Saturn Award for Best Writing facts for kids

The Saturn Award for Best Writing is a special prize given out by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. This award celebrates the best screenwriters who create amazing stories for movies in genres like science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Unlike some other awards that might honor both the original story and the screenplay, the Saturn Award for Best Writing focuses only on the people who wrote the movie's script. These are the talented writers who put together the dialogue, scenes, and plot that bring these exciting films to life!

Awesome Writers and Their Winning Movies

Since 1973, many incredible writers have won the Saturn Award for Best Writing. These awards recognize the hard work and creativity that goes into making the stories we love on screen.

Early Winners: The 1970s

In the early years, the award honored some legendary writers.

• In 1973, William Peter Blatty won for his scary movie The Exorcist.
• Later, in 1977, George Lucas won for his groundbreaking space adventure Star Wars. This movie changed how people saw science fiction forever!
• Elaine May and Warren Beatty won in 1978 for Heaven Can Wait, a fantasy-comedy.
• Nicholas Meyer took home the award in 1979 for Time After Time.

Fantastic Films of the 1980s

The 1980s brought more memorable winners.

• William Peter Blatty won again in 1980 for The Ninth Configuration.
• Lawrence Kasdan won in 1981 for the thrilling adventure Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• In 1982, Melissa Mathison won for the heartwarming alien story E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
• The famous author Ray Bradbury won in 1983 for Something Wicked This Way Comes.
• James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd won in 1984 for the action-packed The Terminator. James Cameron won again in 1986 for Aliens.
• Tom Holland won in 1985 for the horror film Fright Night.
• Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner won in 1987 for the futuristic action movie RoboCop.
• Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg won in 1988 for the popular comedy Big.
• William Peter Blatty earned his third win in 1989/90 for The Exorcist III.

Great Stories of the 1990s

The 1990s continued to celebrate amazing screenplays.

• Ted Tally won in 1991 for the suspenseful The Silence of the Lambs.
• James V. Hart won in 1992 for Bram Stoker's Dracula.
• Michael Crichton and David Koepp won in 1993 for the dinosaur adventure Jurassic Park.
• Jim Harrison and Wesley Strick won in 1994 for Wolf.
• Andrew Kevin Walker won in 1995 for the thriller Se7en.
• Kevin Williamson won in 1996 for the horror hit Scream.
• Mike Werb and Michael Colleary won in 1997 for the action film Face/Off.
• Andrew Niccol won in 1998 for the thought-provoking The Truman Show.
• Charlie Kaufman won in 1999 for the unique Being John Malkovich.

2000s: New Millennium, New Winners

The new century brought fresh talent and exciting stories.

• David Hayter won in 2000 for the superhero movie X-Men.
• Steven Spielberg won in 2001 for his science fiction drama A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
• Scott Frank and Jon Cohen won in 2002 for Minority Report.
• Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson won in 2003 for the epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
• Alvin Sargent won in 2004 for Spider-Man 2.
• Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer won in 2005 for Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan would win again in 2010 for Inception.
• Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris won in 2006 for Superman Returns.
• Brad Bird won in 2007 for the animated adventure Ratatouille.
• Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan won in 2008 for the superhero blockbuster The Dark Knight.
• James Cameron won his second writing award in 2009 for the visually stunning Avatar.

The 2010s: A Decade of Diverse Stories

• Jeff Nichols won in 2011 for Take Shelter.
• Quentin Tarantino won in 2012 for Django Unchained. He would win again in 2019/2020 for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
• Spike Jonze won in 2013 for Her.
• Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan won again in 2014 for the space epic Interstellar.
• Lawrence Kasdan, J. J. Abrams, and Michael Arndt won in 2015 for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
• Eric Heisserer won in 2016 for Arrival.
• Rian Johnson won in 2017 for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
• Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski won in 2018/2019 for the horror film A Quiet Place.

Recent Winners: The 2020s

The Saturn Awards continue to celebrate the best writing in genre films.

• In 2021/2022, Guillermo del Toro and Kim Morgan won for Nightmare Alley.
• In 2022/2023, James Cameron and Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver won for the amazing sequel Avatar: The Way of Water.
• The most recent winner, for 2023/2024, is Oz Perkins for his work on Longlegs.

Writers with Multiple Wins

Some writers have been so good that they've won this award more than once!

• James Cameron and Christopher Nolan have each won 4 times.
• William Peter Blatty has won 3 times.
• Lawrence Kasdan, Jonathan Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino have each won 2 times.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Saturn al mejor guion para niños