Some completely missed the mark
Adapted from the Hong Kong movie thriller 'Infernal Affairs,' screenwriter William Monahan transposed the action to his native Boston. The outcome, according to the WGA, is "an unforgiving crime drama with swagger to spare."
If you could erase all memories of a past relationship, would you? That's the question posed by the movie taking second place on the WGA's list. Charlie Kaufman's "structurally ingenious" screenplay about romantic love, memory, and the evolution of relationships gives plenty of food for thought.
A clever movie predominantly aimed at preteens, Meg LeFauve's screenplay is based on an original story by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen. The trio wove Docter's observations of his daughter's emotional life with LeVauve's childhood recollections, and created a clever, kid-friendly exploration of mental health.
Ostensibly a kids' World War II movie, this is one that grown-ups tend to rave about. Taiki Waititi's satirical screenplay is based on the Christine Leunens novel 'Caging Skies,' and is notable for its hilariously bold lampooning of Hitler.
Based on the Ted Chiang novel 'Story of Your Life,' Eric Heisserer's screenplay is reportedly the result of nearly 100 earlier drafts. It paid off, as the story of non-verbal aliens arriving on Earth picked up the 2017 Writers Guild Award for Adapted Screenplay.
Twist-master Christopher Nolan collaborated with brother Jonathan Nolan on the screenplay for the second installment of a blockbuster 'Batman' trilogy. The WGA describes the result as an "epic script."
Diablo Cody's witty, thoughtful screenplay about a teen pregnancy won the 2008 Writers Guild Award for original screenplay. Striking a balance between comical and tender, it's a low-key classic.
'The Grand Budapest Hotel' delivers kooky, off-beat screenplay action from Wes Anderson, with a movie that plays homage to Marx Brothers films and brings to life a colorful cast of characters. The story was co-written by Anderson and Hugo Guinness, and the movie picked up the 2015 Writers Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Emerald Fennell's riveting screenplay is a contemporary revenge tale: a lone female feigns extreme drunkenness in bars, then wreaks violent vengeance on the 'nice guy' predators who take her home and attempt to take advantage.
Shared credits for this dystopian movie go to Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby, for adapting the novel of the same name by P.D. James. The chemistry clearly came together, because the tale of doomed humanity has influenced shows like 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'The Walking Dead.'
Game-changing in its cast of comedic female characters unafraid to break with stereotypical gender conventions, Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig's screenplay is full-on hilarious. Full of cringe-comedy moments, it gets funnier with every rewatch.
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana's moving screenplay is based on a 1997 New Yorker short story by Annie Proulx. The story of forbidden love between two Montana cowboys made a terrific transition from page to screen.
The 'backwards' narrative of Christopher Nolan's screenplay made for a mesmerizing movie about a man with extreme memory loss trying to solve the riddle of his wife's murder. It's a riddle for audiences, too, perfectly plotted by Nolan.
Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical screenplay recalls his experiences as a young journalist on the road for Rolling Stone. The Guild noted that: "Crowe captures both the times and his place in it with heartfelt aplomb."
Based on the novel 'Oil!' by Upton Sinclair, Paul Thomas Anderson's epic tale of a turn-of-the-century oil baron is, according to the WGA: "As essential to understanding the DNA of America as Robert Towne's 'Chinatown'."
Adapted from the play 'In the Moonlight, Black Boys Look Blue' by Tarrell Alvin McCraney, Barry Jenkins' moving masterpiece took the 2017 Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The two writers shared similar struggles growing up in the same Miami neighborhood, and Jenkins has referred to the adaption as a "combined biography of myself and Tarell's life."
With a story by Boong Joon Hu and screenplay by Hu and Hang Jin Won, this dark satire put Korean cinema on the world stage. A movie looking at what happens when the lives of the 'haves' and 'have-nots' intertwine, it was inspired by Boon's experiences tutoring the children of a wealthy Seoul family.
The screenplay by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen is adapted from the novel by Cormac McCarthy, and took the 2008 Writers Guild Award for Adapted Screenplay. Set against a barren Texas landscape and notable for its atmospheric silences, the WGA calls the movie "a master class in the power of the unsaid on the page."
With the true story of the origins of Facebook as a starting point, Aaron Sorkin's original screenplay takes third place on the WGA's top 101. It's based on the Ben Mezrich book 'The Accidental Billionaires,' and the WGA points to the "expert pacing and time shifts" of Sorkin's "taut courtroom drama."
According to the WGA, Tony Gilroy's screenplay "proved that great legal thrillers needn't take place in the courtroom." The titular Michael Clayton is a "fixer" responsible for covering up ill-doings at a legal firm, until he decides to take a stand.
The WGA awarded Spike Jonze its 2014 award for Original Screenplay, and it stands the test of time. The movie, which stars Joaquin Phoenix, centers on a lonely divorcee who ghostwrites other people's love letters, and falls in love with the voice of his artificially intelligent virtual assistant. Jonze makes the odd-sounding premise both touching and believable.
Among the relatively few female writers at the upper end of the list, Greta Gerwig impressed the WGA with her screenplay's "highly effective mother daughter relationship." It's a gently humorous coming-of-age tale, which rings true in its depictions of growing pains and a longing for independence.
The World War II-set 'Inglourious Basterds' is notable for its dark humor, chilling characterization, and—this being a Quentin Tarantino film—its gruesome violence.
Director Wes Anderson wrote the screenplay to this with actor Owen Wilson, who stars in the film alongside brother Luke. Filled with Anderson's trademark quirky humor, it's an intensely lovable movie about three child prodigies reunited with their absent father.
Charlie Kaufman shares the screenplay credit with his twin brother, Donald Kaufman. Except Donald is merely imaginary. Confused yet? Just wait until you watch the surreal-but-funny movie, in which Nicolas Cage plays both the real and fake Kaufman brothers as they attempt to write a script.
Jordan Peele won the 2018 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his eye-opening horror movie, and the WGA was no less impressed. 'Get Out' scooped the top spot on their December 2021 list, for a screenplay that managed to be "darkly comedic, culturally explosive, and hauntingly historical all at once."
Sources: (Deadline) (WGA)
See also: Movies that should have gotten a sequel, but didn't
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor wrote their painfully funny screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Rex Pickett. As a struggling writer and a washed-up actor face their mid-life crises on a wine-sipping road trip, the dialogue sparkles like a glass of bubbly.
The WGA describes Sofia Coppola's note-perfect screenplay as: "Arguably the best role ever written for Bill Murray." It's hard to argue with that, and the sharply-observed screenplay about two sad, stranded characters is filled with bittersweet moments that linger in the memory.
Quentin Tarantino's most recent film is his imagined story of the real-life Manson family murderers meeting their own grisly fate. The WGA praised the script for its "emotional resonance."
Worthy 2007 winner of both the Best Original Screenplay Oscar and the Writer's Guild Award for Original Screenplay, this was Michael Arndt's first screenplay to be produced. It's a painfully-hilarious movie featuring a dysfunctional family on a VW road trip to their daughter's beauty pageant.
Many a great film starts with a great screenplay. A terrific plot, sparkling dialogue, and believable characters all contribute to movie magic, and the 21st century so far has been something of a golden age for scripts that score highly with critics as well as smashing it at the box office. Helpfully, the in-the-know folks at the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have rounded up the "101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century," all of which more than deserve a watch—or a rewatch!
That's a whole lot of films to get through, so you might want to start with the top 30. Did your favorites make the list? Click through this gallery to discover the top 30 movies of the century, so far.
30 of the best screenplays of the century (so far)
All of them more than deserve a watch—or a rewatch
MOVIES Film
Many a great film starts with a great screenplay. A terrific plot, sparkling dialogue, and believable characters all contribute to movie magic, and the 21st century so far has been something of a golden age for scripts that score highly with critics as well as smashing it at the box office. Helpfully, the in-the-know folks at the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have rounded up the "101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century," all of which more than deserve a watch—or a rewatch!
That's a whole lot of films to get through, so you might want to start with the top 30. Did your favorites make the list? Click through this gallery to discover the top 30 movies of the century, so far.