Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) — Every Winner and Nominee

Every film recognised in the Oscars Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) category in CineRoll's records: 121 films across 24 years, 24 of them winners.

The most recent winner is Gosford Park (2002); the earliest on record is Coming Home (1979).

The last three winners were Gosford Park (2002), Almost Famous (2001) and American Beauty (2000).

The list is newest first. Each year shows the winner at the top, then the other nominees; a year with enough nominees links to its own page.

Last updated August 12, 2026

2002

Gosford Park(2001)
Written by Julian Fellowes
Winner
Amélie(2001)
Screenplay by Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeunet; Dialogue by Guillaume Laurant
Memento(2000)
Screenplay by Christopher Nolan; Story by Jonathan Nolan
Monster's Ball(2001)
Written by Milo Addica & Will Rokos
The Royal Tenenbaums(2001)
Written by Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson

2001

Almost Famous(2000)
Written by Cameron Crowe
Winner
Billy Elliot(2000)
Written by Lee Hall
Erin Brockovich(2000)
Written by Susannah Grant
Gladiator(2000)
Screenplay by David Franzoni and John Logan and William Nicholson; Story by David Franzoni
You Can Count on Me(2000)
Written by Kenneth Lonergan

2000

American Beauty(1999)
Alan Ball
Winner
Being John Malkovich(1999)
Charlie Kaufman
Magnolia(1999)
Paul Thomas Anderson
The Sixth Sense(1999)
M. Night Shyamalan
Topsy-Turvy(1999)
Mike Leigh

1999

Shakespeare in Love(1998)
Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard
Winner
Bulworth(1998)
Screenplay by Warren Beatty, Jeremy Pikser; Story by Warren Beatty
Life Is Beautiful(1997)
Vincenzo Cerami, Roberto Benigni
Saving Private Ryan(1998)
Robert Rodat
The Truman Show(1998)
Andrew Niccol

1998

Good Will Hunting(1997)
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon
Winner
As Good as It Gets(1997)
Screenplay by Mark Andrus, James L. Brooks; Story by Mark Andrus
Boogie Nights(1997)
Paul Thomas Anderson
Deconstructing Harry(1997)
Woody Allen
The Full Monty(1997)
Simon Beaufoy

1997

Fargo(1996)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Winner
Jerry Maguire(1996)
Cameron Crowe
Lone Star(1996)
John Sayles
Secrets & Lies(1996)
Mike Leigh
Shine(1996)
Screenplay by Jan Sardi; Story by Scott Hicks

1996

The Usual Suspects(1995)
Christopher McQuarrie
Winner
Braveheart(1995)
Randall Wallace
Mighty Aphrodite(1995)
Woody Allen
Nixon(1995)
Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Oliver Stone
Toy Story(1995)
Screenplay by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow; Story by John Lasseter, Peter Docter, Andrew Stanton, Joe Ranft

1995

Pulp Fiction(1994)
Screenplay by Quentin Tarantino; Stories by Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary
Winner
Bullets Over Broadway(1994)
Woody Allen, Douglas McGrath
Four Weddings and a Funeral(1994)
Richard Curtis
Heavenly Creatures(1994)
Frances Walsh, Peter Jackson
Three Colors: Red(1994)
Krzysztof Piesiewicz, Krzysztof Kieslowski

1994

The Piano(1993)
Jane Campion
Winner
Dave(1993)
Gary Ross
In the Line of Fire(1993)
Jeff Maguire
Philadelphia(1993)
Ron Nyswaner
Sleepless in Seattle(1993)
Screenplay by Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, Jeff Arch; Story by Jeff Arch

1993

The Crying Game(1992)
Neil Jordan
Winner
Husbands and Wives(1992)
Woody Allen
Lorenzo's Oil(1992)
George Miller, Nick Enright
Passion Fish(1992)
John Sayles
Unforgiven(1992)
David Webb Peoples

1992

Thelma & Louise(1991)
Callie Khouri
Winner
Boyz n the Hood(1991)
John Singleton
Bugsy(1991)
James Toback
Grand Canyon(1991)
Lawrence Kasdan, Meg Kasdan
The Fisher King(1991)
Richard LaGravenese

1991

Ghost(1990)
Bruce Joel Rubin
Winner
Alice(1990)
Woody Allen
Alice in Wonderland(1951)
Woody Allen
Avalon(1990)
Barry Levinson
Green Card(1990)
Peter Weir
Metropolitan(1990)
Whit Stillman

1990

Dead Poets Society(1989)
Tom Schulman
Winner
Crimes and Misdemeanors(1989)
Woody Allen
Do the Right Thing(1989)
Spike Lee
sex, lies, and videotape(1989)
Steven Soderbergh
When Harry Met Sally...(1989)
Nora Ephron

1989

Rain Man(1988)
Screenplay by Ronald Bass, Barry Morrow; Story by Barry Morrow
Winner
A Fish Called Wanda(1988)
Screenplay by John Cleese; Story by John Cleese, Charles Crichton
Big(1988)
Gary Ross, Anne Spielberg
Bull Durham(1988)
Ron Shelton
Running on Empty(1988)
Naomi Foner

1988

Moonstruck(1987)
John Patrick Shanley
Winner
Au Revoir les Enfants(1987)
Louis Malle
Broadcast News(1987)
James L. Brooks
Hope and Glory(1987)
John Boorman
Radio Days(1987)
Woody Allen

1987

Hannah and Her Sisters(1986)
Woody Allen
Winner
Crocodile Dundee(1986)
Screenplay by Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie, John Cornell; Story by Paul Hogan
My Beautiful Laundrette(1985)
Hanif Kureishi
Platoon(1986)
Oliver Stone
Salvador(1986)
Oliver Stone, Richard Boyle

1986

Witness(1985)
Screenplay by Earl W. Wallace, William Kelley; Story by William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, Earl W. Wallace
Winner
Back to the Future(1985)
Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
Brazil(1985)
Terry Gilliam, Tom Stoppard, Charles McKeown
The Official Story(1985)
Luis Puenzo, Aida Bortnik
The Purple Rose of Cairo(1985)
Woody Allen

1985

Places in the Heart(1984)
Robert Benton
Winner
Beverly Hills Cop(1984)
Screenplay by Daniel Petrie, Jr.; Story by Danilo Bach, Daniel Petrie, Jr.
Broadway Danny Rose(1984)
Woody Allen
El Norte(1983)
Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas
Splash(1984)
Screenplay by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, Bruce Jay Friedman; Screen Story by Bruce Jay Friedman; Based on a story by Brian Grazer

1984

Tender Mercies(1983)
Horton Foote
Winner
Fanny and Alexander(1982)
Ingmar Bergman
Silkwood(1983)
Nora Ephron, Alice Arlen
The Big Chill(1983)
Lawrence Kasdan, Barbara Benedek
WarGames(1983)
Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes

1983

Gandhi(1982)
John Briley
Winner
An Officer and a Gentleman(1982)
Douglas Day Stewart
Diner(1982)
Barry Levinson
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial(1982)
Melissa Mathison
Tootsie(1982)
Screenplay by Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal; Story by Don McGuire, Larry Gelbart

1982

Chariots of Fire(1981)
Colin Welland
Winner
Absence of Malice(1981)
Kurt Luedtke
Arthur(1981)
Steve Gordon
Atlantic City(1980)
John Guare
Reds(1981)
Warren Beatty, Trevor Griffiths

1981

Melvin and Howard(1980)
Bo Goldman
Winner
Brubaker(1980)
Screenplay by W. D. Richter; Story by W. D. Richter, Arthur Ross
Fame(1980)
Christopher Gore
My American Uncle (Mon Oncle D'Amerique)(1980)
Jean Gruault
My American Uncle (Mon Oncle D'Amerique)(1980)
Mon Oncle d'Amerique
Private Benjamin(1980)
Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer, Harvey Miller

1980

Breaking Away(1979)
Steve Tesich
Winner
...And Justice for All(1979)
Valerie Curtin, Barry Levinson
All That Jazz(1979)
Robert Alan Aurthur, Bob Fosse
Manhattan(1979)
Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
The China Syndrome(1979)
Mike Gray, T.S. Cook, James Bridges

1979

Coming Home(1978)
Story by Nancy Dowd; Screenplay by Waldo Salt, Robert C. Jones
Winner
An Unmarried Woman(1978)
Paul Mazursky
Autumn Sonata(1978)
Ingmar Bergman
Interiors(1978)
Woody Allen
The Deer Hunter(1978)
Story by Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K. Redeker; Screenplay by Deric Washburn