Curated playlist

Writers Guild of America Award winners

Derek ConnollyDerek Connolly wrote a Star Wars film that was never made. His draft became The Rise of Skywalker.
Woody AllenWoody Allen failed a film production course at New York University, then went on to direct Annie Hall.
Stanley KubrickAfter copycat crimes and death threats, Stanley Kubrick pulled A Clockwork Orange from release in the United Kingdom.
Wes AndersonWes Anderson has said his first ambition was to be a writer, not a director. He grew up making silent films.
Christopher NolanChristopher Nolan has no smartphone and no email address. He hand-delivers his scripts to the actors he wants.
Stephen ColbertAt a 2006 dinner, Stephen Colbert roasted President Bush to a cold room. His show's ratings jumped 37% the next week.
Mel BrooksMel Brooks was 14 years old when he climbed onto a diving board at the Butler Lodge, a second-rate hotel in the Borscht Belt. He worked there as a pool-side tummler, an entertainer hired to keep the guests amused. On this day he wore a…
Emma ThompsonEmma Thompson is the only person to win Oscars for both acting and screenwriting.
Paul Thomas AndersonPaul Thomas Anderson, the American filmmaker known by his initials PTA, earned a C+ on his very first film school assignment. The task at New York University was simple: write a single page of screenplay. Anderson handed in a page from…
Seth RogenSeth Rogen was 13 when he co-wrote a rough draft of Superbad with his childhood friend Evan Goldberg. The two had met in bar mitzvah classes. They spent the rest of high school polishing that script. Rogen grew up to be a Canadian actor,…
Sacha Baron CohenSacha Baron Cohen spilled flour on Ryan Seacrest at the Oscars. He claimed it was Kim Jong-il's ashes.
Francis Ford CoppolaMarlon Brando won the Godfather role only after a screen test and a reduced fee.
Ken KeelerA Futurama episode contains a math theorem invented just so its plot could work. Writer Ken Keeler proved it.
Conan O'BrienConan O'Brien went from writing The Simpsons to hosting late night, and critics said he would fail.
Michel GondryMichel Gondry pioneered "bullet time" in a 1996 vodka ad. The effect was later adapted for The Matrix.
Pat ProftPat Proft helped write the Naked Gun films, yet his name is in none of their titles. He also worked on Police Academy.
J. J. AbramsJ. J. Abrams wrote his first film score at age 16 for a horror movie. The 1982 low-budget film was called Nightbeast.
Noah WyleNoah Wyle won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for playing an emergency room doctor in The Pitt, three decades after his first Emmy nomination in 1995. The American actor was born in Hollywood in 1971. In the…
Damon LindelofBefore writing professionally, Lost creator Damon Lindelof read other people's screenplays for film studios.
Tony McNamara (writer)The television series The Great began as Tony McNamara's 2008 stage play about Catherine the Great.
Tom StoppardTom Stoppard arrived in England knowing not a word of Czech. He fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia as a child.
Charlie KaufmanEvery company rejected Charlie Kaufman's script for Being John Malkovich. Spike Jonze later agreed to direct it.
Donald GloverDonald Glover was voted most likely to write for The Simpsons. At 23 he landed a writing job on 30 Rock instead.
Michael CrichtonMichael Crichton once submitted a George Orwell essay as his own and got a B-minus.
Lorne MichaelsLorne Michaels once offered The Beatles $3,000 to reunite on live TV. It came in Saturday Night Live's first season.
Billy Bob ThorntonBilly Bob Thornton was working as a waiter at an industry event in Los Angeles when he found himself serving the film director Billy Wilder. Thornton struck up a conversation with him. Wilder's advice was simple: think about becoming a…
Taika WaititiTaika Waititi played a buffoonish imaginary Hitler in Jojo Rabbit and won an Oscar for its screenplay.
Colin TrevorrowA strange 1997 magazine ad seeking a time-travel partner became Colin Trevorrow's breakout film.
Chris TerrioChris Terrio spent months checking whether Gatorade existed in December 1979. He needed it for one joke in Argo.
Lawrence KasdanLawrence Kasdan's script The Bodyguard was rejected 67 times. It later made more than $411 million worldwide.
Michael ArndtMichael Arndt wrote the first draft of Little Miss Sunshine in three days in May 2000. That is a very short span for a screenplay that would later change his career. Arndt is an American screenwriter. His name now sits beside Pixar…
Penelope GilliattPenelope Gilliatt was born Penelope Ann Douglass Conner on the 25th of March 1932, and she died on the 9th of May 1993. The English writer worked as a novelist, a short story writer, a screenwriter and a film critic. She held all four…