Last Updated on 3 March 2025
1927-present: Wikipedia
Recognizes excellence in the writing of a screenplay adapted from another source (usually a novel, play, short story, or TV show but sometimes another film)
| Year | Movie | Screenwriters | Adapted From |
| 2024 | Conclave | Peter Straughan | The novel: Cónclave by Robert Harris |
| 2023 | American Fiction | Cord Jefferson | The novel: Erasure by Percival Everett |
| 2022 | Women Talking | Sarah Polley | The novel: Women Talking by Miriam Toews |
| 2021 | CODA | Sian Heder | The film: La Famille Bélier by Victoria Bedos, Thomas Bidegain, Stanislas Carré de Malberg & Éric Lartigau |
| 2020 | The Father | Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller | The play: Le Père by Zeller |
| 2019 | Jojo Rabbit | Taika Waititi | The novel: Caging Skies by Christine Leunens |
| 2018 | BlacKkKlansman | Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel, and Kevin Willmott | The memoir: Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth |
| 2017 | Call Me By Your Name | James Ivory | The novel: Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman |
| 2016 | Moonlight | Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney | The play: In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney |
| 2015 | The Big Short | Adam McKay and Charles Randolph | The book: The Big Short by Michael Lewis |
| 2014 | The Imitation Game | Graham Moore | The book: Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges |
| 2013 | 12 Years a Slave | John Ridley | The memoir: 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup |
| 2012 | Argo | Chris Terrio | The book: The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez The article: “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman |
| 2011 | The Descendants | Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash | The novel: The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings |
| 2010 | The Social Network | Aaron Sorkin | The book: The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich |
| 2009 | Precious | Geoffrey Fletcher | The novel: Push by Sapphire |
| 2008 | Slumdog Millionaire | Simon Beaufoy | The novel: Q & A by Vikas Swarup |
| 2007 | No Country for Old Men | Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | The novel: No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy |
| 2006 | The Departed | William Monahan | The film: Infernal Affairs by Alan Mak and Felix Chong |
| 2005 | Brokeback Mountain | Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana | The short story: “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx |
| 2004 | Sideways | Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor | The novel: Sideways by Rex Pickett |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson | The novel: The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien |
| 2002 | The Pianist | Ronald Harwood | The book: The Pianist by Władysław Szpilman |
| 2001 | A Beautiful Mind | Akiva Goldsman | The book: A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar |
| 2000 | Traffic | Stephen Gaghan | The teleplay: Traffik, written by Simon Moore |
| 1999 | The Cider House Rules | John Irving | The novel: The Cider House Rules by John Irving |
| 1998 | Gods and Monsters | Bill Condon | The novel: Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram |
| 1997 | L.A. Confidential | Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland | The novel: L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy |
| 1996 | Sling Blade | Billy Bob Thornton | The short film: Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade by Billy Bob Thornton |
| 1995 | Sense and Sensibility | Emma Thompson | The novel: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen |
| 1994 | Forrest Gump | Eric Roth | The novel: Forrest Gump by Winston Groom |
| 1993 | Schindler’s List | Steven Zaillian | The novel: Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally |
| 1992 | Howards End | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | The novel: Howards End by E.M. Forster |
| 1991 | The Silence of the Lambs | Ted Tally | The novel: The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris |
| 1990 | Dances with Wolves | Michael Blake | The novel: Dances with Wolves by Michael Blake |
| 1989 | Driving Miss Daisy | Alfred Uhry | The play: Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry |
| 1988 | Dangerous Liaisons | Christopher Hampton | The play: Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton from the novel of the same name by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos |
| 1987 | The Last Emperor | Bernardo Bertolucci and Mark Peploe | The autobiography: From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi by Henry Pu Yi |
| 1986 | A Room with a View | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | The novel: A Room with a View by E.M. Forster |
| 1985 | Out of Africa | Kurt Luedtke | The memoir: Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen The book: Silence Will Speak by Errol Trzebinski The book: Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Storyteller by Judith Thurman |
| 1984 | Amadeus | Peter Shaffer | The play: Amadeus by Peter Shaffer |
| 1983 | Terms of Endearment | James L. Brooks | The novel: Terms of Endearment by Larry McMurtry |
| 1982 | Missing | Costa-Gavras and Donald E. Stewart | The book: The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice by Thomas Hauser |
| 1981 | On Golden Pond | Ernest Thompson | The play: On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson |
| 1980 | Ordinary People | Alvin Sargent | The novel: Ordinary People by Judith Guest |
| 1979 | Kramer vs. Kramer | Robert Benton | The novel: Kramer vs. Kramer by Avery Corman |
| 1978 | Midnight Express | Oliver Stone | The book: Midnight Express by Billy Hayes and William Hoffer |
| 1977 | Julia | Alvin Sargent | The novel: Pentimento by Lillian Hellman |
| 1976 | All the President’s Men | William Goldman | The book: All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward |
| 1975 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | Bo Goldman and Laurence Hauben | The novel: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey |
| 1974 | The Godfather Part II | Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo | The novel: The Godfather by Mario Puzo |
| 1973 | The Exorcist | William Peter Blatty | The novel: The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty |
| 1972 | The Godfather | Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola | The novel: The Godfather by Mario Puzo |
| 1971 | The French Connection | Ernest Tidyman | The book: The French Connection: A True Account of Cops, Narcotics, and International Conspiracy by Robin Moore |
| 1970 | MASH | Ring Lardner, Jr. | The novel: MASH: A Novel about Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker |
| 1969 | Midnight Cowboy | Waldo Salt | The novel: Midnight Cowboy by James Leo Herlihy |
| 1968 | The Lion in Winter | James Goldman | The play: The Lion in Winter by James Goldman |
| 1967 | In the Heat of the Night | Stirling Silliphant | The novel: In the Heat of the Night by John Ball |
| 1966 | A Man for All Seasons | Robert Bolt | The play: A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt |
| 1965 | Doctor Zhivago | Robert Bolt | The novel: Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak |
| 1964 | Becket | Edward Anhalt | The play: Becket by Jean Anouilh |
| 1963 | Tom Jones | John Osborne | The novel: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding |
| 1962 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Horton Foote | The novel: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee |
| 1961 | Judgment at Nuremberg | Abby Mann | The teleplay: Judgment at Nuremberg by Abby Mann |
| 1960 | Elmer Gantry | Richard Brooks | The novel: Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis |
| 1959 | Room at the Top | Neil Paterson | The novel: Room at the Top by John Braine |
| 1958 | Gigi | Alan Jay Lerner | The novella: Gigi by Colette |
| 1957 | The Bridge on the River Kwai | Pierre Boulle, Carl Foreman, and Michael Wilson | The novel: The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle |
| 1956 | Around the World in 80 Days | John Farrow, S. J. Perelman, and James Poe | The novel: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne |
| 1955 | Marty | Paddy Chayefsky | The teleplay: Marty by Paddy Chayefsky |
| 1954 | The Country Girl | George Seaton | The play: The Country Girl by Clifford Odets |
| 1953 | From Here to Eternity | Daniel Taradash | The novel: From Here to Eternity by James Jones |
| 1952 | The Bad and the Beautiful | Charles Schnee | The story: Tribute to a Badman by Charles Bradshaw |
| 1951 | A Place in the Sun | Harry Brown and Michael Wilson | The novel: An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser The play: An American Tragedy by Patrick Kearney |
| 1950 | All About Eve | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | The short story: The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr |
| 1949 | A Letter to Three Wives | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | The novel: Letter to Five Wives by John Klempner |
| 1948 | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | John Huston | The novel: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by B. Traven |
| 1947 | Miracle on 34th Street | George Seaton | The story: Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies |
| 1946 | The Best Years of Our Lives | Robert Sherwood | The novel: Glory for Me by MacKinlay Kantor |
| 1945 | The Lost Weekend | Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder | The novel: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson |
| 1944 | Going My Way | Frank Butler and Frank Cavett | The story: Going My Way by Leo McCarey |
| 1943 | Casablanca | Philip G. Epstein, Julius J. Epstein, and Howard Koch | The play: Everybody Comes to Rick’s by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison |
| 1942 | Mrs. Miniver | George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West, and Arthur Wimperis | The character: Mrs. Miniver, from the newspaper columns by Jan Struther |
| 1941 | Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller | The play: Heaven Can Wait by Harry Segall |
| 1940 | The Philadelphia Story | Donald Ogden Stewart | The play: The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry |
| 1939 | Gone with the Wind | Sidney Howard | The novel: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell |
| 1938 | Pygmalion | Ian Dalrymple, Cecil Lewis, W.P. Lipscomb, and George Bernard Shaw | The play: Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw |
| 1937 | The Life of Emile Zola | Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg, and Norman Reilly Raine | The book: Zola and His Time by Matthew Josephson |
| 1936 | The Story of Louis Pasteur | Pierre Collings and Sheridan Gibney | (original) |
| 1935 | The Informer | Dudley Nichols (declined) | The novel: The Informer by Liam O’Flaherty |
| 1934 | It Happened One Night | Robert Riskin | The story: Night Bus by Samuel Hopkins Adams |
| 1932/33 | Little Women | Victor Heerman and Sarah Y. Mason | The novel: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott |
| 1931/32 | Bad Girl | Edwin J. Burke | The novel and play: Bad Girl by Viña Delmar |
| 1930/31 | Cimarron | Howard Estabrook | The novel: Cimarron by Edna Ferber |
| 1929/30 | The Big House | Frances Marion | (original) |
| 1928/29 | The Patriot | Hanns Kräly | Ashley Dukes’ translation of the play: Der Patriot by Alfred Neumann The story: Paul I by Dmitry Merezhkovsky |
| 1927/28 | 7th Heaven | Benjamin Glazer | The play: Seventh Heaven by Austin Strong |
