Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay

The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay is one of the three film writing awards given by the Writers Guild of America.

Woody Allen holds the record for most wins and nominations for the award, with five wins out of twenty nominations.

Notes † indicates an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay winner ‡ indiates an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay winner

Winners and nominees

1960s

YearFilmWriter(s) 1969Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid † William GoldmanAlice's RestaurantVenable Herndon and Arthur PennDownhill RacerJames SalterEasy RiderPeter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry SouthernMe, NatalieA. Martin ZwelbackBest Comedy Written Directly for the Screen Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker If It's Tuesday, This Must Be BelgiumDavid ShawPopiTina Pine and Lester PineSupport Your Local SheriffWilliam BowersTake the Money and RunWoody Allen and Mickey Rose

1970s YearFilmWriter(s) 1970Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen Patton † Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. NorthFive Easy Pieces Carole Eastman (as Adrien Joyce) Love Story Erich Segal Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen The Out-of-Towners Neil SimonThe Private Life of Sherlock HolmesBilly Wilder and I.A.L. DiamondQuackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the BronkGabriel WalshStart the Revolution Without MeFred Freeman and Lawrence J. CohenThe Cheyenne Social ClubJames Lee Barrett 1971Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen Sunday Bloody Sunday Penelope GilliattKlute Andy Lewis and David E. Lewis Summer of '42 Hernan Raucher The Hellstrom ChronicleDavid SeltzerBest Comedy Written Directly for the Screen The Hospital † Paddy ChayefskyBananasWoody Allen and Mickey RoseCarnal KnowledgeJules FeifferMade for Each OtherRenée Taylor and Joseph BolognaTaking OffMiloṡ Forman, Jean-Claude Carrière, John Guare, and Jon Klein 1972Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen The Candidate † Jeremy LarnerBad CompanyDavid Newman and Robert BentonImagesRobert AltmanThe Culpepper Cattle Co.Eric Bercovici and Gregory PrentissThe Great Northfield Minnesota RaidPhilip KaufmanBest Comedy Written Directly for the Screen What’s Up, Doc?Peter Bogdanovich, Buck Henry, David Newman, and Robert BentonGet to Know Your RabbitJordan CrittendenHammersmith Is OutStanford WhitmoreMinnie and MoskowitzJohn CassavetesThe War Between Men and WomenMelville Shavelson and Danny Arnold 1973Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen Save the TigerSteve ShaganMean StreetsMartin Scorsese and Mardik MartinPaydayDon CarpenterThe Sting † David S. Ward The Way We WereArthur LaurentsBest Comedy Written Directly for the Screen A Touch of Class Melvin Frank and Jack RoseAmerican Graffiti George Lucas, Gloria Katz, and Willard Huyck Blume in LovePaul MazurskySleeperWoody Allen and Marshall BrickmanSlitherW.D. Richter 1974Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen Chinatown † Robert Towne A Woman Under the InfluenceJohn CassavetesAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Robert Getchell Harry and Tonto Paul Mazursky and Josh Greenfeld The Conversation Francis Ford Coppola Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen Blazing Saddles Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, and Alan UgerCalifornia SplitJoseph WalshClaudineTina Pine and Lester PinePhantom of the ParadiseBrian de PalmaThe Sugarland ExpressHal Barwood, Matthew Robbins, and Steven Spielberg 1975Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen Dog Day Afternoon † Frank Pierson French Connection IIAlexander Jacobs, Robert Dillon, and Laurie DillonNashvilleJoan TwekesburyThe Wind and the LionJohn MiliusBest Comedy Written Directly for the Screen Shampoo Robert Towne and Warren BeattyHeats of the WestRob ThompsonSmileJerry BelsonThe Return of the Pink PantherFrank Waldman and Blake Edwards 1976Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen Network † Paddy Chayefsky The OmenDavid SeltzerRocky Sylvester Stallone Taxi DriverPaul Schrader The Front Walter Bernstein Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen The Bad News Bears Bill LancasterMurder by DeathNeil SimonNext Stop, Greenwich VillagePaul MazurskySilent MovieMel Brooks, Ron Clark, Rudy De Luca, and Barry LevinsonSilver StreakColin Higgins 1977Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen The Turning Point Arthur Laurents Close Encounters of the Third KindSteven SpielbergSaturday Night FeverNorman WexlerThe Late Show Robert Benton Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen Annie Hall † Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman Star Wars George Lucas Slap ShotNancy DowdThe Goodbye Girl Neil Simon 1978Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen Coming Home † Nancy Dowd, Robert C. Jones, and Waldo Salt An Unmarried WomanPaul MazurskyDays of HeavenTerrence MalickInteriors Woody Allen The Deer Hunter Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, Louis Garfinkle, and Quinn K. Redeker Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen Movie Movie Larry Gelbart and Sheldon KellerA WeddingJohn Considine, Patricia Resnick, Allan F. Nicholls, and Robert AltmanAnimal HouseHarold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, and Chris MillerHouse CallsMax Shulman, Julius J. Epstein, Alan Mandel, and Charles ShyerOnce in Paris...Frank D. Gilroy 1979Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen The China Syndrome Mike Gray, T. S. Cook, and James BridgesApocalypse Now John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen Breaking Away † Steve Tesich 10Blake EdwardsManhattan Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman

1980s YearFilmWriter(s) 1980Best Drama Written Directly for the ScreenMelvin and Howard † Bo GoldmanFameChristopher GoreMy BodyguardAlan OrnsbyBest Comedy Written Directly for the ScreenPrivate Benjamin Nancy Meyers, Harvey Miller, and Charles ShyerNine to FiveColin Higgins and Patricia ResnickReturn of the Secaucus 7John SaylesStardust MemoriesWoody Allen 1981Best Drama Written Directly for the ScreenRedsWarren Beatty and Trevor GriffithsAbsence of MaliceKurt LuedtkeAtlantic CityJohn GuareBody HeatLawrence KasdanBest Comedy Written Directly for the ScreenArthur Steve GordonRaiders of the Lost ArkLawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, and Philip Kaufman S.O.B.Blake EdwardsThe Four SeasonsAlan Alda 1982Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Melissa Mathison An Officer and a GentlemanDouglas Day StewartShoot the MoonBo GoldmanBest Comedy Written Directly for the ScreenTootsie Don McGuire, Larry Gelbart, and Murray Schisgal DinerBarry LevinsonMy Favorite YearNorman Steinberg and Dennis Palumbo 1983Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen Tender Mercies † Horton Foote SilkwoodNora Ephron and Alice ArlenWarGamesLawrence Lasker and Walter F. ParkesBest Comedy Written Directly for the Screen The Big Chill Lawrence Kasdan and Barbara BenedekRisky BusinessPaul BrickmanZeligWoody Allen 1984 Broadway Danny Rose Woody Allen El Norte Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas Places in the Heart † Robert Benton Romancing the Stone Diane Thomas Splash Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, Bruce Jay Friedman and Brian Grazer 1985 Witness † William Kelley and Earl W. Wallace Back to the Future Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale Cocoon Tom Benedek Mask Anna Hamilton Phelan The Purple Rose of Cairo Woody Allen 1986 Hannah and Her Sisters † Woody Allen Blue Velvet David Lynch Mona Lisa Neil Jordan and David Leland Platoon Oliver Stone Salvador Richard Boyle and Oliver Stone 1987 Moonstruck † John Patrick Shanley Broadcast News James L. Brooks Hope and Glory John Boorman The Last Emperor Bernardo Bertolucci and Mark Peploe Radio Days Woody Allen 1988 Bull Durham Ron Shelton Big Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg A Fish Called Wanda John Cleese and Charles Crichton Rain Man † Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow Working Girl Kevin Wade 1989 Crimes and Misdemeanors Woody Allen Dead Poets Society † Tom Schulman The Fabulous Baker Boys Steve Kloves Sex, Lies, and Videotape Steven Soderbergh When Harry Met Sally... Nora Ephron

1990s YearFilmWriter(s) 1990 Avalon Barry Levinson Alice Woody Allen Ghost † Bruce Joel Rubin Green Card Peter Weir Pretty Woman J. F. Lawton 1991 Thelma & Louise † Callie Khouri Boyz n the Hood John Singleton Bugsy James Toback The Fisher King Richard LaGravenese Grand Canyon Lawrence and Meg Kasdan 1992 The Crying Game † Neil Jordan Husbands and Wives Woody Allen Lorenzo's Oil Nick Enright and George Miller Passion Fish John Sayles Unforgiven David Webb Peoples 1993 The Piano † Jane Campion Dave Gary Ross In the Line of Fire Jeff Maguire Philadelphia Ron Nyswaner Sleepless in Seattle Jeff Arch, Nora Ephron, and David S. Ward 1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral Richard Curtis The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Stephan Elliott Bullets over Broadway Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath Ed Wood Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski Heavenly Creatures Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh 1995 Braveheart Randall Wallace The American President Aaron Sorkin Clueless Amy Heckerling Mighty Aphrodite Woody Allen Muriel's Wedding P. J. Hogan 1996 Fargo † Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Jerry Maguire Cameron Crowe Lone Star John Sayles Secrets & Lies Mike Leigh Shine Scott Hicks and Jan Sardi 1997 As Good as It Gets James L. Brooks and Mark Andrus Boogie Nights Paul Thomas Anderson The Full Monty Simon Beaufoy Good Will Hunting † Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Titanic James Cameron 1998 Shakespeare in Love † Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard Bulworth Warren Beatty and Jeremy Pikser The Opposite of Sex Don Roos Saving Private Ryan Robert Rodat The Truman Show Andrew Niccol 1999 American Beauty † Alan Ball Being John Malkovich Charlie Kaufman Magnolia Paul Thomas Anderson The Sixth Sense M. Night Shyamalan Three Kings John Ridley and David O. Russell

2000s YearFilmWriter(s) 2000 You Can Count on Me Kenneth Lonergan Almost Famous † Cameron Crowe Best in Show Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy Billy Elliot Lee Hall Erin Brockovich Susannah Grant 2001 Gosford Park † Julian Fellowes The Man Who Wasn't There Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Monster's Ball Milo Addica and Will Rokos Moulin Rouge! Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce The Royal Tenenbaums Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson 2002 Bowling for Columbine Michael Moore Antwone Fisher Antwone Fisher Far from Heaven Todd Haynes Gangs of New York Jay Cocks, Kenneth Lonergan, and Steven Zaillian My Big Fat Greek Wedding Nia Vardalos 2003 Lost in Translation † Sofia Coppola Bend It Like Beckham Paul Mayeda Berges, Guljit Bindra, and Gurinder Chadha Dirty Pretty Things Steven Knight In America Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan, and Kirsten Sheridan The Station Agent Thomas McCarthy 2004 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind † Pierre Bismuth, Michel Gondry, Charlie Kaufman The Aviator John Logan Garden State Zach Braff Hotel Rwanda Terry George and Keir Pearson Kinsey Bill Condon 2005 Crash † Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco The 40-Year-Old Virgin Judd Apatow and Steve Carell Cinderella Man Akiva Goldsman and Cliff Hollingsworth Good Night, and Good Luck. George Clooney and Grant Heslov The Squid and the Whale Noah Baumbach 2006 Little Miss Sunshine † Michael Arndt Babel Guillermo Arriaga The Queen Peter Morgan Stranger than Fiction Zach Helm United 93 Paul Greengrass 2007 Juno † Diablo Cody Knocked Up Judd Apatow Lars and the Real Girl Nancy Oliver Michael Clayton Tony Gilroy The Savages Tamara Jenkins 2008 Milk † Dustin Lance Black Burn After Reading Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Vicky Cristina Barcelona Woody Allen The Visitor Tom McCarthy The Wrestler Robert Siegel 2009 The Hurt Locker † Mark Boal (500) Days of Summer Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber Avatar James Cameron The Hangover Jon Lucas and Scott Moore A Serious Man Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

2010s