawayWilliam HoldenPeter FinchA television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn CazalePenelope AllenThree amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorMichael RitchieStarsRobert RedfordPeter BoyleMelvyn DouglasBill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJack NicholsonFaye DunawayJohn HustonA private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: - DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordRobert ShawTwo grifters team up to pull off the ultimate con.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorArthur HillerStarsGeorge C. ScottDiana RiggBarnard HughesA hospital's chief-of-staff struggles to find meaning in his life during a spate of staff deaths.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorPietro GermiStarsMarcello MastroianniDaniela RoccaStefania SandrelliA married Sicilian baron falls in love with his cousin and vows to wed her, but with divorce illegal he must concoct a crime of passion to do away with his wife.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordKatharine RossIn 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorMel BrooksStarsZero MostelGene WilderDick ShawnA stage-play producer devises a plan to make money by producing a sure-fire flop.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracySidney PoitierKatharine HepburnA couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter introduces them to her African-American fiancé.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorClaude LelouchStarsAnouk AiméeJean-Louis TrintignantPierre BarouhA widow and a widower find their relationship developing into love, but their past tragedies prove hard to overcome, causing them to proceed with utmost delicacy.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorLeopold LindtbergHermann HallerFranz SchnyderStarsJosiane HeggGermaine TournierHeinrich GretlerAmidst the Nazi invasion of France in 1942, a young girl is evacuated to Switzerland but is still haunted by the terrors she has witnessed.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsJulie ChristieDirk BogardeLaurence HarveyBeautiful but amoral model Diana Scott sleeps her way to the top of the London fashion scene at the height of the Swinging Sixties.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorRalph NelsonStarsCary GrantLeslie CaronTrevor HowardDuring World War II, a man persuaded to live on an isolated island and spot aircraft finds himself responsible for a teacher and several students, all female.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorJohn FordHenry HathawayGeorge MarshallStarsJames StewartJohn WayneGregory PeckA family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorElia KazanStarsNatalie WoodWarren BeattyPat HingleThe love of high school sweethearts Deanie and Bud is weighed down by the oppressive expectations of their parents and society in smalltown Kansas in 1928, threatening the future of their relationship.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorBilly WilderStarsJack LemmonShirley MacLaineFred MacMurrayA Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorMichael GordonStarsRock HudsonDoris DayTony RandallAn interior decorator and a playboy songwriter share a telephone party line and size each other up.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorStanley KramerStarsTony CurtisSidney PoitierCara WilliamsTwo chained-together escaped convicts, White and Black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsGregory PeckLauren BacallDolores GrayA sportswriter and a fashion-designer marry after a whirlwind romance, and discover they have little in common.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorAlbert LamorisseStarsPascal LamorisseSabine LamorisseGeorges SellierA red balloon with a mind of its own follows a little boy around the streets of Paris.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsGlenn FordEleanor ParkerRoger MooreThis movie chronicles Australian-born opera star Marjorie Lawrence's success, her battle with polio, and her eventual career comeback.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorJean NegulescoStarsClifton WebbBarbara StanwyckRobert WagnerAn unhappily married couple struggle to deal with their problems while on board the luxurious, ill-fated RMS Titanic.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsAlec GuinnessStanley HollowaySidney JamesA meek bank clerk who oversees the shipment of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country as miniature Eiffel Towers.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsGene KellyLeslie CaronOscar LevantThree friends struggle to find work in Paris. Things become more complicated when two of them fall in love with the same woman.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenGloria SwansonErich von StroheimA screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsVan JohnsonJohn HodiakRicardo MontalbanTrue tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorIrving ReisStarsCary GrantMyrna LoyShirley TempleA high school girl falls for a playboy artist, with screwball results.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorNorman KrasnaStarsOlivia de HavillandRobert CummingsCharles CoburnA pilot falls in love with a woman he believes is heading cross country to become a maid, little suspecting that she's actually a princess.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorGeorge StevensStarsSpencer TracyKatharine HepburnFay BainterRival reporters Sam and Tess fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle.Should've won:
Should've been nominated: - DirectorCompton BennettStarsJames MasonAnn ToddHerbert LomA concert pianist with amnesia fights to regain her memory.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorHenry KingStarsAlexander KnoxCharles CoburnGeraldine FitzgeraldA chronicle of the political career of US President Woodrow Wilson.TO WATCH
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Should've been nominated: - DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: - DirectorPreston SturgesStarsBrian DonlevyMuriel AngelusAkim TamiroffDan McGinty has great success in his chosen field of crooked politics, but he endangers it all in one crazy moment of honesty.TO WATCH
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