The BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is a film award presented annually at the British Academy Film Awards to a screenwriter for a specific film. It is awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, and video games (and formerly also for children's film and television). Since 1983, selected films have been awarded with the BAFTA award for Best Adapted Screenplay at an annual ceremony.
In the following lists, the titles and names in bold with a gold background are the winners and recipients respectively; those not in bold are the remaining nominees. The winner is also the first name listed in each category.
History The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Best Adapted Screenplay has been presented to its winners since 1968, when the original category (BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay) was split into two awards, the other being the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Christopher Hampton and Peter Straughan hold the record for the most wins in this category, with two each. Ronald Harwood, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Eric Roth and Aaron Sorkin tie for the most nominations in this category, with four each.
Shrek is the only animated feature to win in one of these two screenwriting categories.
Winners and nominees
1980s Year Film Nominee Heat and Dust Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Betrayal Harold Pinter Educating Rita Willy Russell Tootsie Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal The Killing Fields Bruce Robinson Another Country Julian Mitchell The Dresser Ronald Harwood Paris, Texas Sam Shepard Prizzi's Honor Richard Condon and Janet Roach Amadeus † Peter Shaffer A Passage to India David Lean The Shooting Party Julian Bond Out of Africa † Kurt Luedtke Children of a Lesser God Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff The Color Purple Menno Meyjes Ran Masato Ide, Akira Kurosawa, and Hideo Oguni A Room with a View † Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Jean de Florette Claude Berri and Gérard Brach 84 Charing Cross Road Hugh Whitemore Little Dorrit Christine Edzard Prick Up Your Ears Alan Bennett The Unbearable Lightness of Being Jean-Claude Carrière and Philip Kaufman Babettes gæstebud Gabriel Axel Empire of the Sun Tom Stoppard Who Framed Roger Rabbit Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman Dangerous Liaisons † Christopher Hampton The Accidental Tourist Frank Galati and Lawrence Kasdan My Left Foot Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan Shirley Valentine Willy Russell
1990s Year Film Nominee Goodfellas Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese Born on the Fourth of July Ron Kovic and Oliver Stone Driving Miss Daisy † Alfred Uhry Postcards from the Edge Carrie Fisher The War of the Roses Michael J. Leeson The Commitments Dick Clement, Roddy Doyle, and Ian La Frenais Cyrano de Bergerac Jean-Claude Carrière and Jean-Paul Rappeneau Dances with Wolves † Michael Blake The Silence of the Lambs † Ted Tally The Player Michael Tolkin Howards End † Ruth Prawer Jhabvala JFK Zachary Sklar and Oliver Stone Strictly Ballroom Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce Schindler's List † Steven Zaillian In the Name of the Father Terry George and Jim Sheridan The Remains of the Day Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Shadowlands William Nicholson Scent of a Woman Bo Goldman Quiz Show Paul Attanasio The Browning Version Ronald Harwood Forrest Gump † Eric Roth The Joy Luck Club Ronald Bass and Amy Tan Trainspotting John Hodge Babe George Miller, Chris Noonan Leaving Las Vegas Mike Figgis The Madness of King George Alan Bennett Il Postino: The Postman Anna Pavignano, Michael Radford, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli, and Massimo Troisi Sense and Sensibility † Emma Thompson The English Patient Anthony Minghella The Crucible Arthur Miller Evita Alan Parker and Oliver Stone Richard III Richard Loncraine and Ian McKellen Romeo + Juliet Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce The Ice Storm James Schamus L.A. Confidential † Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland The Wings of the Dove Hossein Amini Primary Colors Elaine May Hilary and Jackie Frank Cottrell Boyce Little Voice Mark Herman Wag the Dog Hilary Henkin and David Mamet The End of the Affair Neil Jordan East Is East Ayub Khan-Din An Ideal Husband Oliver Parker The Talented Mr. Ripley Anthony Minghella
2000s Year Film Nominee Traffic † Stephen Gaghan Chocolat Robert Nelson Jacobs Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon James Schamus, Wang Hui-ling, and Kuo Jung Tsai High Fidelity John Cusack, D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, and Scott Rosenberg Wonder Boys Steve Kloves Shrek Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Roger S. H. Schulman, and Joe Stillman A Beautiful Mind † Akiva Goldsman Bridget Jones's Diary Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding Iris Richard Eyre and Charles Wood The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Fran Walsh Adaptation Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman About a Boy Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, and Paul Weitz Catch Me If You Can Jeff Nathanson The Hours David Hare The Pianist † Ronald Harwood The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King † Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Fran Walsh Big Fish John August Cold Mountain Anthony Minghella Girl with a Pearl Earring Olivia Hetreed Mystic River Brian Helgeland Sideways † Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor The Chorus Christophe Barratier and Philippe Lopes-Curval Closer Patrick Marber Finding Neverland David Magee The Motorcycle Diaries José Rivera Brokeback Mountain † Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana Capote Dan Futterman The Constant Gardener Jeffrey Caine A History of Violence Josh Olson Pride & Prejudice Deborah Moggach The Last King of Scotland Jeremy Brock and Peter Morgan Casino Royale Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade The Departed † William Monahan The Devil Wears Prada Aline Brosh McKenna Notes on a Scandal Patrick Marber The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Ronald Harwood Atonement Christopher Hampton The Kite Runner David Benioff No Country for Old Men † Joel Coen and Ethan Coen There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson Slumdog Millionaire † Simon Beaufoy The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Eric Roth Frost/Nixon Peter Morgan The Reader David Hare Revolutionary Road Justin Haythe Up in the Air Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner District 9 Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell An Education Nick Hornby In the Loop Simon Blackwell, Jesse Armstrong, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche Precious † Geoffrey Fletcher
2010s Year Film Nominee The Social Network † Aaron Sorkin 127 Hours Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Rasmus Heisterberg and Nikolaj Arcel Toy Story 3 Michael Arndt True Grit Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan The Descendants † Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash The Help Tate Taylor The Ides of March George Clooney, Beau Willimon, and Grant Heslov Moneyball Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Silver Linings Playbook David O. Russell Argo † Chris Terrio Beasts of the Southern Wild Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin Life of Pi David Magee Lincoln Tony Kushner Philomena Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope 12 Years a Slave † John Ridley Behind the Candelabra Richard LaGravenese Captain Phillips Billy Ray The Wolf of Wall Street Terence Winter The Theory of Everything Anthony McCarten American Sniper Jason Hall Gone Girl Gillian Flynn The Imitation Game † Graham Moore Paddington Paul King The Big Short † Adam McKay and Charles Randolph Brooklyn Nick Hornby Carol Phyllis Nagy Room Emma Donoghue Steve Jobs Aaron Sorkin Lion Luke Davies Arrival Eric Heisserer Hacksaw Ridge Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan Hidden Figures Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi Nocturnal Animals Tom Ford Call Me by Your Name † James Ivory The Death of Stalin Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, and David Schneider Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool Matt Greenhalgh Molly's Game Aaron Sorkin Paddington 2 Simon Farnaby and Paul King BlacKkKlansman † Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, and Spike Lee Can You Ever Forgive Me? Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty First Man Josh Singer If Beale Street Could Talk Barry Jenkins A Star Is Born Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters Jojo Rabbit † Taika Waititi The Irishman Steven Zaillian Joker Todd Phillips and Scott Silver Little Women Greta Gerwig The Two Popes Anthony McCarten
2020s Year Film Nominee The Father † Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller The Dig Moira Buffini The Mauritanian Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani, and M.B. Traven Nomadland Chloé Zhao The White Tiger Ramin Bahrani CODA † Sian Heder Drive My Car Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe Dune Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, and Denis Villeneuve The Lost Daughter Maggie Gyllenhaal The Power of the Dog Jane Campion All Quiet on the Western Front Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, and Ian Stokell Living Kazuo Ishiguro The Quiet Girl Colm Bairéad She Said Rebecca Lenkiewicz The Whale Samuel D. Hunter American Fiction † Cord Jefferson All of Us Strangers Andrew Haigh Oppenheimer Christopher Nolan Poor Things Tony McNamara The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer Conclave † Peter Straughan A Complete Unknown James Mangold and Jay Cocks Emilia Pérez Jacques Audiard Nickel Boys RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes Sing Sing Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence 'Divine Eye' Maclin, and John 'Divine G' Whitfield One Battle After Another † Paul Thomas Anderson The Ballad of Wallis Island Tom Basden and Tim Key Bugonia Will TracyHamnet Chloé Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell Pillion Harry Lighton
Multiple wins and nominations
Multiple wins Wins Screenwriter 2 Christopher Hampton Peter Straughan
Multiple nominations Nominations Screenwriter 4 Ronald Harwood Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Eric Roth Aaron Sorkin 3 Christopher Hampton Anthony Minghella Oliver Stone Steven Zaillian 2 Paul Thomas Anderson Simon Beaufoy Alan Bennett Philippa Boyens Jean-Claude Carrière Joel Coen and Ethan Coen David Hare Brian Helgeland Nick Hornby Armando Iannucci Peter Jackson Paul King Baz Luhrmann David Magee Anthony McCarten Patrick Marber Peter Morgan Alexander Payne Craig Pearce Willy Russell James Schamus Jim Sheridan Peter Straughan Fran Walsh Chloé Zhao
See also Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
References