Best Screenwriters

1. Paul Thomas Anderson

Anderson was born in 1970. He was one of the first of the "video store" generation of film-makers. His father was the first man on his block to own a V.C.R., and from a very early age Anderson had an infinite number of titles available to him. While film-makers like Spielberg cut their teeth making...

Inherent Vice 3-0 Boogie Nights (5) - Magnolia (5) - There Will Be Blood (5)

2. David O. Russell

Director | American Hustle

David Owen Russell is an American film writer, director, and producer, known for a cinema of intense, tragi-comedic characters whose love of life can surpass dark circumstances faced in very specific worlds. His films address such themes as mental illness as stigma or hope; invention of self and ...

4.0 3-1 16 Silver Linings Playbook (4) - American Hustle (5) - Joy (5) I Heart Huckabees (2)

3. William Monahan

Writer | The Departed

William Monahan was born on November 3, 1960 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Departed (2006), London Boulevard (2010) and Edge of Darkness (2010).

The Gambler 3.6 4-1 18 The Departed (5) - Kingdom of Heaven (3) - Body of Lies (4) - Edge of Darkness (4) Mojave (2)

4. David Ayer

Producer | End of Watch

David Ayer is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. David Ayer was born in Champaign, Illinois and grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota, and Bethesda, Maryland, where he was kicked out of his house by his parents as a teenager. Ayer then lived with his cousin in Los Angeles, ...

Suicide Squad 3.6 4-1 18 Fast & the Furious (4) - Training Day (5) - SWAT (3) - End of Watch (4) Fury (2)

5. David S. Goyer

Writer | Dark City

David S. Goyer was born on December 22, 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Dark City (1998), The Dark Knight (2008) and Flashforward (2009). He is married to Marina Black. They have two children. He was previously married to Jessika Borsiczky.

Batman v Superman 3.6 4-1 18 Dark City (5) - Blade Trilogy (4) - Batman Begins (5) - Man of Steel (3) Ghost Rider 2 (1)

6. Richard Linklater

Director | Waking Life

Self-taught writer-director Richard Stuart Linklater was born in Houston, Texas, to Diane Margaret (Krieger), who taught at a university, and Charles W. Linklater III. Richard was among the first and most successful talents to emerge during the American independent film renaissance of the 1990s. ...

Boyhood Dazed and Confused (5) - Everybody Wants Some (3)

7. Rian Johnson

Producer | Knives Out

Rian Johnson was born in Maryland and at a young age his family moved to San Clemente, California, where he was raised. After graduating from high school, he went on to attend the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. His first feature film, Brick (2005), was released in 2005 ...

Star Wars 8 2-0 Brick (3) - Looper (4)

8. Luc Besson

Writer | Le Cinquième Élément

Luc Besson spent the first years of his life following his parents, scuba diving instructors, around the world. His early life was entirely aquatic. He already showed amazing creativity as a youth, writing early drafts of The Big Blue (1988) and The Fifth Element (1997), as an adolescent bored in ...

Lucy 3.3 5-2 23 5th Element (4) - The Transporter (3) - Revolver (4) - Taken (4) - Colombiana (4) The Professional (2) - Bandidas (2)

9. Kurt Wimmer

Writer | Equilibrium

Kurt Wimmer was born on March 9, 1964. He is a writer and producer, known for Equilibrium (2002), Total Recall (2012) and Point Break (2015).

Point Break 3.2 4-1 16 Equilibrium (5) - The Recruit (3) - Salt (3) - Ultraviolet (3) Law Abiding Citizen (2)

10. Joel Coen

Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Joel Daniel Coen is an American filmmaker who regularly collaborates with his younger brother Ethan. They made Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, True Grit, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading, A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, Hail Caesar and other projects. Joel ...

Bridge of Spies - Blood Simple 2.8 3-3 17 Raising Arizona (4) - Fargo (5) - Miller's Crossing (3) Big Lebowski (2) - Intolerable Cruelty (1) - Burn After Reading (2)

11. Shane Black

Actor | Predator

Considered one of the pioneer screenwriters of the action genre, Black made his mark with his Lethal Weapon (1987) screenplay. He also collaborated on the story of the sequel, Lethal Weapon 2 (1989). Each successive script he turned in had a higher price attached it, from The Last Boy Scout (1991) ...

Nice Guys 2.8 2-2 11 Lethal Weapon (4) - Iron Man (3) Long Kiss Goodnight (2) - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2)

12. Brian Helgeland

Writer | Finestkind

Brian Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island and raised in New Bedford Massachusetts. A born worker, Helgeland has endeavored to achieve in the following fields: snow shoveler, scrap newspaper collector, dishwasher, nursing home janitor, drug store clerk and unreliable nightshift gas ...

LA Confidential - Conspiracy Theory - Payback - A Knights Tale - Mystic River - Man on Fire - Pelham 123 - Green Zone - Robin Hood - 42

13. Tony Gilroy

Writer | Michael Clayton

Tony Gilroy was born in Manhattan, New York, New York, USA; and raised in upstate New York. His father, Frank D. Gilroy, was a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, director, and screenwriter. Tony has penned many films, including The Devil's Advocate (1997) and The Cutting Edge (1992).

The Devil's Advocate - Armageddon - Proof of Life - Bourne movies - Michael Clayton - State of Play - Rogue One (5)

14. Quentin Tarantino

Writer | Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father, Tony Tarantino, is an Italian-American actor and musician from New York, and his mother, Connie (McHugh), is a nurse from Tennessee. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.

In January of...

True Romance - Resevoir Dogs - Pulp Fiction - Kill Bill - Inglorious Basterds - Django Jackie Brown - Death Wish

15. Eric Roth

Writer | Dune

Mr. Roth won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump & has been nominated for his screenplays of The Insider, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, A Star is Born, & Dune. He wrote Mr. Kurosawa's Rhapsody in August, The Horse Whisperer, Ali, & Best Picture Nominee, Extremely ...

Forrest Gump - The Insider - Ali - Munich - Benjamin Button

16. Terence Winter

Producer | The Sopranos

Terence Winter was born on October 2, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Sopranos (1999), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and Boardwalk Empire (2010). He is married to Rachel Winter. They have two children.

The Sopranos - Boardwalk Empire - Wolf of Wall St - Get Rich or Die Tryin - Vinyl

17. Billy Ray

Writer | Captain Phillips

Billy Ray is known for Captain Phillips (2013), The Hunger Games (2012) and Shattered Glass (2003). He is married to Stacy Sherman. They have two children.

3.8 4-0 15 Captain Phillips (5) - State of Play (3) - Breach (4) - Volcano (3)

18. Robert Rodriguez

Producer | El mariachi

Robert Anthony Rodriguez was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, USA, to Rebecca (Villegas), a nurse, and Cecilio G. Rodríguez, a salesman. His family is of Mexican descent.

Of all the people to be amazed by the images of John Carpenter's 1981 sci-fi parable, Escape from New York (1981), none ...

Desperado - Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Planet Terror - Machete

19. Cameron Crowe

Writer | Almost Famous

Certainly idiosyncratic as a writer, Cameron Crowe has created a series of scripts that, while liked by the critics, were considered offbeat and difficult to market.

Cameron Bruce Crowe was born in Palm Springs, California, to Alice Marie Crowe (née George), a teacher and activist, and James A. ...

Almost Famous - Vanilla Sky - Jerry McGuire - Say Anything

20. Randall Wallace

Writer | We Were Soldiers

Randall Wallace was born on July 28, 1949 in Jackson, Tennessee, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for We Were Soldiers (2002), Pearl Harbor (2001) and Braveheart (1995).

Braveheart - Pearl Harbor - We Were Soldiers - Man in the Iron Mask

21. Alex Garland

Writer | Ex Machina

Alex Garland is an English novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director. He is best known for the films Ex Machina (2015) and Annihilation (2018).

Garland's others works as a writer includes The Beach (2000), 28 Days Later (2002), Sunshine (2007), Never Let Me Go (2011) and Dredd (2012).

He is ...

The Beach - 28 Days Later - Sunshine - Ex Machina

22. Christopher McQuarrie

Writer | The Usual Suspects

Christopher McQuarrie is an acclaimed producer, director and an Academy Award® winning writer. McQuarrie grew up in Princeton Junction, New Jersey and in lieu of college, he spent the first five years out of school traveling and working at a detective agency. He later moved to Los Angeles to pursue...

The Usual Suspects - Valkyrie - Jack Reacher - Edge of Tomorrow The Way of the Gun

23. Zak Penn

Writer | Ready Player One

Zak Penn's career began as a screenwriter when he sold his first script, Last Action Hero, at the age of twenty-three. Since then, Penn has become known for his work on numerous films based on Marvel comics, including X-Men 2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, The Incredible Hulk, and The Avengers. He has ...

PCU - Behind Enemy Lines - X Men Last Stand - The Incredible Hulk Elektra

24. John August

Writer | Big Fish

John August's screenwriting credits include Go (1999), Big Fish (2003), Titan A.E. (2000), Charlie's Angels (2000), and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003).

Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, John earned a degree in journalism from Drake University in Iowa and an MFA in film from the Peter ...

Go - Big Fish - The Nines

25. Mark Boal

Producer | The Hurt Locker

Mark Boal was born on January 23, 1973 in New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Hurt Locker (2008), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Detroit (2017).

Hurt Locker - Zero Dark 30 - In the Valley of Elah

26. Shane Salerno

Writer | Armageddon

Shane Salerno is the co-screenwriter of the forthcoming Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), Avatar 3 (2025), Avatar 4 (2029), Avatar 5 (2031) produced and directed by Oscar winner James Cameron. He has been a professional screenwriter since the age of 19. In the years that have followed Detour ...

Armageddon - Shaft - Savages

27. David Benioff

Producer | Game of Thrones

David Benioff was born on September 25, 1970 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Game of Thrones (2011), The Kite Runner (2007) and 25th Hour (2002). He has been married to Amanda Peet since September 30, 2006. They have three children.

Game of Thrones - Troy - Brothers Stay

28. Leigh Whannell

Actor | Saw

Leigh Whannell grew up in Melbourne, Australia, where, at the age of four, he developed an obsession with telling stories. Whether it be through acting, writing or filmmaking, his primary love was getting a reaction from an audience. In 1995, at the age of 18, he was accepted into the Royal ...

Saw - Insidious

29. Derek Cianfrance

Writer | Blue Valentine

Derek Cianfrance began making movies at age 13. He later attended The University of Colorado where he studied under avant-garde film legends Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon. His first three films, 'Five O'clock Shadow', 'Raw Footage', and Brother Tied (1998), won consecutive Goldfarb Awards for best...

Place Beyond the Pines - Blue Valentine

30. Ryan Coogler

Director | Black Panther

Ryan Kyle Coogler is an African-American filmmaker and producer who is from Oakland, California. He is known for directing the Black Panther film series, Creed, a Rocky spin-off and Fruitvale Station. He frequently casts Michael B. Jordan in his works. He produced the Creed sequels, Judas and the ...

Creed (4) - Fruitvale Station (5)

31. Dan Gilroy

Writer | Nightcrawler

Dan Gilroy was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Frank D. Gilroy, and sculptor and writer Ruth Dorothy. His brother Tony Gilroy is a screenwriter and director; and his fraternal twin brother, John Gilroy, is a film editor. Through his father, he is of ...

Nightcrawler(4) - Two for the Money

32. Scott Z. Burns

Writer | The Report

Scott Z. Burns is known for The Report (2019), Side Effects (2013) and Contagion (2011).

Side Effects - Bourne Ultimatum The Informant

33. Brian Koppelman

Writer | Runaway Jury

Brian Koppelman was born in 1966 in Roslyn Harbor, Long Island, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Runaway Jury (2003), Runner Runner (2013) and Michael Clayton (2007).

Rounders - Girlfriend Experience Runner Runner

34. Jon Favreau

Producer | Chef

Initially an indie film favorite, actor Jon Favreau has progressed to strong mainstream visibility into the millennium and, after nearly two decades in the business, is still enjoying character stardom as well as earning notice as a writer/producer/director.

The amiable, husky-framed actor with the ...

Swingers - Chef Couples Retreat

35. Joss Whedon

Producer | Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Joss Whedon is the middle of five brothers - his younger brothers are Jed Whedon and Zack Whedon. Both his father, Tom Whedon and his grandfather, John Whedon were successful television writers. Joss' mother, Lee Stearns, was a history teacher and she also wrote novels as Lee Whedon. Whedon was ...

Buffy - Avengers Firefly - Dollhouse

36. Dennis Lehane

Producer | The Drop

Dennis Lehane was born on August 4, 1965 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Drop (2014), Mystic River (2003) and Live by Night (2016). He was previously married to Dr. Angela Mililani (Lieb) Bernardo and Sheila Fort Lawn.

Mystic River - Gone Baby Gone Shutter Island - The Drop

37. Andrew Niccol

Writer | GATTACA

New Zealand-born screenwriter-director Andrew Niccol began his career in London, successfully directing TV commercials before moving to Los Angeles in order to make films "longer than 60 seconds." He interested high-powered producer Scott Rudin in his The Truman Show (1998) script, but Rudin was not...

Truman Show - Lord of War The Terminal - In Time

38. Frank Darabont

Writer | The Shawshank Redemption

Three-time Oscar nominee Frank Darabont was born in a refugee camp in 1959 in Montbeliard, France, the son of Hungarian parents who had fled Budapest during the failed 1956 Hungarian revolution. Brought to America as an infant, he settled with his family in Los Angeles and attended Hollywood High ...

The Mist

39. Sam Raimi

Director | Spider-Man

Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making ...

Drag Me to Hell Spiderman 3

40. Charlie Kaufman

Writer | I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Avid reader Charlie Kaufman wrote plays and made short films as a young student. He moved from Massapequa, New York to West Hartford, Connecticut in 1972 where he attended high school. As a comedic actor, he performed in school plays and, after graduation, he enrolled at Boston University but soon ...

Being John Malkovich Eternal Sunshine

41. Paul Haggis

Writer | Crash

Paul Haggis established himself over twenty years with an extensive career in television, before his big break into features arrived when he became the first screenwriter to garner two Best Film Academy Awards back-to-back for his scripts: "Million Dollar Baby" (2004) directed by Clint Eastwood, ...

Casino Royale - The Next 3 Days Crash - Million Dollar Baby - Quantam of Solace

42. Lilly Wachowski

Writer | The Matrix

Director, writer, and producer Lilly Wachowski was born in 1967 in Chicago, the daughter of Lynne, a nurse and painter, and Ron, a businessman. Lilly was educated at Kellogg Elementary School in Chicago, before moving on to Whitney M. Young High School. After graduating from high school, she ...

Bound - The Matrix Assassins - V for Vendetta - Speed Racer - Cloud Atlas

43. Sam Esmail

Producer | Mr. Robot

Sam Esmail was born on September 17, 1977 in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Mr. Robot (2015), Homecoming (2018) and Leave the World Behind (2023). He has been married to Emmy Rossum since May 28, 2017. They have two children.

Mr Robot Comet

44. Diablo Cody

Writer | Juno

Diablo Cody is originally from Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Minnesota to live with her Internet boyfriend, Jonny who later became her husband. While there, she decided on a whim to take up stripping as a hobby of sorts.

She was working at an ad agency and got a promotion. The job wore her ragged ...

Juno Jennifer's Body - Young Adult