Screenplays are the blueprints for all films, and are often the chief ingredient for many of the classics we all love today. Screenwriters craft the dialogue and narratives of films; either working on an adaptation from an existing source material or developing an original idea. Which is why the Oscars award both types of screenplays with separate categories for original and adapted works. This year's Academy Awards are fast approaching which has many film lovers looking back at highlights of Oscars past. As such, we're taking a look at some recent winners of the Best Original Screenplay category, which often yields some of the most innovative and unique films as victors. Take a look below out our ranking for every Best Original Screenplay winner of the 21st century.
21. Crash (2004)
The lives of several highly disparate people living in Los Angeles collide under the guise of tense race relations that simmer within the city in Paul Haggis’ Best Picture winning drama. Crash isn’t a good film. Often cited as one of the worst films to ever win Best Picture, the racial drama has aged terribly, particularly in light of the far more nuanced depictions of modern racism and prejudices that have come out of Hollywood in the years, and especially for its victory over the far superior LGBTQ drama Brokeback Mountain. While the performances and aspects the filmmaking are intermittently effective, it is its screenplay that causes the central rot, with contrived plotlines, overwrought themes and a message that feels misguided at best.
20. Green Book (2018)
Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a renowned pianist who is African-American, embarks on a road trip through the deep south of the United States, in order to fulfil a concert tour, alongside Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), a tough-talking Italian-American bouncer from a rough neighborhood in the Bronx, who was hired to be a driver for Dr. Shirley. A victim of its own awards success, Green Book has been disparaged by audiences and critics for being an outdated depiction of prejudice following its wins on Oscar night. Ali’s performance is the film’s saving grace, as he is truly phenomenal, but the overall film is simply not awards worthy – and that the screenplay beat out the exemplary script for The Favourite is scandalous.
19. Juno (2007)
Diablo Cody won Best Original Screenplay for her debut script about a pregnant teenager named Juno. Elliot Page stars as the titular Juno, a young woman with alternative tastes who becomes pregnant after sleeping with her friend Paulie (Michael Cera) and decides to give the unborn baby to a wealthy couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman), who appear to be facing some issues of their own. Cody’s script showed the arrival of a strong and distinct new voice in screenwriting.
18. Lost in Translation (2003)
Sofia Coppola won the award for her film about an unlikely bond between a faded movie star (Bill Murray) and a neglected young newlywed (Scarlett Johansson) who cross paths in a lavish Tokyo hotel. Coppola’s second feature showed her fully come into her own as a writer/director, exhibiting strong filmmaking instincts that brought the loneliness of the characters to the fore in this touching film that has an unforgettable ending.
17. Milk (2008)
The life of gay rights activist, and the first openly gay elected official in California, Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) is paid tribute in this biopic from Good Will Hunting director, Gus Van Sant. Penn won the Oscar for Best Actor, while screenwriter Dustin Lance Black won the film’s other Academy Award. A fairly straightforward biopic about an important, but often overlooked, figure in American history.
16. Midnight in Paris (2011)
Woody Allen won his final Oscar for this fantasy film about a nostalgic writer (Owen Wilson) who is on vacation in Paris with his fiancée’s family and finds himself mysteriously transported to the roaring 1920’s where he meets literary greats like F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) and Ernest Hemmingway (Corey Stoll). A very charming film that expertly utilizes Owen Wilson and sits among the best of Allen’s very long filmography.
15. Almost Famous (2000)
Cameron Crowe wrote and directed this film that drew on his own experiences as a young person. A high schooler (Patrick Fugit) in the 1970s is given the opportunity to follow an up-and-coming rock band as they go on tour. A unique coming-of-age film that has an excellent classic rock soundtrack and strong supporting performances from the ensemble cast, and particularly from both Billy Crudup and Kate Hudson.
14. The King's Speech (2010)
After ascending to the throne in 1936, King George VI (Colin Firth) must overcome a crippling speech impediment through the unusual methods of a renowned speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) so that he may communicate with the British citizens as the shadow of war looms over Europe. The King’s Speech is a competently made and surprisingly heart-warming historical drama that has lavish set designs and uniformly strong performances from the cast members. Unfortunately, the film beat the modern classic The Social Network for Best Picture and Director which caused a bit of a backlash in the film criticism community and took some luster away from The King’s Speech.
13. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
An unconventional family takes a cross-country road trip so that the young daughter (Abigail Breslin) can compete in the finals of a child beauty pageant. Michael Arndt, who would go on to write Toy Story 3 and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his quirky script that would become the benchmark for American independent cinema. The film has many laugh-out-loud and heart string tugging moments, as well as a strong cast that includes Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Steve Carrell and Alan Arkin, who the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for this performance.
12. Promising Young Woman (2020)
Promising Young Woman follows a traumatized young woman (Carey Mulligan) who seeks some form of vengeance for a tragedy from her past. Actress Emerald Fennell made her feature debut as a writer/director with this provocative drama that deals with the modern-day threats and injustices that women face every day in our culture. A very fresh and daring film that has a lot on its mind.
11. Talk to Her (2002)
Spanish filmmaking giant Pedro Almodóvar won his only Academy Award to date for this film about an unlikely friendship between two men whose partners are both in comas. Almodóvar’s work has often garnered international acclaim, making him one of the most visible filmmakers from his native homeland.
10. Gosford Park (2001)
Future Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellows showed his adeptness at portraying the British aristocracy with his Oscar winning screenplay for the Robert Altman directed murder mystery. Featuring an acclaimed collection of British thespians, including Michael Gambon, Charles Dance, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, Clive Owen, Stephen Fry and many others, Gosford Park is a phenomenally entertaining film that marked a strong entry to the murder mystery genre
9. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
A washed-up movie star (Michael Keaton) who was the lead in an old superhero franchise attempts to revive his career by starring and directing a play on Broadway. Alejandro G. Iñárritu writes and directed this meta showbiz drama with a high amount of energy, shooting and editing the film in a one-take tracking shot style, while the members of the deep ensemble cast, which includes; Emma Stone, Edward Norton and Zach Galifianakis, are able to match the film’s frequency.
8. Manchester by The Sea (2016)
Writer/ director Kenneth Lonergan won the Oscar for Original Screenplay for his devastating meditation on grief. A depressed loner named Lee (Casey Affleck) is summoned to his hometown after learning that his brother (Kyle Chandler) has passed away, and he must now be the legal guardian for his 16-year-old nephew (Lucas Hedges). But Lee’s return to his old home threatens to open the wounds of a tragedy from his past. Lonergan’s script is filled with emotionally raw scenes that allow the actors to reach some devastating heights, particularly Affleck and Michelle Williams who both won Oscars for their performances
7. The Hurt Locker (2008)
Set during the US invasion of Iraq, a bomb disposal expert (Jeremy Renner) becomes addicted to the rush of his job, pushing himself and his team to their limits as he acts with indifference towards life and death. The film made Renner a star, and Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win Best Director. Journalist Mark Boal drew from his experiences covering the war in Iraq as a reporter when writing his Oscar winning screenplay, which remains as the definitive Hollywood film about the prolonged conflict.
6. Her (2013)
Joaquin Phoenix stars in this modern love story as Theodore, a heartbroken man who develops a relationship with an artificial intelligence program named Samantha, who is voiced by Scarlett Johansson in what is arguably one of the best performances of her career. In other hands this film could have been played for laughs or amplified the unusual nature of this couple, but writer/director Spike Jonze finds the beauty and humanity in the very real emotions of this artificially assisted pairing and rightly one the Academy Award for his uniquely original screenplay.
5. Django Unchained (2012)
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Quentin Tarantino won for the second time in this category with this Western influenced revenge epic. Set in the Antebellum South, a newly freed man named Django (Jamie Foxx) learns the trade of a bounty hunter from the eccentric Dr. King Shultz (Christoph Waltz), and soon uses his new skills to save his enslaved wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from the clutches of the disgusting plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Tarantino crafts a violent and satisfying revenge thriller that recontextualizes one of the darkest periods in human history in a manner only he could pull off.
4. Spotlight (2015)
Based on the true story of how a small team of dedicated reporters for the Boston Globe uncovered the shocking and widespread abuse of minors by Catholic Priests, and how the church was actively covering up the scandal. The Station Agent filmmaker Tom McCarthy directed this project and also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Josh Singer, taking a tragic and upsetting true life story and making it into an energetic and urgent procedural drama. With an excellent ensemble lead by Micheal Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight is an engrossing drama of the highest order.
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet star as a recently separated couple who both undergo a new procedure which allows for the removal of unwanted memories, erasing the memories of their relationship. Michel Gondry confidently directed this film through his singular vision, as well as developing the story with Pierre Bismuth. But it was the visionary screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation) who ultimately shaped and penned the final script, making a heartbreaking, thoughtful and incredibly original examination of love and loss.
2. Parasite (2019)
Bong Joon Ho's Parasite became the first international film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The film also won in several other major categories, with Director Bong taking home statuettes for both directing and writing the original screenplay. The film follows two different families, the penniless Kims and the wealthy Park family, and shows how their fates collide as the Kims con their way into the Park families good graces. This genre bending, twist filled film cemented Bong as one of the voices of cinema of this generation, and is the rare Best Picture winner that is beloved by critics, fans and Academy members alike.
1. Get Out (2017)
Former sketch comedian Jordan Peele reinvented his career and made an instant classic with the thriller Get Out. Future Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) stars as Chris, a young black man who's going to meet the parents of his white girlfriend (Allison Williams), but over the long weekend this uncomfortable experience soon becomes unsettling with a sinister secret afoot. Peele's film was praised for its subversive use of relationships and the horror genre to create a social satire that examines the everyday prejudices that many people face throughout their lives. Peele rightfully won the Academy Award for Original Screenplay for penning a uniquely original film that effortlessly fuses together humor and horror, as well as being both incredibly entertaining and having thematic weight. The film became a critical and box office hit and made a significant impression on mainstream culture at a level that very few, if any, original films can manage in the modern media landscape.