The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material; writers with "written by", "screenplay" or "story" credits are all collectively recognized as recipients for each nomination.
The category was created in 1940, and has always existed concurrently with the Best Adapted Screenplay category (conversely for films based on pre-existing intellectual properties); originally, it also co-existed with a third writing category, Best Story, which had been active since the original Academy Awards ceremony in 1929; this latter award was meant to reward specifically writers who originated a film's plot and characters rather than those who wrote the dialogue and final screenplay, although Best Story would later be merged into Best Original Screenplay in 1956.
Eligibility Screenplays are eligible if they are not based on "previously published material". The Writer's Branch of the academy determines if a screenplay is adapted or original, based on possible sources in question, interviews given about the film and the film's publicity materials, and sometimes places screenplays in a different category than the Writers Guild of America. For the 75th Academy Awards, Gangs of New York was nominated as an original screenplay despite being based on the book The Gangs of New York because the writers based the film on the book's historical research but largely invented the characters and plot. For the 89th Academy Awards, Moonlight was campaigned as an original screenplay, being based on an unpublished play, but was ultimately placed in the adapted screenplay category, which it won. Similarly, Whiplash was considered an adapted screenplay at the 87th Academy Awards despite being written as an original screenplay because a scene from the script was produced as a proof-of-concept short film. However, 2008's Frozen River, which similarly had a proof-of-concept short film screened at film festivals, was nominated as an original screenplay. Another similar case was with Barbie in 2023, which was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 96th Academy Awards despite campaigning for Best Original Screenplay during the awards season. This was because its use of existing characters (like Barbie and Ken) and its partial setting (Barbieland) were considered controversial.
Superlatives
Woody Allen has the most nominations in this category with 16, and the most awards with 3 (for Annie Hall (1977), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and Midnight in Paris (2011)). Paddy Chayefsky and Billy Wilder have also won three screenwriting Oscars: Chayefsky won two for Original Screenplay (The Hospital and Network) and one for Adapted Screenplay (Marty), while Wilder won one for Adapted Screenplay (The Lost Weekend, shared with Charles Brackett), and two for Original Screenplay (Sunset Boulevard, shared with Brackett and D. M. Marshman Jr., and The Apartment, shared with I. A. L. Diamond)
Woody Allen also holds the record as the oldest winner (76) for Midnight in Paris. Ben Affleck is the youngest winner (25) for Good Will Hunting, co-written with Matt Damon (27).
Richard Schweizer was the first to win the award for a foreign-language film, Marie-Louise (French). Other winners for a non-English screenplay include Albert Lamorisse (The Red Balloon; French), Pietro Germi (Divorce Italian Style; Italian), Claude Lelouch (A Man and A Woman; French), Pedro Almodóvar (Talk to Her; Spanish), Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won (Parasite, Korean), and Justine Triet and Arthur Harari (Anatomy of a Fall, French). Lamorisse is the only person to win or even be nominated for Best Original Screenplay for a short film.Writing Winners: 1957 Oscars
Frances Marion (The Big House) was the first woman to win for her original script, although she won Best Writing, which then included both original and adapted screenplays before a separate award for Best Original Screenplay was introduced. Muriel Box (The Seventh Veil) was the first woman to win in this category; she shared the award with her husband, Sydney Box. They are also the first of two married couples to win in this category; Earl W. Wallace and Pamela Wallace (Witness) are the others.
In 1996, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen became the only siblings to win in this category (for Fargo)."Sling Blade" and "Fargo" winning Writing Oscars-official YouTube channel Francis Ford Coppola (Patton, 1970)M*A*S*H and Patton Win Writing Awards: 1970 Oscars and Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, 2003) are the only father-daughter pair to win.Sofia Coppola winning Best Original Screenplay-Oscars on YouTube Kenny and Keith Lucas are the only African-American siblings to receive a nomination in this category (Judas and the Black Messiah, 2020/21).
Frank Butler was nominated for two different films in the same year, both with a co-writer (1942): Road to Morocco, with Don Hartman, and Wake Island, with W.R. Burnett. Preston Sturges was nominated solo for two different films in the same year (1944): Hail the Conquering Hero and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. Oliver Stone achieved the same distinction in 1986, for Platoon and Salvador. Maurice Richlin and Stanley Shapiro were nominated in 1959 for both Operation Petticoat and Pillow Talk and won for the latter.
Jordan Peele became the first African-American to win in this category for 2017's Get Out."Get Out" wins Best Original Screenplay-Oscars on YouTube
Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won became the first Asian writers to win either Screenplay award, for 2019's Parasite. This was also the most recent of 10 occasions when Oscars in this category have been awarded to writers for both screenplay AND story on one film (sometimes they have been completely different, and sometimes the credited screenplay author also contributed to the story alongside at least one other credited scribe).
Winners and nominees Winners are listed first in the colored row, followed by the other nominees.
1940s Year Film Nominee 1940(13th) The Great McGintyAngels Over BroadwayDr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, & Foreign Correspondent & The Great Dictator 1941(14th) Citizen Kane & The Devil and Miss JonesSergeant York, , & Tall, Dark and Handsome & Tom, Dick and Harry 1942(15th) Woman of the Year & One of Our Aircraft Is Missing & Road to Morocco & Wake Island & The War Against Mrs. Hadley 1943(16th) Princess O'RourkeAir ForceIn Which We ServeThe North StarSo Proudly We Hail! 1944(17th) WilsonHail the Conquering HeroThe Miracle of Morgan's CreekTwo Girls and a Sailor & Wing and a Prayer 1945(18th) Marie-LouiseDillingerMusic for MillionsSalty O'RourkeWhat Next, Corporal Hargrove? 1946(19th) The Seventh Veil & The Blue DahliaChildren of ParadiseNotoriousRoad to Utopia & 1947(20th) The Bachelor and the Bobby-SoxerBody and SoulA Double Life & Monsieur VerdouxShoeshine, , & 1948(21st)N/A Best Original Screenplay was consolidated in 1948 for a singular Best Screenplay award. The winner was The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, adapted from the novel of same name.— 1949(22nd) BattlegroundJolson Sings AgainPaisan, , , & Passport to PimlicoThe Quiet One, &
1950s Year Film Nominees 1950(23rd) Sunset Boulevard, & Adam's Rib & Caged & The MenNo Way Out & 1951(24th) An American in ParisAce in the Hole, & David and BathshebaGo for Broke!The Well & 1952(25th) The Lavender Hill MobThe Atomic CityBreaking the Sound BarrierPat and Mike & Viva Zapata! 1953(26th) Titanic, & The Band Wagon & The Desert RatsThe Naked Spur & Take the High Ground! 1954(27th) On the WaterfrontThe Barefoot ContessaGenevieveThe Glenn Miller Story & Knock on Wood & 1955(28th) Interrupted Melody & The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell & It's Always Fair Weather & Mr. Hulot's Holiday & The Seven Little Foys & 1956(29th) The Red BalloonThe Bold and the BraveJulieLa Strada & The Ladykillers 1957(30th) Designing WomanFunny FaceMan of a Thousand FacesScreenplay: , & ; Story: The Tin StarScreenplay: ; Story: & I VitelloniScreenplay: & ; Story: Fellini, Flaiano & 1958(31st) The Defiant Ones & In 1958, Nedrick Young was blacklisted and writing under the pseudonym Nathan E. Douglas. The Academy's Board of Governors voted in 1993 to restore Young's nomination and award.The GoddessHouseboat & The SheepmanScreenplay: & ; Story: GrantTeacher's Pet & 1959(32nd) Pillow TalkScreenplay: & ; Story: & The 400 Blows & North by NorthwestOperation PetticoatScreenplay: Shapiro & Richlin; Story: & Wild Strawberries
1960s Year Film Nominees 1960(33rd) The Apartment & The Angry SilenceScreenplay: ; Story: & The Facts of Life & Hiroshima, Mon AmourNever on Sunday 1961(34th) Splendor in the GrassBallad of a Soldier & General Della Rovere, & La Dolce Vita, , & Lover Come Back & 1962(35th) Divorce Italian Style, & FreudScreenplay: & ; Story: KaufmanLast Year at MarienbadThat Touch of Mink & Through a Glass Darkly 1963(36th) How the West Was WonAmerica America8½, , & The Four Days of NaplesScreenplay: , , & ; Story: Campanile, Franciosa, Loy & Love with the Proper Stranger 1964(37th) Father GooseScreenplay: & ; Story: A Hard Day's NightOne Potato, Two PotatoScreenplay: ; Story: The Organizer, & That Man from Rio, , & 1965(38th) DarlingCasanova 70, , , , & Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines & The Train & The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 1966(39th) A Man and a WomanScreenplay: BlowupScreenplay: , & ; Story: AntonioniThe Fortune Cookie & KhartoumThe Naked Prey & 1967(40th) Guess Who's Coming to DinnerBonnie and Clyde & Divorce American StyleScreenplay: ; Story: La Guerre Est FinieTwo for the Road 1968(41st) The ProducersThe Battle of Algiers & FacesHot Millions & 2001: A Space Odyssey & 1969(42nd) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance KidBob & Carol & Ted & Alice & The DamnedScreenplay: , & ; Story: BadaluccoEasy Rider, & The Wild BunchScreenplay: & ; Story: Green &
1970s Year Film Nominees 1970(43rd) Patton & Five Easy PiecesScreenplay: ; Story: Eastman & JoeLove StoryMy Night at Maud's 1971(44th) The HospitalInvestigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion & Klute & Summer of '42Sunday Bloody Sunday 1972(45th) The CandidateThe Discreet Charm of the BourgeoisieScreenplay & Story: ; Collaboration: Lady Sings the Blues, & Murmur of the HeartYoung Winston 1973(46th) The StingAmerican Graffiti, & Cries and WhispersSave the TigerA Touch of Class & 1974(47th) ChinatownAlice Doesn't Live Here AnymoreThe ConversationDay for Night, & Harry and TontoJosh Greenfeld & 1975(48th) Dog Day AfternoonAmarcord & And Now My Love & Lies My Father Told MeShampoo & 1976(49th) NetworkCousin CousineScreenplay & Story: ; Adaptation: The FrontRockySeven Beauties 1977(50th) Annie Hall & The Goodbye GirlThe Late ShowStar WarsThe Turning Point 1978(51st) Coming HomeScreenplay: & ; Story: Autumn SonataThe Deer HunterScreenplay: ; Story: , , & WashburnInteriorsAn Unmarried Woman 1979(52nd) Breaking AwayAll That Jazz & ...And Justice for All. & The China Syndrome, & Manhattan &
1980s