Our Favorite Screenwriters RSS

Gillian Flynn has quietly become one of the top screenwriters working today. Formerly a television critic for Entertainment Weekly, Flynn burst onto the scene when she adapted her own novel GONE GIRL for director David Fincher. All three of her novels have been adapted to film/TV. Flynn wrote GONE GIRL (both the novel and film), WIDOWS and wrote on the series SHARP OBJECTS (also based on her novel). She’s currently filming UTOPIA, a series she created, for Amazon. And it might not have happened had Flynn not been laid off by Entertainment Weekly in 2008. At the same time, that...

Because Rian Johnson also directs his films, it’s easy to forget he writes them. Johnson has established himself as not just a top director, but a master screenwriter as well. With early raves coming in for his next film, KNIVES OUT (currently at 98% on RottenTomatoes), let’s take a look at Johnson’s remarkable output.  In the book, The Film That Changed My Life, Rian identifies ANNIE HALL as a major inspiration because it broke so many rules of narrative. This statement is telling when considering all his work.  Rian shot out of the gate with his debut feature, BRICK. This...

Tony Gilroy is inarguably one of the most successful and important screenwriters working today. His most important work is MICHAEL CLAYTON, a George Clooney-starring film forwhich he was nominated for Oscars for directing and writing. Tony’s credits also include BEIRUT, THE GREAT WALL, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, the BOURNE films, PROOF OF LIFE and THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE. As with seemingly every writer in this series of articles, Gilroy’s path to screenwriting success was indirect. He dropped out of Boston University to focus on his music career (per Boston.com). And his first produced credit as a screenwriter is not...