Poll: Greatest Screenwriters of All Time

Results of 1,423 votes:

1. 1.
   

   Quentin Tarantino

    

   Notable Scripts: Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Inglourious Basterds (2009).
2. 2.
   

   Billy Wilder

    

   Notable Scripts: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960).
3. 3.
   

   Stanley Kubrick

    

   Notable Scripts: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987).
4. 4.
   

   Charlie Kaufman

    

   Notable Scripts: Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Anomalisa (2015).
5. 5.
   

   Ethan Coen

    

   with Joel Coen Notable Scripts: Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), No Country for Old Men (2007), True Grit (2010).
6. 6.
   

   Francis Ford Coppola

    

   Notable Scripts: Patton (1970), The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979).
7. 7.
   

   Woody Allen

    

   Notable Scripts: Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Midnight in Paris (2011).
8. 8.
   

   Aaron Sorkin

    

   Notable Scripts: A Few Good Men (1992), The Social Network (2010), Moneyball (2011).
9. 9.
   

   Akira Kurosawa

    

   Notable Scripts: Rashomon (1950), Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961), Ran (1985).
10. 10.
    

    James Cameron

     

    Notable Scripts: Aliens (1986), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Titanic (1997), Avatar (2009).
11. 11.
    

    Paul Thomas Anderson

     

    Notable Scripts: Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007).
12. 12.
    

    John Hughes

     

    Notable Scripts: National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), The Breakfast Club (1985), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1996), Home Alone (1990).
13. 13.
    

    George Lucas

     

    Notable Scripts: American Graffiti (1973), Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002).
14. 14.
    

    William Goldman

     

    Notable Scripts: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), All the President’s Men (1976), The Princess Bride (1987), Misery (1990).
15. 15.
    

    Paul Schrader

     

    Notable Scripts: Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), American Gigolo (1980), Affliction (1997).
16. 16.
    

    Lawrence Kasdan

     

    Notable Scripts: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), The Big Chill (1983).
17. 17.
    

    Robert Towne

     

    Notable Scripts: Chinatown (1974), Shampoo (1975), Days of Thunder (1990), Mission: Impossible (1996).
18. 18.
    

    Eric Roth

     

    Notable Scripts: Forrest Gump (1994), The Insider (1999), Munich (2005), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).
19. 19.
    

    Preston Sturges

     

    Notable Scripts: The Lady Eve (1941), Sullivan’s Travels (1941), The Palm Beach Story (1942), The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944).
20. 20.
    

    Nora Ephron

     

    Notable Scripts: Silkwood (1983), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), You’ve Got Mail (1998).
21. 21.
    

    Oliver Stone

     

    Notable Scripts: Scarface (1983), Platoon (1986), JFK (1991), Natural Born Killers (1994).
22. 22.
    

    David Mamet

     

    Notable Scripts: The Untouchables (1987), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Wag the Dog (1997), Ronin (1998).
23. 23.
    

    Ernest Lehman

     

    Notable Scripts: Sweet Smell of Success (1957), North by Northwest (1959), West Side Story (1961), The Sound of Music (1965).
24. 24.
    

    Steven Zaillian

     

    Notable Scripts: Schindler’s List (1993), Gangs of New York (2002), The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Moneyball (2011).
25. 25.
    

    Paddy Chayefsky

     

    Notable Scripts: Marty (1955), Paint Your Wagon (1969), The Hospital (1971), Network (1976).
26. 26.
    

    Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

     

    Notable Scripts: Heat and Dust (1983), A Room With a View (1985), Howards End (1992), The Remains of the Day (1993).
27. 27.
    

    Joseph L. Mankiewicz

     

    Notable Scripts: All About Eve (1950), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Guys and Dolls (1955), Cleopatra (1963).
28. 28.
    

    Alexander Payne

     

    with Jim Taylor Notable Scripts: Citizen Ruth (1996), Election (1999), About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004).
29. 29.
    

    Frances Marion

     

    Notable Scripts: The Scarlet Letter (1926), The Champ (1931) The Red Mill (1927), Camille (1936).
30. 30.
    

    Spike Lee

     

    Notable Scripts: Do the Right Thing (1989), Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Chi-Raq (2015).
31. 31.
    

    Buck Henry

     

    Notable Scripts: The Graduate (1967), What’s Up, Doc? (1972), To Die For (1995).
32. 32.
    

    James L. Brooks

     

    Notable Scripts: Terms of Endearment (1983), Broadcast News (1987), As Good As It Gets (1997), The Simpsons Movie (2007).
33. 33.
    

    Bo Goldman

     

    Notable Scripts: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Scent of a Woman (1992), City Hall (1996), Melvin and Howard (1980).
34. 34.
    

    Nicole Holofcener

     

    Notable Scripts: Lovely & Amazing (2001), Friends With Money (2006), Please Give (2010), Enough Said (2013).
35. 35.
    

    Callie Khouri

     

    Notable Scripts: Thelma & Louise (1991), Something to Talk About (1995), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002).